Is a UK size 14 an XL?

There’s a short answer to this; no.

I mean, I could leave the blog post at that. A UK size 14 is not an XL.

But I won’t leave it at that, because to be honest, there’s a lot more to say about this subject. There’s a lot to discuss and a lot of serious issues that come with branding a size 14 as an XL. Grab yourself a snack and get ready to dive in…

UK size 14 is categorically not an XL

I can’t believe this is even a debate really, but we live in troubled times. Boris Johnson is Prime Minister, the Amazon is burning, a walking wotsit has access to nuclear weapons and the world thinks that a size 14 is an XL. It might not seem like that big of an issue in the grand scheme of things, but in a world where body image related illnesses are rife and fat people are treated like lesser human beings, anything that could negatively impact people’s body image is a big issue.

As a general rule, clothing sizes for women are a bit of a joke anyway. We all know how much sizes can vary from shop to a shop, and which shops are notoriously bad at sizing. A size 8 in Topshop can find themselves squeezing into a size 12 in Primark. A size 12 in New Look can find shopping in H&M impossible. This is all before we’ve even begun to consider plus sized people who are trying to shop, too. What’s often perceived as a fun, social activity for women is actually a lot more hassle than it’s worth.

Now that ASOS have released the fact they consider a size 14 an XL, we need to look at how these companies are damaging the body image of their young, mostly female customers, and why they need to take more care with their sizing.

So let’s break the problems down shall we?

A UK size 14 is not an XL… and if it is, just how well are you catering to plus size people?

ASOS is a popular online shop for a wide variety of consumers, including plus size customers. Plus size starts from a a UK size 18, and goes up until… well, I’m not sure actually. I guess as many sizes as necessary to clothe someone who is plus size!

So what does it mean for plus size people if shops brand a UK size 14 as an XL? XL, in many high street stores, signifies the end of sizing range. So if the end of your sizing range is a 14, in a country where the average woman is a UK size 16, just how well are you catering to your audience?

The answer is, you aren’t. You aren’t catering to them at all.

As I say, the average womens clothing size is a UK size 16. Years ago, this would be an XL in shops like New Look and Topshop. A UK size 16 was considered ‘big’. Now, it’s the – totally fine – norm.

Add to that the crazy variance of sizes between shops, many people who are as small as an 8 or 10 are finding they’re having to size up to as much as a 16 from one shop to another.

With many shops not being “true to size”, people who are genuinely a size 14 are potentially going to struggle to fit into a UK size 14 – or in other words, an XL. This will only result in it being a struggle to shop in many high street stores.

And what about plus size customers? Many plus size people shop an XL. When an XL becomes a UK size 14, that automatically excludes plus size people who need a size 18 and over.

If you’re making a UK size 14 an XL, you’re no longer inclusive of plus size people.

A UK size 14 being the new XL will warp body image of many young shoppers

So many young people struggle with negative body image issues and all kinds of body hang ups.

There is nothing wrong with being a UK size 14 – or any size, in fact. But we live in a world that pushes “bigger is better” – unless it’s your belly. Big lips, brows, lashes, bums and boobs are all in, but big bellies are strictly out. Society is so down on fat people. Almost every day a story appears on social media demonstrating the horrific treatment of an individual based purely on their size.

There’s so much stigma surrounding being fat. Because of this, a lot of people end up with eating disorders as the struggle to chase the “thin” ideal. A size 14 is very normal size! But to suddenly switch up and brand it as an XL has potential to cause a lot of body image issues with young consumers.

Again, there is NOTHING wrong with being a size 14 – but there is bound to be young shoppers out there who are suddenly mortified that they’re being called ‘extra large’.

Which takes me nicely on to my next point…

“If fat wasn’t stigmatised, it wouldn’t matter”

These were the words spoken (or written, rather) by multi-award winning journalist and co-author of the bestselling book, Slay in your lane, Yomi Adegoke.

She’s absolutely right, of course. None of this would matter – I wouldn’t even be writing about it – if fat wasn’t stigmatised. It wouldn’t matter if a size 14 as an XS or an XL; no one would care.

Of course the big issue isn’t a shop branding a size as XL. It doesn’t help, but it’s not the problem. The problem is, as always, society.

Why do we care so much about what size someone is? Why do we care so much about what size we are?

It starts from within

I’ve been there myself. Sitting in horror as someone called me a “big girl”. Breaking down in the changing room as my size 12 figure struggled to fit into a size 12 pair of jeans. Dieting to get a “beach body”. Wearing high waisted bikini bottoms to hide my “pooch”. Recoiling at being called fat.

To be honest, I think a lot of us have been there, haven’t we?

I’m so grateful and lucky that over the years I’ve worked on learning to love myself, taught myself about body positivity and diet culture and had an entire change of mindset. It’s thanks to people like Grace Victory and Megan Crabbe who work tirelessly to help other people overcome body image issues.

More often than not, people only fear being fat because society has told them fat is wrong. Society has demonstrated how they treat fat people, and so people don’t want to be fat. They’re scared of being shunned, being bullied, being discriminated against. They’re scared of being rejected, ignored, cut off. No one wants to be fat because society has taught us that ot be fat is wrong. Thin is in and that’s what people remember when they try on a size 14 piece of clothing.

Society needs an attitude shift

The demoralising treatment of fat people has to stop.

Why do you care how fat someone is? Is it interrupting your life, letting them happily live theirs? No! So why are you bothered?

Imagine if society had an attitude shift and stopped treating fat people like lesser humans. Can you imagine how much of a happier place we would live? People wouldn’t be so caught up in toxic diet culture. Groups like Slimming World would cease to exist. Best of all, no one would give a flying fuck what size clothes you wore! Now wouldn’t that be bloody brilliant?

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This post has been so long and quite rambly – I’m not sure if I’ve even conveyed my points properly or what I’m trying to say! Basically, it comes down to this:

• Size 14 is not an XL
• There’s nothing wrong with being a size 14
• There’s nothing wrong with being fat
• Fat needs to stop being stigmatised

I hope that this post makes sense, and I hope I’ve worded it well enough not to offend…

What are your thoughts on a UK size 14 being XL? Let’s chat!

Love from, Florence Grace