Not So Much a Rant as an Observation. Really.

Let's start this off with a smile, because it's gonna get uncomfortable.

"Why start a plus-size fashion blog?" you might ask. My quick answer is, "I had a lot of professional women asking me where I shopped." I've found out that at least a couple of times, there was more of a reason why these women were asking "where" than was obvious. And I should have known, because it involves why I've searched so hard for these clothes myself.

It's not just finding plus size clothes; you can find lots of plus size clothes now, in far better selections than when I was a teen. Of course, that was the 80s, and we should be rethinking sartorial choices we made for all sizes back then. But plus size for professionals? That's taken a bit more work and selectivity. And it's been necessary work; I'm trying to fight against biases via wardrobe.

It's not as shallow as it sounds. It's a piece of a larger puzzle. Stick with me.

This April marks my 20th year in this industry. I have seen my part in this industry happily evolve from being one of three women in a room of 50, to working in a department of 30 that's about 50% women. In the perspective of social changes, that's pretty rapid progress.

Not that I don't still see trends. There can be some "touchy feely" sides of this line of legal work, and over the last 20 years, that's largely where I've seen the women end up. Which is one of the reasons that I previously worked my butt off with some serious self-study to make myself one of the only women I knew tackling a certain subject matter area. (I'm a rebel, yar!)

In other words, when I see biases, I do my best to personally shatter them.

Women are still making some significant headway in this, and all, industries. Which is obviously fantastic. But overall, women still have a ways to go. As you hear a lot nowadays, you'll know we've gotten there when there's no longer a need to talk about it.

Now, let's do an experiment - Plug obesity into the equation. Suddenly, you have a whole new bias to overcome. You're not only "touchy feely," you're also "fat and lazy." This can get you doubled down in the worst way in the workplace.

I've personally fought that stereotype, too, although for years it was more an undercurrent than something spoken (although it was specifically spoken once). And I've seen other women suffer it, too (in many, many job settings, not just my industry). Especially ones who wear more "standard" heavy-woman clothing. It didn't matter how smart they were, how damned good they were at their jobs. They had the double whammy of "woman" + "overweight" and that was that.

Because of stereotypes, because of biases, an overweight woman in the workplace can end up being everybody's mother and nobody's boss if she's not careful. She has two reasons to be dismissed as a serious contender for something more.

My weight (although yes, also my gender) is one of the reasons why:
* I make every effort to work 150% harder than anyone else in the room;
* I try to dress immaculately (except the "ironing" thing, I still can't bring myself to do it);
* I've worked extremely hard to overcome some serious social anxiety and become a "people person";
* I make significant efforts to be responsible and responsive, to be someone who can be trusted and relied upon by the janitorial staff all the way up to the CEO;
* I've horded so much knowledge and data and trends it would take an Alexandrian Library to hold it all.
Anyone who sees everything I've done and everything I do and still thinks that because I'm an overweight woman that I'm not worthy can jam it into their asses.

And I've been through a helluva lot to get to this point. Over a decade and a half ago, it was a man holding his hand in my face and saying that my law degree didn't qualify me for a place at the "man's" negotiation table, but I could go grab a pitcher of water. In the last few years, it was someone passing me over for a job because, "It's obvious you can't take of yourself, how could you take care of a staff?"

Both biases suck. And it's really, truly, more of a whammy for a woman than a man.

Think about it. How many overweight men do you see in positions in power as opposed to overweight women? Not that the men don't still feel pressure and scrutiny over their looks, and not that they're never discriminated against for their weight. But an overweight man is still much more likely to make it to a position of power than an overweight woman.

I am personally doing all I can to also overturn that stereotype, to help bring the appropriate significance to the underestimated.




This is a face that has seen a lot. I have dark circles under my eyes. I have crows feet. I have a divot in my nose from the removal of a suspicious spot. The 99% of my nose that remains is large and obvious. I've got some gray hair sprouting up within the dark brown. These are all socially acceptable "non-standard" traits. I've come to love these things that set me apart. But you know what else I love? The cheeks that are larger than some think they should be.

Weight is never a measure of a person's worth. So until a person's weight, too, is something society no longer feels it needs to talk about, to judge, to demean, I'm going to keep fighting with every weapon in my arsenal. Fashion - a tailored, crisp, and professional look - is one of those weapons.

Some might say this use of clothing is just a bandage for a larger problem. I can see that. Realistically, I know that I'm just counterbalancing a socially unacceptable look with a socially preferred one.

But if people see a suit with a good cut and it subliminally re-focuses them long enough for me to hit them with my brain, then fine. If it helps me hammer through some of the weaker walls while I take a blow torch to the steel barred gates behind them, I'm going to use it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad