Whoopi Goldberg on Letterman. Should a size 16 be thrown to the

[babylonsister]

curb? Or 18, or whatever. Is a size 6 better?
Should a tiny or minus size be as stigmatized?

[reyd reid reed]

1. I've worn a size 16 before.

I've also worn a 3. Different points in my life, neither one better or worse than the other. Every woman is what she is and her dress size shouldn't make any difference at all.

Just my opinion.

:hi:

[babylonsister]

2. Wow, I'm impressed, and thanks. I think I was a size

14 at least when I hit puberty! Actually, I remember going to Weight Watchers. I also lost weight from my outrageous lifestyle, got married and old, and gained it back. Shit happens!

Edit to add: I have NEVER been a size 3, even when I was a wee girl!

[reyd reid reed]

4. Three times.

When I was thirteen or so...then again when I was about twenty. Then I had my first baby...lost the weight and wore a 3 again.

But that was the last time and it didn't last. Since then, I think the smallest I've worn has been a ten...and I looked terrible. I average between 12 and 14, with occasion nudges to either side.

And I'm content this way. Much better than worrying constantly about what I'm putting in my mouth.

[babylonsister]

3. Wow. Nothing coming from the lounge?

[Floogeldy]

5. This is a thread about dress sizes.

I know nothing. O8)

[babylonsister]

6. So tell us about A/C's!

:smoke:

[reyd reid reed]

16. He's got the A/C on there because he's just...

cool that way.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. Sizes are so random anyway.

I don't go by size. I go by how I look and feel. I'm naturally pretty thin and I know I'm lucky that way. The jeans I'm currently wearing right now are a size 9. They fit me the SAME WAY as my Abercrombie 0s and Gap 2s. I realize that I'm just wearing jeans from a company with bizarre freak sizing (imagine their 0!!!) but I can picture some girl freaking out that suddenly she's wearing a size 9 and not realizing it's just the jeans.

[reyd reid reed]

8. My mom warned me about that when I was very young...

Maybe still a tweener. The more expensive the clothes, the smaller the size you'll need. Applies to both dress size and shoe size. When I spend more than $50 for a pair of shoes, I wear a 7 or 7 1/2. Under $50 and I wear an 8. Tar-jhay, I wear an 8 1/2 sometimes.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. Unless they're Lucky jeans.

Lucky jeans are pricy (mine on clearance were like $85) and they run small. However, their shirts are pretty much on par with the rest of the shirts I wear.

[babylonsister]

10. Holy poop! My foot measures an

8-1/2 wide, but I've been known to buy a 10. For the width. But it sucks when the shoes turn up like a genie's shoes, and they can/do.
Flip flops rule!

[Dangerously Amused]

47. "The more expensive the clothes, the smaller the size you need."

Yes. It is all a cruel marketing scheme, based on the ability to manipulate an institutionally implanted vulnerability in women, and corporate greed.

The sellers KNOW that a woman who is insecure about her weight - okay, most women given today's ridiculous "beauty" standards - will spend major bucks on SOMEthing... ANYthing... in a size 4 (or whatever) just because she can go home with the thrill of "knowing" that she fits into a size 4. After all the tag SAYS she's a size 4, so she must be. Oh, happy day!! Goodbye to shame from not losing those last twenty pounds she's been struggling with! Goodbye mourning for her youthful metabolism! Goodbye to guilt for "cheating" on her diet and exercise routine! She is a size 4 again, and all is well with the world.


Never mind the fact that she just paid four times the amount she would be willing to pay if the tag was properly marked as a size 7/8.


:eyes:

[NMMNG]

11. To heck with size discrimination

How many lives have been screwed up by eating disorders because of that crap?

[reyd reid reed]

13. Far, far too many

I flirted with anorexia once and it scared me. I dropped about 30 pounds in only a few months...but I ate virtually nothing but Diet Coke and bubble gum and, although I didn't see it at the time, it was a power struggle between me and my body. When my body told me it wanted nourishment, I had the power and the choice to deny it. I felt victorious. Through the whole thing (lasted close to a year, probably) I always saw myself as overweight. What finally got me over it was a cold. I caught a cold and, because I'd been fighting my body, my body couldn't fight the virus and it made me sicker than I've ever been in my life. A simple cold.

I started to eat again.

[Richard Steele]

12. My sweetie is as far beyond a size 16....

...as I am beyond judging people on appearances.

And everyone who ever 'passed her by' is a damned fool
who deserves to spend their miserable little life
being jealous of ME.

[reyd reid reed]

14. Hooray!!!

You are...

just...

:hug:

[Missy Vixen]

21. You are the man

>And everyone who ever 'passed her by' is a damned fool
who deserves to spend their miserable little life
being jealous of ME.<

I know she worships the ground you walk on.

I hope you'll be blissfully happy for the rest of your lives!

