Brylane’s new plus size living
I have mixed feelings about things besides clothing being directed at the plus sized, because it leads to all sorts of incorrect assumptions. For instance, sleep apnea: yes, there are plenty of obese people who have it. Correlation is NOT causation. The obese people who have it and lose weight still have sleep apnea.
On the other hand, one of my serious shopping concerns for an apartment this year really did involve finding a step stool that could handle a higher-than-average weight limit. In the case, weight and a collapsing stool is causation, so I have to deal with that.
So RedCat’s latest series of products directed at the plus sized is met with mixed emotions. Some of these products help people of all sizes. Some of them, like the apnea pillow posted, promote an incorrect assumption – like the time an allergist looked at my weight and informed me I must have acid reflux based on my weight even though I’ve never had it in my life. (He’s one of those that assumes fat = constantly stuffing your face. Very not true in my case.) At the same time, things like a sturdier sofa bed can definitely come in handy in some situations.
Oddly enough, I like a lot of things that Brylane offers. They have some darn clever things for organization. If assumptions about weight didn’t carry a societal stigma, would these things be viewed any differently than left-handed items?
I have my doubts about a pillow for sleep apnea. Maybe if it’s mild. Both my husband and I suffer from it. I am one of those people who’s apnea is weight related because when it I lose weight it disappears as does the snoring. My husband on the other hand is a slim 170 and his apnea is from his internal throat structure. We both have machines. Isn’t that sexy? :D
Of course there are assumptions about people of size, which came more into focus for me while taking an honors class on health in illness in the US. It looked at our society’s beliefs about certain illnesses and how “sick people act”. Obese people are still treated as suffering from the “sin” of gluttony, so the full brunt of societal disapproval comes down on them as well, including their treatment by health professionals. As a nurse with over twenty years of experience and myself a very large woman, I have no intention of making assumptions about a person’s health based on their size.