Phat Chance

Anyone that knows me, knows I'm 5'2". I cannot weigh very much, because there is no place for it to go--I'd be a total fat-ass! I realize taller people are going to weigh more and should wear a larger size than me. I'm not prejudiced against people that are bigger than me (I am NOT anti-fat, just anti-being in denile about wearing your correct size, whatever it is). I have worn a size 5 since my sophomore year of high school. Though my measurements have actually increased by an inch, I now wear a size 2. I just get disgruntled when size 10s refuse to buy a size 10, and instead wear a size 5. No one but you knows or cares what size you are! If size 5 is ACTUALLY a 10, what are people who wore old size 5 supposed to wear? Is this why childrens clothes look age-inapropriate these days?! Negative sizes--don't even get me started! Just another way that our patriarchial society tries to make women disappear and appropriate the power of females.

Just today I tried on a slutty sailor costume that was a "small" and it was jumbo-tron. Ok, ladies--you are not wearing a size smaller, the sizes are just getting larger to appeal to your vanity. Yes, it's true America has moved toward an unhealthy obsession with weight, and Hollywood stars and models are much too thin. Don't get me wrong, I don't support this culture of eating disorders. BUT lots of people say--oh I am ideal because I wear the same size as Marilyn Monroe who wore a size 14-16.

The standards for women's dress sizes have not remained constant over the years; they have changed as the size and shape of the average woman has changed. (Clothing manufacturers assume most women don't want to wear clothing of a size identified as "Large," for example, so they adjust their sizing so that the average-sized woman takes a "Medium." If the size of the average woman has increased over the years, then the very same size that was a "Large" fifty years ago might be a "Medium" today. This is what has happened to women's dress sizes since the 1940s: a woman who weighs more now than she did twenty years ago might actually be wearing a smaller dress size today (like me).

What was a size 12 in the 1940's is now a size 8, because women on average have gotten larger (super-size me--anyone?!), and because women feel more comfortable buying dresses in smaller sizes. Marilyn Monroe, often considered the standard, "all American" icon wore a size 16 during much of her heyday. She almost certainly did not wear dresses equivalent to today's size 16 and the white dress she wore in "The 7 year Itch" is a size eight by today's standards.

Marilyn Monroe's measurements: Height: 5 feet, 5½ inches, Weight: 118-140 pounds, Bust: 35-37 inches, Waist: 22-23 inches, Hips: 35-36 inches, Bra size: 36D.

Marilyn Monroe: 38-23-36

Jennifer Aniston: 34-23-35.5

Heidi Klum: 35-24-35