One of the things that stood out to me is the lack of accommodations available to the bigger folks.
I'm not extremely over weight. At this writing, I am finally speaking from an 8/10 size range. But not without a ton of diet an exercise. I still have a few extra lbs on me that I'm working on, but I'm no longer in the "obese" category. (I hate that term.) However, when I was pregnant with my daughter - I was GIGANTIC. Seriously, GIGANTIC. I'm 5'3". When I was pregnant with my daughter, I stopped getting on the scale at 253. Yeah, really. That's big for someone my size. I also completely blew out when I was sick because I was so loaded up with steroids. These things are both very clear in my mind because they put me in a situation where I can relate.
Maybe these issues were medically related - but I have a point.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was itchy. Very itchy. All I wanted to do was take a nice hot oatmeal bath to stop itching. I prepared the tub with the wonderful bath set my husband got for me to make our bath tub like a jacuzzi, I got all my things together and I was ready to go. I took off my towel & went to settle in the tub and then....
I.DID.NOT.FIT.IN.THE.BATH.TUB!
Really! My ass was so huge that I.DID.NOT.FIT.IN.THE.BATH.TUB!
Then, I reached for the towel and tried to wrap it around me. The towel no longer wrapped around me. I waddled out of the bathroom crying.
I did not fit in the bath tub.
I'll never forget that.
I'll never forget that.
When we were on the cruise, we went to see the premier of the Lone Ranger. I was very excited and climbed into the very comfy theater chairs. Very comfy FOR ME. A few rows up, a bigger lady came in and went to settle into her chair. I watched her slowly lower herself into her chair and my mind re-wound to my bath tub experience. My heart ached for her. It ached even more when she went to get up and the arm of the chair broke off and she was stuck. I can't imagine the horror she must have felt. I was in my house for my incident - there were no outside parties seeing my plight. I also saw another couple in the next aisle suffer the same fate, lowering themselves into the chairs. She wasn't the "Lone Ranger" in her situation.
Why aren't there accommodations for the larger folks? Especially on a Disney ship? D.I.S.N.E.Y.
Before anyone starts on the whole it's their fault, they should control their eating, control their diet and my all time favorite "put down the bag of chips" Shut it! Not everyone is blessed with the skinny gene. Not everyone is big because they can't put down the chips and not everyone is trying to be big. No one is TRYING to be big. I never tried to be big. I got pregnant & had medical issues that caused me to retain over 100 lbs of water. Water & fat weight that did not easily go away after I gave birth to a 9 lb child. I held onto an extra 25 lbs after I gave birth and was never able to lose to get back to "my fighting weight". When I got sick and went into the hospital, I was loaded up with steroids. I gained 20 lbs in 6 days. (on top of the 25 lbs I never lost) I could NOT put on the pair of pants I came into the hospital wearing. My weight continued to rise while on my steroid regimen and in total, I was oh so close to my pregnancy weight.
I knew I was big. I hated it. I couldn't get rid of it. Often, while around some of my very skinny beautiful friends, they would make fun of the "fat mommies" & put out the "put down the bag of potato chips" statements. (sorry, ladies - I love you, but I'm calling you out) I'd address it - saying I was one of them, and I was killing myself trying to lose the weight. The whole, "no, no - I don't mean you" thing never really flew. I know my friends love me & would never hurt my feelings intentionally, but deep down - it hurt me. I knew I had a skinny chick in there fighting to get out, but she was trapped and it wasn't inside a bag of potato chips.
YOU JUST DON'T KNOW what someones struggle is.
So Disney, I want to know.... Why are there no accommodations for the bigger folks?? You're DISNEY for God's sake! You set the standard for so many things... I get that Disney wants to make everyone feel the same, but some people need appropriate accommodations to feel comfortable.
A little something for the bigger folks... PLEASE!
Thank you for reading my blog!
~Jenn
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ReplyDeleteI think you're going to be surprised at what I'm about to say. ;) First of all, let me say that I adore you for putting this out there, and ESPECIALLY for pointing out that it isn't something we are trying to do, or enjoying, and that it's not always a simple matter of putting down the fork. It really would be nice, in an ideal world, if things were accessible/"friendly" for bigger people - movie theater seats being chief among them. We talk about an obesity epidemic, that the whole country is getting fatter, and yet seats everywhere are geared for the average size.
ReplyDeleteHowever. Speaking ONLY for myself...I'm not sure I feel like I can rightfully expect companies to cater to my size needs. Where does it end? Bigger tubs, bigger seats, bigger towels and robes, tshirts in the gift shop that go beyond a "one size fits all", wider aisles, booths with tables that move instead of being bolted down...and maybe it's because of how much guilt/shame/self-loathing I carry around, but a big part of me says that it's MY responsibility to fit in *their* spaces, not their responsibility to make the spaces fit me. I don't know.
I agree with corn-fed, except I believe Jenn is simply asking for some accommodations for big people, not to gear all things for large people. I am a bit overweight, but my issue is a bad hip. I can not sit still in a cramped position for long periods of time. I would gladly pay a little extra for more leg room (and I'm not tall) on airplanes and movie theaters.
ReplyDelete