Where do you shop for "Phat" clothes?

Not many people hear this from me, but my mother had turned into a full blown lesbian after her 5th straight marriage failed. It was a weird adjustment period for me, and when I asked her if lesbian life was any better or worse, she said there was no difference. At that point, I knew that my bisexual claim was and will always be the truest of the rainbow clan. I mention my relations to the rainbow world because I've been indulging in some entertainment viewing of the rainbow sort. I'm building this up, leading to the plus size clothing industry as I connect the dots regarding lesbians and body image.

Please forgive me if I write something that "seems" rude to anyone herein, and please believe that is NOT my intention. I am not the first "lover" of "phat" or plus sized bodies, and probably won't be the last to make a fuss about how Barbie and Playboy have created a cruel atmosphere for girls and women in regards to body image and beauty. It's so obvious, it's painful. Call someone a Barbie or a Playboy bunny, and they glow like they just won the Olympics. Call someone "fat" and many will crumble like a stale cookie. I know because I was (and in some ways, still am) that crumbling cookie.

While many homophobes and superficial religious types will continue to demonize the rainbow folks (referring to ancient texts like Sodom and Gomorrah) one thing is clear, science and the population census continues to state that two females are born to every one male. While there will always be those (super straight) shrinks who think that "gayness" is a mental disease, the numbers prove that there are not enough men to go around. While Barbie is on her 5th husband, there's another "fat" old maid who's celebrating her 40th birthday never once having received a marriage proposal. Everybody knows, nobody cares. Well, maybe people like me or Peter Paul Rubens or Picasso. Besides us, the subject of the unwanted "fat" chic is a subject mostly avoided.

Well, gee, that can't be right Shanon. There are plenty of "fat" brides and plenty of guys that dig chunky. Ok. Sure. But let's play this out in probabilities. How would you bet this? Is the husband more likely to cheat on "Fattie" with Barbie or cheat on Barbie with "Fattie"? I know where I'm going to place my bet. I've even heard men say (besides their deplorable actions that I've witnessed my whole life) that they always prefer "beautiful" and "thin" over "ugly" and "fat". Right from the horse's mouth.

While good mommies and daddies are trying to instill in their beloved daughters a healthy psyche about their body image, the world around them is still dominated by Vogue models and fashion stores that cater to size 5, not plus size. Phat is the minority, not the majority, at least when it comes to body image psychology, men's preference, and fashion sales.

Let me interrupt my harsh critique about rainbow thinking and phat for a joke. What would the world be without men? A bunch of fat happy lesbians. Ok, maybe that was uncalled for, but that's a classic that I kept in my pocket since college.

So are you "phat" like me? At Walmart, I'm a size 18. At Torrid, I'm a size 1 or 2. There is no Lane Bryant around here. I'd have to drive about an hour to find one of those shops. So my phat body is either wearing the latest ugly sheet they call a dress from Walmart, or my 53 year old body is wearing some overpriced garment meant for a teenager from Torrid. C'mon, really, what the _____?

There are some specialty consignment or thrift shoppes here and there that focus on plus sizes, but they are as hard to find as Lane Bryant.

My point is supply and demand should not dictate perception. Not in fashion and not in love.