It's just a number. Sure it is. :)

Today I went clothes shopping. Now, in fairness, I must admit that I'm a plus-sized woman. (In fact, see that picture of the Venus of Willendorf on my blog? She and I look a lot alike, except that I don't have her fancy hairdo and I have a face. :-P.) And I'm okay with that---while, yes, I'd like to be thinner, I'm also realistic about my size and, for the most part, I'm comfortable with it. I won't say that "getting comfortable" was easy, but I'm fine where I'm at now. And I'm healthy---my blood pressure is low, I get regular exercise and I'm not showing any signs of a pre-diabetic condition.

So, I go shopping and I notice that all the pants sizes have changed, drastically. I normally wear a US women's size 18 or 20, depending on who's making the clothes (don't get me started on why they don't size them by inseam and waist, like mens' pants are.) When I was looking, they were all sizes 1, 2, or 3, and color coded for "fit." (Which I presume means "curvy," "really curvy," and "CALL OMAR THE TENT MAKER NOW" :-P) Apparently, the smaller number size is supposed to make me, the consumer, feel better about buying, because my "size" is now smaller.

Um, no. First of all...look, I wear an 18 or 20. I know what a size 2 looks like, and I've never been that (well, unless you count third grade. Maybe. :-P) And I don't like being patronized---there is nothing worse than the feeling of having some nameless Madison Avenue exec. metaphorically patting me on the head and saying "There, there, fat chick, we'll make the numbers smaller and you'll feel better."

The thing is, I don't. It took me a long time to get to the point where I was okay with who I am and what I look like, and if I can walk into a store, and hold my head high while I pick out the clothes that look good on me and my body style, I figure the least Madison Avenue can do is back off and let me do it. Shameless marketing ploys need not apply. :)