AIBU to question Snag Tights using very plus-size models?

[DallazMajor]

Snag Tights have women who are morbidly obese modelling their products.

AIBU to think that this isn’t ok?

How is being disabled the same as being morbidly obese or anorexic ? Please explain this to me.

They are not ‘promoting obesity’.

They are promoting tights to their customers.

They are both disabilities?

Surely it’s just so that very plus size women know that the tights are likely to fit them? Obviously they’re not advocating for anyone to put on 10 stone! - so I really don’t see a problem.

Exactly. We just can't win either way. They don't want to see fat bodies in gym wear, but of course fat people are gross and lazy. Shouldn't it be a positive thing to see obese people are excersing? And as for underwear, tights, regular every day clothes - we have to exist and wear clothes in whatever body type we have.

People that size need to see how the clothes would fit them. Is 16/18 the highest acceptable size for you? It's like height. I don't really buy clothes online, but if I did I'd like to be able to see a size 18 that's a shortarse like me. Trousers and dresses are nearly always too long, so even tall plus size women aren't representing me. It's not going to make people that aren't that size want to be that size. Most women think being big is the worst thing that they could ever be, so it's not going to spread don't worry.

What, the message that snag tights fit fat women and look good? Yes absolutely toxic…

Despite the fact that you're clearly not posting in good faith, I'll try and explain it to you in simple words.

We'll take somebody who is five foot six and generally wears an XL-XXL when she buys stuff online. These are of course, dresses and the like, so aren't tights. She'd like to buy some tights when she does the shopping, but the XLs in the supermarkets have a grid that says they might fit and sometimes they do, but sometimes they don't or they're so poor quality that she's often put her nails through them or they've laddered within ten minutes.

Is her inside leg measurement;

25"
27"
29"
32"
34"

Is the rise from crotch smooth? Does she have a section overhang? Does she have a sensitive spot from where endometrial tissue was introduced into the incision 15 years ago and she therefore has extremely sensitive skin there?

Is her hip measurement

40"
42"
44"
46"
48"
50"
52"
54"

Are her legs where most of her body fat is distributed, or does she have proportionally slimmer legs?

Does she have a notable difference between the top of her hips and her lower back curve with the majority of bulk carried on her abdomen, or is it mostly down to having large breasts?

Does she have a long torso with a lot of space between hip bone and ribs or is it short?

Does she have 38/40/42/44/46/48/50/52/54/56 A/B/C/D/DD/E/EE/EEE/F/FF/G/GG/H or larger breasts or does she have 38DD and her weight/size requirement is due to lipodema?

Has she had a recent appendectomy or hysterectomy and therefore needs to be sure that a waistband will not slip down or is designed to stop at mid abdomen and put pressure on a fresh scar?

Does she have endometriosis and therefore can swell from one size to looking heavily pregnant depending upon the part of her cycle she is in?

Does she have varicose veins or scarring that she would like to be hidden by tights staying the colour of the little circle on the ordering box, or is she OK if they turn into sheer tights when worn by somebody of her particular size and build?

Does she also lift weights, swim regularly, do yoga or something else that means at least part of her size is actually muscle mass, is it mostly subcutaneous adipose tissue, soft and compressible or is it visceral adipose tissue so there is no give?

Do she actually have a condition causing fluid buildup in her body?

That's why it's necessary to be able to see somebody with a similar build modelling the significantly more expensive tights and other items. Because the female body varies so much at the same BMI, just guessing that something shown on a woman of a standard/acceptable to others size (or more likely a male with shaven, very shapely legs as tights models have tended to be) might fit and paying a tenner a pair plus postage and packaging on the basis of hope alone.

Being fat isn’t a medical condition and existing in a bigger body isn’t glorifying obesity. Also weight does not determine health - you can have a “normal” BMI and be very unhealthy & vice versa. And yes, you are fat shaming. You don’t actually give a shit about their health (which you know nothing about by looking at them) you just want to judge & shame people for not being a size that is acceptable to you.

