Did you know that right now, at this very moment, there are people living in bigger bodies? Just going around existing like they have some kind of right? Apparently some companies are even trying to sell products to these people. The nerve. Like the Nike plus-size mannequin that recently went up. According to, like, everyone on the internet, this is a very dangerous decision.
Nike recently put up a plus-sized mannequin at one of its London stores. And people absolutely lost it. Nike has been criticized for “normalizing obesity” by daring to put up this obviously dangerous mannequin. Because fat people should just exercise naked, ammirite?
I don’t fully understand the fear of this type of advertising. Other than that some people are just straight up fatphobic, but whatever. Are plus-size women and men just supposed to guess how clothes might look on their body types?
Supposedly what Nike and other companies are doing (including Old Navy) is dangerous. That they’re fueling the obesity epidemic worse. That they’re responsible for unhealthy habits and creating more of those scary, scary fat people.
With all these accusations you’d think that everyone on the internet is very concerned for our health. And I am here to tell you that freaking out over a plus-sized mannequin is actually quite bad for my health. But people who are complaining don’t care about that, because again, they legit don’t care about my health or anyone else’s. Because if they did, they would care that making stupid comments actually causes significant harm.
Body-shaming is devastating
According to researchers at Arizona State University, “social environments that permit weight-related stigma and body shame make weight control and loss more difficult.”
And then there’s the mental health aspect of weight and size body shaming, which I can guarantee you that angry people on the internet love to ignore. Not only are individuals who are living with mental illnesses more likely to be classified as overweight or obese, but treatment can even make it worse.
But we haven’t even gotten to maybe one of the biggest controversies of this ongoing issue. Being overweight isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, and again, and again:
Being thin is not the price we pay for existing in this world.
Not to mention that size is not an indicator of health. Just check out Latoya Snell, who runs ultramarathons and is not here for your body-shaming antics. Or Dianne Bondy who is for real here to make sure that yoga is for everyone. And Amanda LaCount, whose hip-hop moves have had her dancing with Katy Perry, Meghan Trainor, and way more.
I don’t think things are changing anytime soon. People still freak out over plus-size mannequins. And every time a plus-size model shows up on a commercial or a woman who hasn’t had her cellulite photoshopped out in an advertisement, everyone on the internet has to tell us how sickeningly unhealthy it all is.
But you know what? The fact that a Nike plus-size mannequin is now standing gloriously tall in a fitness store shows me that things are getting a little better. So let’s hold our heads high and show our daughters and sons that size-shaming isn’t just awful, that it’s soon to be a thing of the past. Now excuse me while I go throw a bunch of money at a new sports bras and running leggings.