Julie

[Richard Steele]

42. Bwahaha!

I'll show her your "worships the ground you walk on" comment
the next time she needs to :rofl:


Our relationship probably falls more under the heading of
"It _MUST_ be True Love; why else would she put up
with that idiot for seven years now?"

[Beausoir]

26. You are terrific! My husband is the same way. He adores me and I him.

In his profession, he is surrounded by successful men with bleached, bony trophy-wives and all these men seem so unhappy. They cheat on their wives with their neighbor's wife, they tell lies, they covet everything. It's pathetic. But..at least that they have trophy on their arm.

I'll take my body and my life any day over that foolishness.

[NewWaveChick1981]

15. Hell no. Size is a number and nothing more.

I've been bigger and smaller than I am now. I wear either an 8 or a 10 depending on the garment, but I know what it's like to wear larger sizes. I'll never, ever be thin, but that's just fine with me. Passing judgment on someone because of their size is discriminatory and hurtful. I won't do it.

[reyd reid reed]

17. Me too.

I've been all over the board and I refuse to judge someone on their size. That's just stupid and shortsighted and...

Now, I'm ashamed to admit I'm judgemental when it comes to some things, but size?

I won't.

[NewWaveChick1981]

18. Good for you.

:hug: That's exactly the way it should be!

[LisaLynne]

19. Sizes, as we think of them today, are a product of ...

clothes being mass produced, I've heard. When people made their own clothes or had them made, you just got measured and the clothes were made to fit your body, not some pre-determined, arbitrary set of measurements. We're all different shapes and sizes and most of us have been all different shapes and sizes. It's not as permanent as people tend to think. And diversity really is a cool thing. :)

[reyd reid reed]

20. True

And before clothing was mass produced and sold by the truckload off of racks in department stores there wasn't the need for media blitzes featuring bony, anorexic, walking clothes-hangars.

Being voluptuous was a virtue. Even the word...it's a lovely word. Voluptuous. It feels good to say. It feels sexy. I read a poem a few months ago...I wish it was published somewhere so that I could post it...that used watermelon as a metaphor for woman. God, that poem was beautiful. It was inspiring.

It made me want to go out and gain 20 pounds.

Diversity is an incredible thing. How dull would this world be if we were all alike? If we all looked the same and dressed the same and thought the same and...

I mean, who would we argue with? Dull, dull, dull.

[Missy Vixen]

22. This is not the same poem

but celebrates women as they are, in all their glory.

Julie

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

[reyd reid reed]

24. Oh, I love that!!!

Thank you for posting it.

:hi:

[redqueen]

23. Whaaaaaaat?

What the hell kind of question is that? Grrrrr

How about base our appreciation of a person on their character first and foremost?

[reyd reid reed]

25. That's the way it should be, I think.

And I think that a lot of the people on these boards really do try. This place is the exception. Sadly though, we live in a society where we are judged on our appearance. If the way we look doesn't measure up, a lot of people won't spend enough time or energy on us to get to know what kind of character we have.

It's sad, I think.

[MsKandice01]

27. I used to be a size 30/32

Now I'm a size 12/14. I'm also 6'1 with naturally larger thighs so anything under a size 10/12 for me is actually much too skinny for me. It's all relative. You also have to take into account someone's height, body type, etc. I would NEVER fit into a size 6 and if I did, you could guarantee I'm extremely sick.

[NewWaveChick1981]

31. Wow! You did so well!

:hug: I know just what you mean about sizes. I'm 5'4.5" tall, and the way I'm built, most regular sizes don't fit well. I have to buy my long-sleeved shirts and pants in the petite section because my proportions are shorter. Also, I have short, muscular legs, and certain jeans just don't fit me well. I only know of one brand of jeans that has ever fit me great all over! Button-up shirts that are cut straight never fit me properly because of my bust (not big but not small either).

You're right---body types, height, and overall proportions have to be considered. :D

[reyd reid reed]

32. It is all relative.

Height and frame make a huge difference. I look at pictures of myself when I was a size three and...I didn't look good. I THOUGHT I did, but I didn't. If I get much smaller than I am now, people start to ask if I'm okay, have I been sick...

[Jamastiene]

28. I say they should start making women's clothes

like men's clothes. I have yet to find to exact same types of jeans (brand AND model number or whatever) that fit the same, even if they are the same size.

With men's jeans, you can measure your waist, measure your inseam, and buy some good pants that fit almost perfect every time.

Buying women's clothes is like a shot in the dark. You might get one thing that fits and you might not.

I still wonder where those silly sizes come from when it comes to women's clothes. Are women's clothes sized with numbers to make women feel overweight or something? How did they determine those numbers? Is there math involved? What's the formula? I am probably a size 14 or 16 by now, but next time I go get jeans, I'm going to the boys/men's department. I don't have thighs or hips or even a normal sized ass anyhow. I think mens'/boy's jeans look better on me.

