Is the World Unfair to Plus-Size Women?

When Oprah Winfrey was turned away from a $38,000 handbag in Zurich, Guardian writer Heidi Moore argued the clerk judged her not just for her color but also for her size. It may seem like connecting two totally different things — size and race — but she may not have been totally out of line.

What size is welcome in the store?

Finding a stylish shirt or skirt is a mammoth task if a woman wears over size 10. Designer stores are a no-go, but even many ordinary stores don't carry fashionable clothes for plus-size women. Walk into a Banana Republic and try finding something that looks good over size 6 — next to impossible.

In 2013, the athletic brand Lululemon confirmed what many suspected: its pants topped out at size 12, and its founder Chip Wilson told Bloomberg TV that "some women's bodies just actually don't work" in them — a remark that sparked a revolt. Many women said that even if they could fit into Lululemon's pants, they would shop elsewhere, because they stood against discrimination.

Does the bias stop at the fitting room?

It doesn't. Studies have long found that overweight women earn less than their thin peers — and get less respect at work even when they are equally capable. A heavier woman can walk into a store feeling confident, do the same job as her slimmer colleague, and still be treated as less.

Yes, it is in every woman's interest to be fit. But a heavier woman should not be ridiculed. She should be able to enjoy the same benefits and pleasures of life — to walk into a store with confidence, to work in a place where fitness is everyone's goal but the atmosphere is never hostile toward her.

And one more thing people get wrong: thinness is not fitness. So many people think a thin person doesn't need exercise — absolutely false. Thin or fat, young or old, everyone needs exercise.