Fashion Industry Throwing Shade On She-Hulk Is Every Plus-Size Woman’s Story Ever
Every time I decide to go on a shopping spree and get some nice clothes, I end up returning with some massive regrets and doubts. I mean, as a plus size person, shopping isn’t just about having fun and catching new trends, you also have to deal with the mean staff, the awful looks and the disappointing lack of choices in your size. The recent episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law dropped today and it literally depicted the experiences of every plus-size person through She-Hulk’s experience.
Despite being a show about a superhero, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law has proven to be one of the most relatable shows created by MCU. I’d like to think the credit for that goes to the women writing and directing the series. Every episode brings out unexpected issues and dialogues for us to relish and relate to. This is perhaps one of the reasons why I’m so addicted to this show, I literally wait eagerly for every episode.
What Happens When She-Hulk Decides To ‘Suit Up!’
So, as per usual, to help her best friend Nikki decided to find someone who can make her the clothes that her superhero body desperately needs. She succeeded in contacting one of the most exclusive and well-known fashion designers for people with superhero abilities and bodies and managed to get She-Hulk an appointment.
Since Amelia was already pushing her to dress better to show that she has a sense of self-respect, she reluctantly agreed. Now, because of these situations, we’re seeing the impact that She-Hulk is having on her sense of worth and her self-esteem and I genuinely understand this because not being able to feel great about your body, self-worth and even your fashion choices is an awful place to be at.
Alas, it didn’t just stop there, this episode took a deep dive into fashion shaming. Titania literally called She-Hulk a big fashion flop as she yelled, “Nice suit, Shrek!”. Insults like these have hit all of us in life as plus-sized women and they can be heart-breaking as well as awfully painful and traumatic, huh?
What Happened At The Fashion Boutique?
After facing these insults, She-Hulk went in for her “strict 15-minute” appointment with Luke, the mean and exclusive designer who is supposedly super talented in terms of superhero fashion. The moment she walks in he looks at her and goes, “Oh my God, is the hag convention in town?” This literally proves how bitchy the guy is and well, we’ve seen such bitchy salespeople and designers as plus size people, haven’t we? This reminds me of an incident where a salesperson asked me if I just liked rebelling and being massively out-of-fashion. I mean, I had no idea how to react and before I could say anything else, she giggled and walked off. It was as if I froze and I’m sure that’s what She-Hulk went through at the moment too.
Furthermore, he gave her body type a look, heard her requirements, and basically rejected her because he doesn’t make ‘basic shit’. I mean, fashion isn’t a one-glove-fits-all game, aren’t we allowed to ask for what we wish to wear? It seems like comfort has turned into sin when it comes to fashionable clothing. His rude, authoritative, mean and controlling attitude literally reminded me of Edna ‘E’ Mode, there’s no other way to really put it.
Nikki literally had to sweeten the pot for Luke by asking him to make a suit that would adapt to both Jen and She-Hulk’s bodies. This seemed to catch his attention but instead of being nice and welcoming about it, he called out to his assistant and mentioned the fact that they should “Order extra bolts of the stretch wool” because they’re going to need a huge lot of fabric. I mean, the way he mentioned the last comment was not even funny, it seemed like he was directly body shaming She-Hulk and that’s incredibly insensitive to the things that she and her body are going through. As a plus-size woman, I have gone through similar situations where tailors and designers have reacted in the most awful and derogatory ways when it comes to my body type. Some of them have even right away refused to do so and I know for a fact that I’m not the only one.
A lot of tailors choose to shame plus-size women and men daily by pointing out how their size is excessive and by telling them how the recent trends are not going to suit them. They literally discourage the people who come to them for aid. How is that even fair?
Also Read: ‘She-Hulk’ Showed The Real, Messy Face Of Online Dating For Women. It’s Kaafi Relatable!
A similar experience was shared by She-Hulk in this episode and all I can tell her now is the fact that she’s gorgeous and she deserves to wear whatever she wishes to wear. I mean, I wish I could see her dazzle in the final suits but they didn’t really show them. I am so excited to see her in her new suits in the episode. She deserves to feel good about herself in both her bodies and so do we. Get ready to suit up, girls!
Image Source: Disney+ Hotstar