Yeah can you imagine, if the OP had her way everyone being seen in an advert would have to be a size 10-12, never drinks, no piercings (infections), doesn’t dye hair (toxic), no plastic surgery (also toxic), not too much make up (causes cancer)… etc etc.

Plus this “glorifying obesity” argument is complete bollocks. People don’t look at the snag models and think, “wow if only I could look like that tomorrow” they think “if they fit that lady those tights might fit me without the crotch being down at my knees, the waist rolling, the gusset being completely out of place and/ or being stretched to buggery and laddering, I’ll give them a try”. Why should plus size people have to “imagine” this when others don’t apart from to save people like you a bit of pearl clutching. ?

Posters like the one you replied one really do want fat people to exist in drab, poor, boring and uncomfortable clothes, as a punishment for being fat. She thinks if we are made to live like that, maybe we will see the light and lose the weight. It's a really awful mindset.

I'm looking forward to the new patterns this autumn - two pairs of my Snags have died (after 6 years' faithful service and many, many, many washes) and I intend to replace them with worthy successors.

I don’t think Snag put these specific measurements on their site.
Do the images of morbidly obese women bending over in a thong help you make the right choice?

That's exactly why images of various people of different heights, sizes and shapes helps.

Of course, but without the model’s stats and what size she (he) is wearing it’s all a bit of a guessing game.

It's a hell of a lot better than the grids you get on conventional tights. Which, for fat people, only ever come in black, brown, grey etc.

Do you have an issue with men wearing tights?

Please stop with the equating “anorexic” with very thin. Or making comparisons with anorexia and morbid obesity. They are not at all synonymous.

Anorexia is a mental illness. Morbid obesity might have causes that are linked to poor mental health. But it is not of itself a mental illness.

People with anorexia will often be very thin. But not always. When my daughter was in recovery from severe life threatening anorexia she achieved a (lowish) healthy BMI. She still had anorexia.

And some people will be very underweight for reasons other than the significant mental health illness that is anorexia.

I cannot abide the phrase “looking anorexic”. It’s reductive and ignorant.

In terms of your AIBU OP - yes you are unreasonable to think that fat people should not have any representation in advertising and media. It is a dehumanizing and really very unpleasant stance to adopt.

I hope you keep the same energy when a size 10 bends over in a thong?

" I’m frankly amazed that there are such models left, given the popularity of wli!"

Some plus-sized models are faked - slim women wearing padding. Explains why quite a few of them have slim faces.

There are underweight people too, but they're no longer allowed in advertising.

I could understand for a dress, but for a pair of tights?

Well guess what.

Morbidly obese people still need clothes. Morbidly obese people also like to see what clothes and items look like on other obese people.

Pretty sad of you to create a rage bait thread. Grow up.

That's their target market though. Photos using super skinny models were aimed standard size people.

It doesn't matter. If a brand aims at super-skinny people, they're still not allowed to use underweight models.

A good friend of mine is one of their models. She's a beautiful, wonderful, talented woman and the difference this has made to her self confidence and self belief has been so wonderful to see.

Fat people aren't blind. We see how we look. We know what's unhealthy. It's still lovely to be able to see other people out there showing what clothes will look like on our bodies, which we exist in and need clothing for.

Dresses are easier to get - as long as the waist (or the bust) matches, 99 times out of 100, you know it's going to fit, The 1% is in respect of bodycon and heavily structured styles usually characterised by back zips - which makes a general photo showing the back or side necessary, but the presence of said zip is a binary question that can be solved with a photo of any model, even an AI one as long as it shows there is a zip.

Tights are worn next to the body over areas that are even more variable in women. There is no well, I fit into that size dress with loads of space in the chest area, but are they talking about a general dress size, is it thinking of somebody with a large bust but more or less flat abdomen and do I count as 5'3" - 5'8" or do I count as 5'6" - 5'9" or is it a really firm band which puts me into the 5'8" - 6'0" or is that only because of the leg length rather than the waist or is the leg knit really tight on these so I'd need to give up and look for another brand or go for an XXL which has completely different measurements altogether than put my height as weighing four stone more but is that 4 stone of breasts rather than 4 stone divided between abdomen and swollen legs....