Dresses? On me? Not happening.

[One_Life_To_Give]

34. But Mens dress shirts are all over the place

I can fit the Neck and the sleeve. But diffenrent shirt brands all fit differently around the middle. Some hang like tents while others can't be buttoned.

[Jamastiene]

37. I have the solution to that:

I wear Hanes t-shirts. I wear the same ones all the time. I just get new ones of the same style when the old ones wear out. Shirts are no problem for me, personally. The jeans; I dread shopping for them.

[babylonsister]

45. I'm in total agreement. I buy mens shorts all the time and love 'em!

And dresses aren't happening here either.

[Katina]

29. I'm not judging

because I am a 12/14 but in the real world, there will be times when I will hope & pray that an oversized person does not sit next to me. There, I said it. That's not judging, that's reality.
The worst flight I ever had was where I was litterally pinned into my window seat on a plane. The couple who pinned me in, brought their own seatbelt extenders and they didn't fit into their seats. They wanted me to lift the arm rest between the seats. As it was, They were already leaning halfway into my seat, causing me to have to sit twisted up against the window of the plane. It was horrible and I started having a claustrophobic anxiety attack. I ended up having to stand for the majority of the flight (5 hours) in the galley.
I understand fighting the weight battle. I've done it all my life, but when someone's weight impinges on my freedom of movement, I have a problem. I think the airlines have to either increase the seat sizes, or extremely overweight people should have to buy two seats.

[Missy Vixen]

36. Perhaps we could ride on the wing of the plane

>I think the airlines have to either increase the seat sizes, or extremely overweight people should have to buy two seats.<

It was such a nice thread, wasn't it?

I don't fly unless I can go in first class because I'm larger. Even there, I have had interesting issues with those who believe people like me shouldn't be allowed to fly.

You might also want to check the small print on those "two seats" you want others to buy. It clearly states that the airline reserves the right to reseat someone else in the additional seat I or someone else just paid through the nose for.

Julie

[Scout1071]

39. I've had similar problems on flights.

More than once. And no, I do not think it's fair that my seat is overtaken on a flight. It is very uncomfortable and I can see how you got claustrophobic with a person crowding and touching you that you don't know on a long flight. I'm not saying it is the heavy person's fault or the airline's, but something needs to be done. The seats are too small and we are too big.

[MorningGlow]

30. A 16 to the curb? Sure...

That'd be flinging two size 8 chicas, no? I'd be happy to do that!

Just kidding. I've been an 8 and up incrementally till I'm now a 16. I've lived through it all and although I kinda want my chin back, I'm not losing sleep over my size. I went through the maiden stage, where I needed my looks to attract menfolk. Now I'm in the mother stage, where my size cushions my wee one when he sits on my lap. And, at 40, I'm gliding toward crone, where I'll be able to eat whatever the phk I feel like and wear whatever the hell I want and NOT CARE, because I will have earned the right to do what I want. So there.

[buddhamama]

33. no size should thrown to the curb

shallowness on the other hand, should.

[azmouse]

35. I've almost always been a 'bigger' size... 16 or 18

and I have never had a problem finding clothes that fit until recently.

What is up with putting spandex in larger size clothes? I don't want my blouses to cling tightly. I just want them to skim my body, to show my curves without showing more than I want people to see.

I am attempting to lose a few pounds, more for my health than any other reason. If someone doesn't like my size it is definitely their problem.

[nini]

38. are you talking about men's shoe size or women's clothes?

:evilgrin:

[bertha katzenengel]

40. I didn't see the show. I don't get it.

AFAIC clothing sizes are just numbers to help us find something that MIGHT fit. :eyes:

[caty]

41. When I was growing

up, I remember the phrase--"size 10 is where the fun is". Now, we hear and read of actresses who where a size 1 or 2. They look so thin that they look malnourished. And, these are the women our teenage daughters are trying to look like.

[Skittles]

43. I am a size 6

I know women size 16 and beyond whose sense of style I ENVY

[dysfunctional press]

44. i used to be a 16, now i'm a size 17...

we are talking about men's shoes- right?

[Kat45]

46. I saw the show: her quote is being misconstrued here--it's sarcasm.

Whoopi was telling a story about going shopping for clothes--I don't remember if it was jeans or what. She was saying that she is a size 16 and it was tough to find her size. The salesgirl in the store is a skinny little size 2 and is not too helpful. I can't remember the whole thing exactly, but I think the girl might have looked at her funny when asking for the larger sizes, which I don't think they carried. Then after her story, she commented about larger-sized women not being accommodated by sarcastically/jokingly asking if a size 16 should be thrown to the curb.

I'd say her story and comment was in agreement with most DUers' comments here. It was basically using humor/sarcasm to make the point. Taken out of context here, it wasn't clear.