Despite companies’ movements toward diversity and equity, clothing continues to persist as a majorly negative factor in how girls feel about their appearance.
Some popular teen brands, such as Brandy Melville, opt out of regular sizing, instead choosing to make their clothing “one size fits all.” Whether their intention or not, their clothing tends to be one size fits few, inevitably creating cliques for girls of a certain size.
Up to 61 percent of adolescents have reported body dissatisfaction, and this number is on the rise.
Shopping, while widely considered a fun activity, can be a miserable experience for some. Not being able to find clothes that properly fit, many are restricted to just a few stores that do not cater to popular or trendy clothing. For those struggling, trying on clothes is just another cruel reminder of societal standards.
“If a girl already has body image issues then shopping and trying on clothes can exacerbate that and maybe amplify their insecurities. Size inclusivity is important in this case, but I think size itself is not necessarily the cause of insecurity, it is the lack of certain sizes,” senior Rupika Jai Ganesh expressed.
In the 21st century, teens are exposed to the real world in a way that other generations haven’t been. Social media, trends and online harassment have proven to negatively affect mental illness, and in turn, body image.
Lack of inclusivity pushes the message on young girls that only one body type is beautiful. Instead of embracing their body, many turn to extreme dieting and exercise which promotes mental illness and raises health concerns.
Junior Tanvi Rishi Devulapally has noticed these concerns within American society. “With the severe underrepresentation of realistic bodies, social media most definitely worsens the mental health of teens who unavoidably scroll the internet and maybe shop or see models that are all extremely skinny and possibly photoshopped.”
Further, the scarcity of diverse body sizes discourages everyone from participating in different trends. When viewers only see trendy outfits on certain people, it can cause a false narrative that those outfits don’t look good on other body types.
“While I believe clothing sizes themselves are not necessarily culpable for promoting insecurity in young teenage girls, there are definitely certain clothing trends that can be geared towards only a certain body type. The exclusion of certain body types in this case can definitely be detrimental to girls’ self-esteem and confidence,” Jai Ganesh explained.
Clothing companies have a part in this as well. Most big brands fail to put an effort into making clothing that looks good on all sizes. Rather then spending extra time on inclusive sizes, they often just make regular sizes bigger. Often times, these clothes do not fit and flatter people the way smaller sizes do.
Businesses and brands need to come up with better solutions to properly include a diverse group of consumers. Being inclusive is not necessarily making big sizes, but ensuring that those big sizes are treated with the same respect as other sizes.
