The movement to prick the consciousness of the fashion industry by making them feel just a touch guilty about using 0 size models seems to be getting through; in Spain at least, they have banned the use of such skinny girls. I for one regard this move as a step forward for all women. Just a quick flick through any fashion magazine leaves me feeling depressed and, yes, fat. Statistically I am an average woman according to UK standards. On my infrequent trips to England I find buying clothes fairly easy and can fill my case with no problem. Although I will have to curb my spending if we fly with BA next time as I may end up paying as much for excess baggage as I do for the blummin flight.
But shopping in Hong Kong is as depressing as a flick through a magazine. Asian women are small. Hardly any shops cater for sizes bigger than a 12. Just to rub salt in the wound they use XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL. If I do miraculously find an item to fit me outside my comfort zone of Marks and Spencer’s it will have an XL or XXL label in it. Now that hurts!
On my journey to work I have to suffer televised adverts on the bus. They are broadcast continuously to all the innocent passengers who just want to get from A to B, we are a captured audience and even though they are in Chinese I can’t help be drawn to the screen. This week there is a new advert for a slimming club.
The first clip shows a girl who is slimmer than me. She has a bit of role around the middle but in no way could be described as fat. She enters a lift, the lift has a lot of people in already but as she hauls her ‘overweight’ body into it the OVERLOAD OVERLOAD sign flashes on and a cartoon picture of a pig, I kid you not, is superimposed over the ‘fat’ girls face.
The camera zooms in on her and she steps out of lift, looking ashamed, to make room for a thin girl who has used the slimming club and is, therefore, beautiful, successful and can get the lift doors to close. This is a real advert. It’s in Chinese so I can’t read the brand but the message is clear in any language. It is truly offensive.
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