SHAME on You Companies for Fat Bullying!

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids……..we go after the cool kids. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely…we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.”…. CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Mike Jeffries

These quotes were from an interview over 5 years ago, but their stance remains the same. I see thousands of dollars poured into our school systems and into anti-bullying programs, but how can we fight mass companies we expose blatant bullying ideas that fat kids aren’t cool and “please don’t shop at our stores”.

Don’t believe me? Just google it and read the media bashing going on over this issue. Check their store – the largest women’s size is a Large (equivalent to a size 10) and the largest men’s size is an XXL because “big athletes are cool”. I am 100% for a company selling what they want – it IS their company after all.

However I am highly disappointed in their blunt and obvious dislike (to put it mildly) for those that aren’t perfectly skinny or “the right size”. Some may call it freedom of speech but I say it’s just plain mean.

You may remember the big scurry in the news recently about CVS penalizing employees if they refuse to share their weight and body mass via health wellness check ups.

While I understand they may want you to be healthy (let’s give them the benefit of the doubt…) what kind of message does this send? Imagine how humiliating it would be for your overweight teenager to need to purchase two plane tickets just to fit in a seat…..

Even Michelin Tires is starting to charge their employees more money for premiums if you don’t fit into their bodily size requirements (source).

We are trying to tell our school students that not everyone should be Hollywood-sized and to help encourage them with their self-esteem….only to let them graduate and be thrown into a world opposite of everything we’ve been striving to teach them.

Yes, obesity is a problem in America, there’s obviously no denying that. Yes, parents should be the driving force teaching their children proper nutrition and show them how to have a healthy lifestyle. Does that always happen? No, it doesn’t. And it’s costing us.

Everyone likes to point fingers, everyone “says” let’s teach anti-bullying and self-respect in school, but society seems set against it – no matter what they say. Abercrombie & Fitch are specifically gearing their brand for skinny “cool” people.

Major corporate companies across the nation are charging penalty fees and higher premiums for people that don’t fit their size or health requirement.

It’s costing our health.

It’s costing us medically.

It’s costing our self-esteem.

It’s costing our lives.

It’s costing our kids.

I know this can stem into all sorts of debates about who’s responsible – is it the parents, is it the restaurants, is it the mega-food corporations. That’s an issue bigger that I can’t even begin to debate with. But step back and look how society is WORKING AGAINST ITSELF. 

I wonder what would happen if companies started funding campaigns to help kids in school learn proper nutrition. Or maybe even fund schools to HAVE proper nutrition. I’ve seen some of those nasty school lunches….I wouldn’t feed that stuff to my kids!

Imagine companies turning this new “fat tax” (or so I’ve dubbed it) into supporting society learning to keep themselves healthy instead of penalizing them for not being up to someone else’s standards.

It’s just so contradictory that we teach our students to accept who they are and then society turns around and tries to single them out for being heavier or bigger than someone else would like. It just blows my mind.

Unnecessary Disclaimer – There are great companies out there that cater to larger sizes such as Lane Bryant, Torrid, Big & Tall, etc. that do not bash people for being “not fat enough”.

I have no problems with what a company chooses to sell, it’s how they verbally represent their company and blatant dislike for someone “not the right size”. It’s a form of bullying and it needs to stop.

Another Unnecessary Disclaimer – Not all school lunches are scary and lack nutrition. There are schools (few and far between) that have amazing food programs. Others, however, have worse food than soup kitchens.

I know there are a lot of controversial debates that can be pulled into this but what do you think? Should companies back off of young people and young students about their size? Are they really bullying them?

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