SIMIN WANG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
THE BIG SQUEEZE
in Seattle, Wash., launched a petition on Change.org to pressure
Lululemon to offer plus-size options. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if
Lululemon took an active stand in
showing women of all sizes being
athletic?” the petition asked, calling for the company’s support for
“fitness at any size.”
Storm asserts that Lululemon is
implicitly fetishizing skinniness as
healthy, telling society that leanness represents strength. By focusing attention on one body type
as the epitome of health and fitness, Lululemon shuns those who
don’t fit into that mold, she said.
“They’re basically saying, ‘To be
healthy, to do yoga, to be a part of
this manifesto, you have to look
HUFFINGTON
08.18.13
like this,’” Storm said.
Lululemon has sent mixed messages about its acceptance of
other body types — fit or not. In
a 2010 post entitled “Love Your
Body,” a Lululemon blogger posted
an inspirational tale on her company’s official community blog,
encouraging readers to feel good
about how they look. Alongside
her words were many photos of
skinny Lululemon ambassadors.
“There’s no size restriction on
beauty and confidence,” she wrote.
Readers were quick to note
the inconsistency.
“So what you’re saying is ‘Love
your body... but not unless you’re
skinny enough to fit into our
clothes,” one commenter replied.
“How hypocritical. Your stores
do not follow the philosophy you
claim to follow,” wrote another.
“Those
companies
that are
in trouble
are trying
to target
everybody:
young, old,
fat, skinny.
But then
you become
totally vanilla,”
Abercrombie
& Fitch CEO
Mike Jeffries
told Salon in
2006.