Everyone in the UK right now is talking about Jamelia, the popstar-turned-Loose-Woman, whose comments on young, plus size women have set the media alight.
"I am all for celebrating people as they are", said Jamelia, "I think everyone should be comfortable in their own skin. I think everyone should have access to lovely clothes but"... Oh, here we go. "I do not think it's right to facilitate people having an unhealthy lifestyle. I really don't... In high street stores, you're catering for the average woman, there's a healthy range, and I don't believe they should be providing clothes for below that range or above that range. I'm not saying that nowhere should. I believe yes, have specialist shops but I do think that you should feel uncomfortable if you're unhealthy".
Oh, Jamelia. What do you propose we do exactly? Shall we return to the days when overweight teens had to buy clothes from special catalogues stocking chubby-size clothes? How do you think that makes girls feel? I can tell you- They become distressed with their lives and their appearance. It's well-reported that the media's obsession with thinness contributes to eating disorders. Overweight teenager feels uncomfortable in their size > Aspires to "perfect" figure in media > Develops eating disorder and/or other mental health conditions. It's hardly a stretch of the imagination to see this.
Here's a fact for you, Jamelia: Obesity has always existed. It always will. Removing plus size clothing from stores will not solve that. All it will do is increase mental health problems in those who are overweight, propagate the media's view of what is an acceptable size and allow companies to exploit shoppers by charging extra for plus sized clothing. When you consider that obesity rates are 65% higher in the poor, removing plus size clothing from high street stores would have a crippling impact on the most basic of human rights: The right to adequate clothing (Article 25i of the UDHR).
Plus size clothes do not in any way promote obesity. So I can buy this cute dress in Primark in a size 20 and my friend can buy the same dress in a size 10. Do you think my friend is saying "Man, I wish I was fat so I could buy exactly the same dress in a different size"? Have you ever ever heard of someone gaining weight so they can buy clothes from a plus size rail? Besides, if availability of clothes sizes promoted a certain weight, nobody would be overweight, would they? Everyone would be between a 6 and 16 so that they could fit in high street sizes. Doesn't seem that this has worked so far. The reason behind increasing rates of obesity is nothing to do with clothing availability. It's down to the rise of calorie-high foods, the prevalence of computers, busier lives leaving less time to cook or exercise and many, many other factors.
As a plus size woman, I can tell you, Jamelia, that it's still not easy buying clothes. There are still shops that refuse to go higher than a 16, 18, sometimes even a 14. More and more, retailers such as New Look are removing their plus size ranges from stores. The range is a lot narrower in these traditional shops. Funnily enough, the Plus Sized Wars documentary was about specialised shops such as Evans and Simply Yours which you so adamantly promote. Maybe you'd know that if you'd done your research.
The huge flaw with Jamelia's argument is that, ultimately, she doesn't believe plus-sized girls should look and feel good. I propose that we all don our most beautiful clothes and scoff some cake. Who's with me?
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