P.S. GabriellaG54. I am supporting one woman over 7st. yes... me....
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Fat people can only exercise naked !
(69 Posts)Saw an article in the Telegraph the other day about this :-
www.businessinsider.com/nikes-plus-size-mannequin-is-a-brilliant-business-decision-2019-6?r=US&IR=T
What I found surprising ( or maybe not) was the comments from journalist Tanya Gold in regard to Nike now selling plus sized sports wear .
"The new Nike mannequin is not size 12, which is healthy, or even 16 — a hefty weight, yes, but not one to kill a woman. She is immense, gargantuan, vast. She heaves with fat," Gold wrote.
I'm not posting to get into the usual debate about whether fat people are fat through their own fault instead I'm asking 2 questions.
Firstly, is obesity the last bastion of discrimination. If its not ok to make derogatory comments about culture, colour, race or sexuality is it ok to be abusive about weight?
And secondly, if exercise is good for you , doesn't it make sense that larger people have access to the appropriate clothing to do their exercise in?
Do you think Nike are breaking ground here with their new range ( even if you overlook that its probably an excellent marketing strategy) and that it should be available ?
My other thought was when will women stop tearing other women down. Regardless of size should we , as women, not be supportive of each other ? Or is that based on weight too?
I'm really interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this.
I agree with others here that Ms Gold's comments were judgmental and that she body shamed large women everywhere. Shame on her!
Having said that, I did find Nike's mannequin display to be condescending. Why? Because the underlying message is this .... "We can tell you are exceptionally large, so in order for the world to know how sensitive we are to your condition, we are displaying this over sized mannequin in your image, wearing these very large leggings so that everyone can see how big they are and that we had to make them especially for you!"
So, yes it's a good marketing strategy because of it's shock value and that's the other thing that's disturbing. It would be the same as if the now defunct Victoria's Secret were to promote a Mastectomy bra by creating a mannequin with a missing or lopped breast. The outcry would probably create enough publicity to sell millions of bras! Nike's mannequin will likely sell plenty of leggings but I for one will not be buying any.
I have often wondered why women starting out on a fitness regime (if they are overweight) feel the need to wear sports clothing - ie- stretchy Lycra, which is figure-hugging and shows every bulge, lump and bump. It isn't flattering. I watched a very big woman huff and puff, red faced, around the park. She drew attention to herself as she wore a sports bra which unfortunately meant her several rolls of abdomen flab were on show. Her huge thighs were highlighted by leggings which were so tightly stretched over her ample thighs and bottom that they were almost transparent.
It is not a good look and it couldn't have been comfortable either. I may be speaking only for myself but I really wouldn't want to draw attention to my (unfit) efforts looking like that.
I am not criticising the woman, (good on her for exercising) just their choice of exercise gear. I am another who huffs and puffs on exertion and I have a supply of loose, baggy T shirts and cotton (tapered) trousers for my exercise sessions. The sportiest I get is to wear my trainers!
I do not want to add to my rather unflattering look when I start to get red and sweat. I would look hideous in sports gear.
However, I am aware we should not criticise our sisters in their efforts to get fit - so to each their own, but I shan't go anywhere near Lycra and tight skinny clothing until I have less flab on my body.
Erm - re above - not a sports bra, more a Lycra crop top.
But I still think that if clothes come in all sizes then why wouldn’t exercise clothes too ?
I just do not see the need for tight, stretchy fabrics on large women.
Why? Why anything clingy? It's a fad. I know fabrics today absorb sweat, allow air in, etc, but so does a good old loose fitting cotton T shirt which also hides the flab.
I know we women have become completely brazen of late so we shouldn't body shame, when a huge woman strips down to a bikini. I wish I had that self-confidence, but with the best will in the world, an overweight body, flesh on show, is not a pretty sight.
I also know we are supposed to love ourselves, but personally I think it's a huge commercial con to sell skin tight sports garments to the overweight.
People tend to buy into these fads too.
I can burn just as many calories in clothes that don't hug my body.
In fact, I ought to go and market my more flattering sports wear for the fat woman/man.
The mannequin looks reasonably strong to me, like the disc and javelin throwers used to look. They are fit, just bigger. I think the idea of weight and size is misunderstood and makes a lot of people unhappy.
Obviously too much fat and an unhealthy diet is very bad. (I'm not a good example I admit). But as MOnica points out, some people are bigger and remain very healthy. This truly is a "one size fits all" situation that has gone wrong!!
willa45. I wonder if it will put people off buying the leggings? Seeing the look of them stretched large - even if a person is that size, might make some people think they don't want to look like that?
I would never display my body in so little clothing anyway - not at my age.
On the other hand, the advert I saw on TV for clothes for all shapes and sizes did cheer me up a bit. The clothes seemed pretty and cheerful and the live models were a variety of shapes and some quite large sizes and they looked very nice in the Summer clothes.
Sorry me again but just thought - have we said it before? - The news ladies, Weather, most adverts, and usually actresses in different types of dramas etc on TV are hardly ever fat or even a bit larger than slim. There are one or two - but the women appearing on my little screen do not by any means represent a cross-section of the sizes of women in the city street near me.
