Love Your Body! (Just Not in OUR Clothes)

On the yoga wear company “Lululemon” website Laura M wrote a blog, “Love Your Body.” In it she asks us to recognize the “human body is beautiful.” She also tells us:

“I don’t know the what, when, where, why and how, but, somewhere along the line, we were told that our bodies weren’t good enough. We were told that we should cover-up, hide from the world, if we weren’t a certain body type. Well, forget that!”

Amen, Sister! Sign me up! I’m fired up! Let’s go! Except..oh..wait...I’m not a Lululemon customer.

I can’t be.

According to a recent article at the Huffington Post, “Shunning Plus-Size Shoppers Is Key To Lululemon's Strategy, Insiders Say,” the company’s business model is not to sell any size above a 12. Additionally in many of it stores it is routine not to shelve anything higher than a size 8.

The average size of a woman in this country is a size 14.

I’m not even average sized; I’m bigger. So I’m definitely not the Lululemon customer. There’s nothing on their website for me except some words.

All of this isn’t new. This actually reminds me of something which happened to me back when I was Freshman in highschool. See, I’ve been a full figured woman all my life. Even when I was kid spending my summer riding bikes, hiking in the woods, swimming in the lake, etc... I’ve always been that awful three letter word: FAT.

When I was freshman we had our own separate building where we went to school. It was also the last year of mandatory gym class. Now, I was never very good in gym. However, I enjoyed it. I liked playing games.  I was competitive (still am), but a good sport. Of course it was great to win, but just getting out and playing, whether it was bowling, field hockey, dodgeball, soccer..etc.. was awesome. Sure I loathed running but I could survive that for the chance to play.

As our Freshman year started to come to a close and we had to start choosing classes for our sophomore year I was in a quandary. As a sophomore gym class would no longer be mandatory. Although I knew I wasn’t good at sports, I liked playing. I also understood that exercise was important and that gym class was the one place I exercised consistently. So I went to talk to my gym teacher. I wanted to ask her about whether I should take gym class as a sophomore. Her response, “Gym in high school is really more for athletes.”

So there it was the beginning of an ugly truth in this country. If you fat or overweight you are told, “Lose the weight!” Get active! Exercise! However this is followed by, "Our gym is for athletes and that's not you," or, "Your body doesn't fit our corporate image, so you can’t wear our clothes.”

Now on one hand you might wonder, what’s the big deal? It’s a fitness company. Why should they sell plus sized clothing?

Lululemon is a company which has built its image by focusing on fitness, and not just physical but mental/emotional fitness as indicated by its manifesto. Why would they give lip service to the human body being beautiful, but then exclusively sell only sizes that the average woman cannot wear? Why help keep perpetuating the idea that her “body” is wrong?

If Lululemon is a company that really wants to focus on fitness and clothes for active wear why not sell for women who are active; all women? Do they believe that plus size women don’t exercise? Does Lululemon believe there’s no active wear market for plus size women?

That’s must be a big surprise to Juno Active. They have been in business since 1995.  They offer plus size active wear size 14 and up.  While their “manifesto” won’t be mistaken for a motivational poster it’s still worth a read. Especially when they write statements like:

“We believe that plus size women deserve good quality, fashionable clothing. The Juno Active website is unique in encouraging the plus size woman to "Embrace Your Active Life." We focus on the 40% or more of American women who wear plus sizes and are looking for top-quality gear for workout, ski, swim, camping and more. Juno Active is known for its high-tech fabrics, great fit and functional design that often just can't be found anywhere else. “

Wow! Imagine that a company that recognizes that an average size woman might like do things like swim, camp, ski, etc... Oh, and they are not alone. Just My Size also has a line of workout clothes for us “plus” size women; including yoga pants (surprise Lululemon: they are less $98). I could list other plus size active wear lines. It isn’t hard, just Google “Plus size active wear.”

The point is Lululemon is very much like Abercrombie & Fitch as envisioned in an infamous interview with it’s current CEO, Mike Jefferies. They don’t carry plus sizes because plus sizes don’t fit the image of who they want their customers to be.

So while a Lululemon representative can maintain, “We agree that a beautiful healthy life is not measured by the size you wear,” as quoted in another Huffington Post article. The company has gone on to say “we don’t have plans to change our current sizing structure which is 2-12 for women."

Look, I’m not pushing for Lululemon to sell “plus” size clothes anymore than I’m asking for Juno Active to sell size 2 active wear. Yet, I’m looking for some honesty and awareness here. Don’t tell me to love my body with one message and then “shame” for me not having the “right body” in the next.

At the very least I would love a company that sells ‘fitness’ wear to at least acknowledge the fact they do not sell any clothes which would fit the average size woman. At Lululemon, the average size woman who walks into their store is as unwelcome as someone like me.

I would like to say I defied my gym teacher and showed up ready to tackle high school gym my sophomore year. It didn't go that way. I didn’t take a gym class and I’ve wrestled with being active ever since.

However, a few years ago I did discover an activity that would change my life. No it didn’t make me a supermodel. Yes, I struggle with my weight still. Yet I exercise regularly with a community that celebrates healthy lives but does not measure health by size or age: belly dance.

It’s a good thing there are companies like Juno Active, Just My Size and others where I can get the active wear I need.

*edited by TB