A British woman has sparked a discussion after saying she has noticed ‘skinny privilege’ in clothing shops.
Taking to parenting forum Mumsnet, the mother explained that she is a UK size 16 but she can never find clothes in her size anymore.
She claimed the only sizes available on the high street are UK size 6 and 8, saying she ‘shouldn’t need to be skinny to look nice.’
Views were mixed with some people saying the larger sizes tend to sell out first, while others said it might depend on the stores she is going to.
The woman wrote: ‘Skinny privilege. Why is there shops full of clothes for women who are skinny but nothing bigger?
A British woman has sparked a discussion on Mumsnet after saying she has noticed ‘skinny privilege’ in clothing shops (stock image)
Taking to parenting forum, the woman explained that she is a UK size 16 but she can never find clothes in her size anymore
‘I hate going clothes shopping, I literally can never find anything in a size 16 it’s all size 6 and 8.
‘Is the fat back in the 90s discrimination trend coming in again? Shouldn’t need to skinny to look nice?
Woman rushed to the comments, with some saying the larger sizes are probably just more popular these days, therefore they sell out quicker.
One person wrote: ‘In most mainstream shops it’s because 16 is a popular size. A 6 is far less common.’
Another said: ‘More people in UK are size 16, so it’s more likely these clothes have been sold.
‘Far less people are size 6-8, so more likely these have not been sold.
‘Clothes shops are businesses and they need to make money, so they aren’t going to deliberately only sell small clothes to make you feel bad.’
Someone else wrote: ‘I think all the medium/larger sizes get sold first…as in size 12/14/16. Usually the stuff in the sale is in the tiny sizes.
Women rushed to the comments, with some saying the larger sizes are just more popular these days, therefore they sell out quicker
‘I don’t think shops have realised they need to put more of certain sizes on the rails.’
Meanwhile another said: ‘I think because your average woman is a 14/16 those sizes will sell out fastest.
‘If you ever look in the sales or outlet stores there are loads of either tiny sizes eg 4/6 or large eg 20 + because those are the sizes that don’t sell as well. It’s nothing personal.’
Other women argued that the opposite is the case – and said they struggled to find size UK 8 clothing in stores.
One person wrote: ‘I find the opposite… I’m an 8-10 and I can hardly ever find clothes in my size.’
Another said: ‘I am size 8 to 10 now but when smaller I was told shops only buy in a couple of size 6s so I could never find any.
‘There seemed to be many more bigger sizes.
‘I guess we search partly with our own wishes in mind, so notice the absence of our sizes more.’
Another wrote: ‘I’m an 8/10 and really struggle to find stuff.’
While someone else said: ‘I generally find the opposite. I’m a size 8/10 and always find there’s loads of bigger sizes and I can’t find stuff in my size.’
Many were concerned with the term ‘skinny privilege’, with people calling out the term as ‘shaming.’
Others argued that the opposite is the case, and said they can’t find size UK 8/10 clothes in stores
One person wrote: ‘Skinny privilege? Heard it all now. There is no inherent privilege with maintaining an energy consumption that matches energy output.
‘I’ve got admiration for their discipline and wish I had a bit more of it myself.
‘Maybe an ‘advantage of having a healthy body mass’ is a fairer way of describing the phenomena that you encounter?
‘Designer stuff tends to aim towards the model physiques but as other people have said, our average tends to be 12-16 which means that those items will fly out when there is a sale.’
Another said: ‘I don’t think it’s right to ‘inverse-fat-shame’ people by deriding them as ‘skinny’. Size 6/8/etc are normal sizes, not freakishly unusual ones.’
Someone else wrote: ‘Firstly, YABU for using the term ‘skinny’ to refer to normal-sized people. Secondly, a lack of larger sizes has never been my experience – more often than not, clothes rails are full of sizes 14, 16 and 18 with few, if any, smaller sizes.’
Many were concerned with the term ‘skinny privilege’, with people calling out the term as ‘shaming’
Others suggested the woman might just be shopping in the wrong shops, and suggested looking somewhere different
While a fourth wrote: ‘YABVU to use the term ‘skinny’ – I bet you’d be offended if someone called you fat? So stop using the term ‘skinny.’
Many suggested the woman might just be shopping in the wrong shops, with one writing: ‘Which shops are you going to? It’s completely normal these days for shops to sell size 16-18.’
Another said: ‘If you can’t find clothes in a size 16 then you are in the wrong shops. Loads of high street shops stock size 16.
‘It’s horses for courses in shops – I find most stuff in Zara doesn’t suit my shape so I shop elsewhere. In general I think there are more stock issues than pre-covid and often find my size out of stock (I am anything from a 10 to a 14 depending on the shop). But it isn’t about ‘skinny privilege’, I think you are jumping to conclusions.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk