If someone says fashionable plus-size clothing is encouraging people to be overweight, they are idiots and should be shot. Some people, no matter how skinny they are, still must wear plus size clothing. It's called "wide hips" and is a good thing, especially if the woman is going to have a child. Besides, what do you expect them to wear, maternity clothes?

I disagree. I don't think fashionable plus size clothing is encouraging being fat, per say, but it's giving people the opportunity to stay fat and not do anything about it.

In Asia, if you were a US size 14+ (if that's really the average in the US, that's quite horrifying) in China, you would find no clothing to wear. You'd probably have to resort to wearing muumuus and be pretty ashamed to go outside. That is partially what spurs Chinese people to be thin. Of course, it's not just clothing but also just being judged for being fat (or average on American standards.) There is much more societal pressure and, thus, no chance of feeling like it's okay to be comfortable with your body if you're fat.

Because it's not healthy to be fat. If you're fat, you're most probably doing something wrong.

@tricyclemafia@xanga - That's just not true. The woman with the widest pelvis in the world would not have to wear plus-size clothing if they were skinny (probably not more than a size 8, methinks). "Wide hips" landing you in the plus-size aisle means you have a wide hipbones and quite a bit of fat on those hips.

My doctor has warned me about getting smaller than a size 10, as in, don't try or you'll die. Some women are just bigger, I'm a size 12, can run 4 miles without stopping, my heart rate is 15 bpms below average, and the highest my blood pressure has ever been was still classified as "low-normal." You can be plus-sized and healthy, some people are built bigger, REALLY. It's not just a myth someone made up.

I don't think plus sized clothes encourage people not to lose weight. Back when I was a size 18, it was frustrating to not be able to find my size, and that just made me care less about everything, eating, my health, how I looked, it didn't matter, but AFTER I started to put together a flattering wardrobe for myself, I became dedicated to losing weight because I was confident in myself.

Everyone deserves stylish, flattering clothes in their size and price range. Period.

@tricyclemafia@xanga -  don't bother with @antimony_demon@xanga - she's admitted to having an eating disorder so her perception of weight and her whole "fat hating" attitude is a little messed up.

"And second, retailers exist to make money, not monitor public health. What do you think they are- the freaking FDA?! Finally, with the average American being a size 14+, U.S. retailers could expand their profit margins by marketing to a larger chunk of the population." --> omg. this. so true. what the fuck do clothing stores care? i think that's why they vanity size as well. a store probably figures that if they slap a size 8 on a size 10, a girl who is a size 10 will be pleased that at that particular store, she can fit an 8 and continue shopping there over stores where she is a 10. the fashion industry in general is about marketing, not health. everyone is just looking to make a profit - or to conserve money where they can (hence why clothing for fashion models is designed smaller - less money for the designer to use on materials). it's not some huge conspiracy theory, it's called being business-minded.

Why doesn't anyone talk about vanity sizing? 

@tricyclemafia@xanga - Healthy is an arguable word, because the state of a person can be considered healthy by one person and not by another. A body type you think is "a skeleton" could be just average  or even chubby in another culture's eyes. I just think that a lot of people have a somewhat skewed idea of what being really healthy is, but that's just my personal opinion. I've just been voicing what I think.

I understand that if a woman is really tall, then they'd need to wear bigger sizes and their hips might be bigger, but I feel like optimally they'd never hit a size 14...

But most people, I guess, don't care for optimal health, which means you have to sacrifice eating quite a lot of foods. They just care about being healthy enough and also eating a lot of the things they want: grains, processed foods, etc. I can understand. I find myself wanting these foods a lot and sometimes caving in.

Also, having your typical Asian bodyframe, I'm built to be slight. The culture I grew up with discriminates freely against chubby people and looks down on Americans for being big and not being able to do anything about it (or not trying.) Shimmerbodycream is right about that. I have a very skewed idea of body image, but not because of my ED, which I've mostly gotten over since I'm happy with my body, as much as the culture I grew up in.

Sorry if I came off as judgemental. I'm not exactly the most informed person and the only people I typically see are those on my college campus, who are almost all underweight or normal weight.

I've always been no larger than a size 4, so I have no idea what a size 14 is like. I really can't judge.

I apologize.

The only things that encourage fat people to be fat are large portion sizes, no exercise and fattening foods.

to add another asian voice to the mix--it's true that in asian cultures what's considered skinny/normal/desirable is very different than what we think here. and i'm not sure which is better--while america DEFINITELY should not be having as many health problems as we do (and i think we can say that while not ALL 'plus sized' people are unhealthy, a decent number of them are) the fixation on skinny can have their own health problems as well of course. in japan (i'm not sure but i always felt china was a little bit ... less nazi about the beauty industry than japan/korea) the pressure to be thin is phenomenal, especially in the cities. accordingly, the rates of anorexia in fashionable districts of tokyo are famously high.

what i wonder is are we intrinsically wired to feel that a certain size is beautiful? i am, and always  have, idealized a very skinny figure, both to have to feel beautiful and as i feel it's more artistic, closer to the physical realization of my personality. but is this social conditioning or natural? should we be pushing mags and fashion to be more inclusive of larger girls or is it actually harder to make art with bigger bodies?

@antimony_demon@xanga - wow, u must have not seen enough NON-asians in your life to not know that asians (male and female alike) have on average a SMALLER body frame compared to other races! so it's rare to see a really fat asian, and it sucks especially to be fat and asian. but for other races, like latinos, blacks, etc.. they were BORN big and they can never be skinny even if they do everything else right. oh and dont think I'm like fat or non-asian. I'm Chinese, and I'm a size 0. so yea... 

did you just say the average American being a size 14+???
for real????!

I love modcloth.com's clothes, but they don't carry many fashionable things in my size, and old navy's clothes tend to look better on more petite women than full-figured ones. the clothes make me look frumpy even if they're cute on a hanger. 

People don't have to eat fatty foods and they can exercise if they want do. It's a personal decision, but we can't make excuses for anyone and blame the food they eat and their lack of exercise, as if they have no control over how they take care of themselves (or don't). Most people are plus-sized because they choose to be, and it's a matter of will-power to overcome being "fat." We have a responsibility to our bodies to be healthy. We CAN choose to eat healthily. We CAN choose to exercise. Some people choose NOT to. There's nothing wrong with being full-figured or plus-size, by the way. Some people are just built like that. 

@tricyclemafia@xanga - do you mean wide hips or a wide ass? 'Cause a lot of times smaller sizes won't fit my mother (even though she's "small") because the clothes were made for "white" people (no offense intended)  who generally don't have wider hips and/or a large ass, so she has to go up a size, or two; that part of her body won't fit.