I saw this costume today:
It’s advertised as “Men’s Inflatable Ballerina Adult Costume”
The description reads: “Twirl about in the silly Men’s Inflatable Ballerina Adult Costume. The adult costume is perfect for Halloween trick or treating or fall parties.”
Let’s start with the name of the costume. It pisses me off A LOT that they don’t even have the decency to be honest about what they are doing. Ballerinas wear clothes that fit them, not inflatable suits that make it difficult to move. This is a fat suit with a half-assed ballerina theme.
Now looking to the description, what exactly do they think makes the costume “silly?” Bodies come in lots of sizes for lots of reasons and none of those bodies are “silly.” There are amazing fat ballerinas and there is nothing “silly” about them. Not to mention “perfect for …fall parties” What the hell kind of parties are these people attending? It’s just shitty fatphobia.
It’s enough of a problem when people wear fat suits to see what it’s like to be fat instead of, you know, listening to and believing fat people about their experiences. But this isn’t that. This is literally putting on someone else’s body – a body that, as it exists in the world, is subject to a tremendous amount of shame, stigma, bullying, and oppression. Costumes like this add to that shame, stigma, bullying, and oppression by perpetuating the idea that there is something about being fat that should be laughed at. Then, having used their body as a tool for fatphobia, the wearer removes the costume and returns to their life of thin privilege.
This is bullshit. Don’t do it. Let’s dismantle fatphobia, not dress ourselves in it.
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If you are uncomfortable with my selling things on this site, you are invited to check out this post.
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