In a recent Reddit post, a user shared her story of accidentally fat-shaming her niece and the following repercussions. Here’s the whole story.
She Worked for a Designer Clothing Brand
Working for a designer clothing brand, Emily was fortunate to have access to sample-size items for free.
As a size XXS, she often took advantage of this perk, allowing her to wear expensive clothes she couldn’t afford otherwise.
However, an unintentional incident occurred when her niece May, who is on her husband’s side, expressed her admiration for the brand and requested a dress from her company for her 16th birthday.
However, May’s request for a dress for her birthday presented a challenge. The sample size items Emily had access to were primarily XXS/XS, with a few items in size S.
… And Had Access To Small Sample Sizes
Given the brand’s nature and the sample sizes’ popularity among her colleagues, it was challenging to find a dress in May’s specific size.
Emily communicated this limitation to her while offering to find an alternative gift or explore other options. However, the niece wanted a dress from her store.
Despite her efforts to accommodate May’s request, Emily could not find a dress in her size.
Instead, she purchased a designer dress from a more affordable brand that she knew May would appreciate.
She Was Accused of Fat-Shaming
May thanked her for the gift, but she could tell May was disappointed. Later, May found the label inside, which said plus size.
Seeing this, Emily’s SIL yelled at her for fat-shaming a young girl and said she should be ashamed of herself.
While Emily did not perceive May’s size as an issue, her SIL’s reactions made her question her actions and reflected on their impact on May’s feelings.
Emily realized that her approach may have been insensitive and deeply regretted unintentionally hurting her.
She Failed to Fully Understand the Emotional Impact
She decided to have an open conversation with May to mend the situation. She explained the limitations of the clothing samples and the challenges she faced in finding a dress in her specific size.
However, Emily recognized that her explanation may have come across as dismissive or uncaring.
Emily shared that maybe she failed to fully understand the emotional impact it had on May and neglected to prioritize her feelings during their conversation.
She took to Reddit to ask whether she was in the wrong in the whole situation, and hundreds of comments came in support of Emily.
“It Is Not “Fat Shaming” to Purchase an Article of Clothing in the Size a Person Wears”
One Reddit user wrote, “NTA If there’s one thing I can’t stand, people mislabel things. It is not “fat shaming” to purchase an article of clothing in the size a person wears. Whether she likes it or not, that’s the size she wears.”
Another Redditor commented, “NTA. I don’t think you fat-shamed her based on your post. You didn’t say “If only you were thinner,” or act like that, and you didn’t make a judgment about her weight. People come in different shapes and sizes. There’s nothing wrong with that. Your company’s clothes don’t fit her. End of story.”
She Got Revenge on Karen Customer Who Made Her Work Life Hell
The post Birthday Girl’s Heartstrings Frayed: An Unintended Gesture Sparks Accusations of Fat-Shaminge first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Samborskyi. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit