Gap Drops XXL Size for Men - and Other Slaps to the Face

July 24, 2008 · 9 comments

According to the Big Fat Blog The Gap has decided to no longer carry XXL sizes for men. As I don't shop at the Gap this decision does no impact me (I still need to buy XXXL at speciality stores) but I find it fascinating that it can make this decision in light of the fact that people are getting bigger in general, at least if the news is to be believed. Presumably their sales have shown that guys who need to wear XXL clothing don't shop at the Gap.

But really, this kind of news would not generally cause me to make a post - I wanted to just make a simple comment on BFB but I couldn't because of the constraints Paul makes on his readership (which is certainly his right). I subscribe to the blog because I like the writing and the topic. But when I decided I wanted to comment on this post I found I needed to register, and when trying to do so was presented with the following rules:

Please don't register if:

You are on a diet;

You are interested in losing weight now (or possibly in the future, maybe - like you're actively planning on it);

You are having, or are interested in having, weight loss surgery of any kind;

You believe fat is a disease which must be cured;

You want to post one comment and vanish forever;

You like posting about your caloric intake, what you ate today, etc.;

You run a diet blog;

You think this is a dating site or want to pick up some "hot fat chicks";

You think this site has anything to do with Old Navy and/or Mo'Nique.

Despite my wanting to lose weight I have absolutely no problem with someone who follows fat acceptance. But apparently the reverse can't be said. Talk about unwelcoming.

I am sure the genesis to taking this hard-line stand is the vitriol that those practicing fat acceptance receive, and I can appreciate that. And obviously this post isn't going to get me welcomed into the community, even though I will still be lurking about reading occasionally.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest.

Felt like I got slapped in the face.

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{ 9 comments }

TB--Milwaukee July 24, 2008 at 7:45 pm: Glad you don't have so many guidelines
Johnny July 24, 2008 at 8:22 pm: Yeah, Amen to what TB said. And screw The Gap…overpriced crap.
Eden July 24, 2008 at 8:24 pm: Weird. I subscribed to that other blog after following your link, but maybe it's not going to be what I thought it was.

Anyway, no more XXL at The Gap? Now I really need to lose some weight!
Alex Costa - minimizeme.tv July 24, 2008 at 9:23 pm: I understand his point of view, years ago I was thinking like that, blame the society that don't accept overweight people and being passive aggressive.
But after having problems with my right knee I had to accept that I was too heavy and I didn't have anyone to blame besides myself.
In certain way I see this fat acceptance movement as a death acceptance because it's not going to take you any longer far from 6 feet under.
To finish and let everybody know I have 373lbs and I accept that I'm fat but I just decide to live and that's why I'm changing my habits.
rachel b. July 24, 2008 at 9:32 pm: Prejudice comes in all shapes, sizes, and brands.
mrs darling July 24, 2008 at 9:37 pm: Thats terrible. That just seems rude to have rules like that.
Lisa Newton July 25, 2008 at 1:59 am: I truly hate double standards. On the one hand, they want to be accepted, but on the other hand, they are unaccepting?

Doesn't make sense to me…………………………:)

Personally, I don't shop at the Gap too often, so I'm not familiar with their sizing ranges.
Israel July 26, 2008 at 3:52 pm: John, I feel the same way you do about bfb and their retarded limits. A year ago I discovered the site and wanted to join and be an active member. I wasn't going to preach weight loss or anything, just wanted to comment on their posts. They have good stuff there. But the restraints were unwelcoming and downright ridiculous.

To be honest, I can't stand fat acceptance people. There, I said it. Why? Because of their ridiculous view points. If you want to go ahead and kill yourself go ahead, but don't act like the world is out to get you. Being obese is dangerous for your health, period. No matter what fat acceptance folks try to make you think. They decide to discount scientific research, years of it, when a small controlled study comes around making it seem like being obese is not directly going to effect your health.

It's not about being fat, its about being healthy. There are some NFL lineman, and sumo wrestlers that are healthier then some thin people. But fat acceptance folks want to hold on to anything to make their points. I can't stand when they try to pin everything that happens in the world on society not liking fat people. If you are so comfortable with yourself, who cares what others think. Right?

The other day, John from totaltransformation write about some fat acceptance people attacking Wall-E. C'mon, folks…ugh.

There, that's been brewing up inside for a looong time.
Israel July 26, 2008 at 3:55 pm: I got so caught up in that above, that I forgot to mention the Gap. lol.

I used to shop at the Gap for XXL, but found that there double XXL wasn't the same as a XXL from some other places. They had low cut shirts which weren't too comfortable. I rarely shopped there anyway tho. I like an occasional shirt.

If Gap made a decision, backed by research (which sounds accurate since fat peeps probably don't stroll into Gap to buy anyway) then so be it. It's a business move that will allow them to save money on producing XXL sizes and put that money into something else to further their business.