Be the STRONGEST You You Can Be

A few weeks ago, my best friend sent me an article about J.Crew adding the '000' size to their inventory, and asked for my thoughts. I didn't know what to say...however, now I have some thoughts...

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Initially, my reaction spun with horror and outrage. Then, I read the article in which J. Crew reps were quoted saying the sizing was aimed at meeting the needs of smaller framed women in the Asian countries and, for a moment, I bought into this justification. Honestly, though it's an entire truckload of horse poop. It's not that simple, it's never that simple. 

In a world riddled by female body-hatred (yes, men suffer too, I know, but that's not on my mind at the moment), the last thing we need is for skinny to get even skinnier. The average height and weight of women varies around the world, but in the United States in 2010 the average adult female has a height of 63.8 inches--approximately 5'4"--waist size of 32 and weighed 166.2 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This average woman would be considered overweight by the ever-so-popular BMI calculator which I scorn. This is the average woman--meaning there are many heavier, taller, bigger as well as lighter, shorter, and smaller. Also be aware that average does not equate with ideal or healthy.

However, the triple-zero fits a woman with a 23-inch waist. For adult women, however, “it is incredibly rare to have that waist size naturally,” said Jackie Grandy, outreach and education coordinator from the Toronto-based National Eating Disorder Information Centre. Think about this: a little girls' size 8 fits a 23-inch waist. The girl who wears a size 8 is typically less than 75 pounds. Do you still want to try to tell me an adult woman can be healthy at that size? Sure, you can say that a woman who is considerably shorter than average could be healthy at this size--but if they were short enough for that to be the case, J. Crew's clothing would still not fit since it is cut only for the average sized (or Tall) woman. So, there.

Even more concerning than the glaring lack of logic behind J. Crew’s recent decision is the message shouted into the ears of every woman. When companies begin making sizes smaller, some women understand this to say they must become smaller, that the ideal size, the "beautiful" size is smaller. Ladies, we are shrinking! Zero is not a size. If you’ve ever taken a math class, you know that zero equals nothing. For women vulnerable to preoccupation with weight loss and body size, zero is absence…a way of disappearing. Women have fought for the more than 100 years to be seen and heard. How is it that now, as we are now beginning to find a seat at the table, we simultaneously seek to shrink, to disappear? I could write a book on the phenomenon here. 

For some time now, I’ve wondered what it would be like if numerical sizes were replaced with words like “classy,” or maybe “creative,” or even “strong.”

I can’t stand by and let more and more generations become riddled by the body-image catastrophe infused in current culture. J. Crew birthed a solid third of my wardrobe but that store will never swipe my credit card again.

Friends, both men and ladies alike, let's be strong, courageously independent, fiercely compassionate, and confident. Never sell yourself short. Never let a clothing store or a celebrity or an advertisement or even your friend tell you your hips are too wide or your butt is too big or your boobs are too small or that you weigh too much. Be the strongest you that you can be.