I am all for 'normal' women modelling clothing; as others have said size 16 is the standard size in this country, but I did have difficulty with a recent set of photos on the M and S site. I was looking for a raincoat (organising myself for the summer, and how sensible that was!) and saw a raincoat that possibly might have been the right one, but the model was so truly enormous that it wasn't possible to discern the style very well - if there was a belt, it had disappeared between her bust and hips, and I really couldn't get much of an idea of the overall design. She must have been about size 26 at the very least. All power to M and S for having models in all shapes and sizes, and this is no criticism, merely a comment.
Apart from a decent bra why does anyone really need expensive sportswear? A teeshirt and loose trousers would do surely! (To be fair - I'm unlikely to run unless chased by a bull!)
Only way I'd over take you rockgran was if that bull was chasing us both lol !!
I wonder if it makes people feel they are fitting in more in a gym environment?
NanaandGrampy
The fitting more in a gym.
My daughter has a personal trainer come to her house.
On the day the trainer comes she starts off her day by putting her Lycra on. She says it puts her in the frame of mind.
I must add that she's just about size 10 but feels unfit.
Nice.
I don’t know about the special gym wear, that’s probably personal choice but I do think that strong ‘sports bras’ should be easily accessible in larger sizes (eg 40 upwards). There are lots up to 36 (often with very big cup size) but not seen ones for, dare I say it, “fatter” ladies. How on earth are they supposed to do all these keep fit excercises or gym workouts without proper ‘support’ ? There are many heavier ladies who would be keen to exercise if they could have a decent sports bra to support their boobs while running or jumping around.
I agree that the supposedly size 16 model is nearer a size 20.
She looks like an overstuffed sausage about to split the casing.
I buy my sports bras from Bravissimo or independent retailers who sell Prima Donna. 36GG. About £40-65. No movement at all and super comfy.
Tillybelle
?️♀️ ??
MrsAllboys
Here you are. Latest Bravissimo catalogue.
Both up to 40 with various cup sizes.
Many more online at Bravissimo.
MrsAllboys
Here's one from the High Summer Bravissimo catalogue. Many more online.
Oops! Didn't think first one sent.
Basically I think it always seems to be down to slim women fat shaming fat women. It's as if they are saying, "well I'm not fat so why should you be"? Everybody is different, we all have a different genetic make up. We all have unique metabolisms. We all age differently. I had been slim my whole life. When I reached an early menopause I began taking HRT and it suited. My GP said after I'd been on it for many years that I should stop taking it as it was increasing my risk of breast cancer considerably. I duly stopped taking it. I continued to eat healthily, go for our usual long walks, exercise in the sense that I cleaned our 3 bedroomed house from top to bottom every week. Continued working full time in a high pressured job. And guess what? I piled the weight on despite no change to my lifestyle! I am now what is classed as obese and am really sad about it. No amount of diets have helped. I have tried, and continue to try and lose weight but to no avail. So, please you other women, don't fat shame me and others like me. This is crap enough without sisters shaming me. Its time we started sticking up for each other regardless of size, colour, creed or anything else that is not what modern society considers "normal". Sorry for rant.
Tillybelle and others....
I have definitely been put off by Nike's latest marketing stunt. Like most women in the US and UK, I am a size 16 and I wouldn't be caught in that mannequin's plus size outfit if they paid me.
Manufacturers need to focus on women's various figure types as well as the larger sizes. That's because some of us have big bottoms and others have big boobs, regardless of what size dress we wear.
The skin tight, Lycra leggings on the mannequin were not attractive in the least....leggings with a softer fit and a little more 'give' would be just as comfortable and smarter looking.
With the midriff exposed, the form fitting leggings actually brought out the bum and thigh area all the more, making everything appear bigger and wider. A waist length camisole (with built in sports bra) would have been a lot more flattering.
In my view, it appears that Nike has designed a clothing line that actually brings out a woman's worse figure flaws.
Of course no one – whatever size – has to wear Nike products to exercise. There are lots of natural fabric garments available that are much cheaper and in a wide range of sizes. Just because bronzed, fit and lycra-clad young things sport so-called designer wear in the gym doesn't mean everyone else has to. However, I would make a guess that if you are feeling flabby, fat or obese, the last thing you need is a trim, smartly clad, smart-mouthed twenty-something sneering.
Good luck to all women who want to exercise, whether that is because they are overweight, because they want to remain or become more supple, or just because they enjoy it.
For the sensitive, I would recommend swimming because it uses pretty much all the body without straining it – and nobody can see your body properly when it is under the water. You can wrap a towel around you when you get out of the pool.
It’s a plus size mannequin and it is dressed in exercise gear. I think that’s fantastic. It has curves in all the right places, unlike me so I’m quite envious of women who are that shape.
Doubt there's a hidden agenda.
Businesses are in it to make money. If it sells, good.
No-one has to buy.
(Personally, I wouldn't).
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