This is Part 5 of the “Weight of Words” series. Read Part 1 | Part 2: The Whisper Test | Part 3: The Compliment That Cuts | Part 4: Size Gaslighting
I want you to imagine something with me.
Picture showing up to work every day in a place where you’re supposed to represent the brand. Where part of your job is wearing and showcasing what the company offers.
But the company doesn’t offer anything that fits you.
Imagine watching your coworkers get excited about new inventory arriving. They’re pulling pieces, trying things on, talking about what they’re going to wear for their next shift.
And you’re just… standing there. Because there’s nothing in your size. There’s rarely anything in your size.
This is workplace size exclusion, and it’s more common than most people realize.
The Reality of Systematic Exclusion
Imagine promotional photoshoots for the company’s social media, their website, their marketing materials. Everyone’s getting ready, picking outfits, doing their hair.
And you’re not included. Not because you’re not photogenic. Not because you’re not good at your job. But because you can’t fit into what they’re photographing.
Picture being made invisible in a place where you show up every single day.
This isn’t a hypothetical for a lot of people. This is their reality.
And here’s what we need to understand: This isn’t just hurt feelings. This is systemic exclusion disguised as business decisions.
What the Message Really Says
When a workplace – especially one in fashion, retail, or any industry where “representing the brand” matters – doesn’t carry sizes that fit all its employees, it sends a clear message:
Some bodies belong here. Some don’t. Some bodies are worthy of representing us. Some aren’t. Some bodies are part of “the brand.” Some are just… here.
And workplace size exclusion isn’t just about the clothes.
Walking into work every day knowing you’re not included in the visual identity of the place that employs you takes a toll. Being part of a team where everyone else gets to participate in something you’re systematically excluded from creates isolation.
Watching company photos go up on social media and never seeing yourself in them – not because you weren’t there, not because you weren’t working, but because your body wasn’t considered promotional material.
Hearing your coworkers bond over the clothes they’re wearing, the pieces they’re excited about, the discount they’re using on inventory – and having nothing to contribute to that conversation because the inventory doesn’t include you.
The Pattern of Invisible Harm
In my work with trauma survivors, I see this pattern: being made invisible in plain sight creates a unique kind of harm.
It’s not overt cruelty. No one’s calling you names. No one’s telling you to leave.
But you’re being told every single day, in a thousand quiet ways, that you don’t fully belong. That your body is a problem the company hasn’t solved and doesn’t seem particularly interested in solving.
You’re simultaneously essential enough to employ and unacceptable enough to exclude.
Research on workplace discrimination and body size shows that size-based exclusion has real consequences for employee wellbeing, job satisfaction, and professional advancement.
The Impossible Position
And here’s what makes it even more complicated:
When you’re the only person or one of few people this affects, speaking up feels impossible.
Because if you say “I notice I’m never in the photoshoots,” you sound petty.
If you say “I wish the store carried my size,” you sound like you’re making it about you.
If you mention that you can’t wear what you sell, you risk being told that’s just how the industry works, or that you knew this when you took the job, or that maybe this isn’t the right fit for you.
What “Fit” Really Means
But let’s be honest about what “fit” really means in that sentence.
They don’t mean fit for the job. They mean fit for the clothes. They mean your body doesn’t fit our narrow definition of what’s acceptable.
And when a workplace’s definition of “who belongs here” is determined by what sizes they choose to carry, that’s not about skills or qualifications or work ethic.
That’s about deciding certain bodies are more valuable, more marketable, more worthy than others.
I’ve watched this play out in industries beyond retail too. Company uniforms that only go up to a certain size. Branded clothing given out at corporate events that doesn’t fit everyone. Promotional materials that only feature certain body types.
The Daily Message
Every time this happens, here’s the message being sent:
We thought about some bodies when we made these decisions. Just not yours.
You’re welcome to work here. Just not to be seen here.
You’re part of the team. Just not the part we show the world.
The Ripple Effects
And it affects everything.
It affects your confidence. How can you feel fully professional when you can’t wear what your workplace considers professional attire?
It affects your sense of belonging. How can you feel like part of the team when the team’s visual identity systematically excludes you?
It affects your relationship with your own body. Every day you’re being told – not through words, but through systemic exclusion – that your body is wrong for this space.
What Companies Need to Understand
Here’s what companies need to understand:
If you employ people, your “brand” should be able to dress them. Period.
If you’re going to do promotional photoshoots, they should reflect the actual humans who work for you.
If you’re selling an image, that image should be inclusive enough to include the people who are helping you sell it.
This isn’t about political correctness. This isn’t about being woke. This is about basic respect and inclusion.
This is about recognizing that when you create a workplace where some bodies literally don’t fit, you’re not just making a merchandising decision. You’re making a statement about whose bodies have value.
And the people living in those excluded bodies? They hear that statement. Loud and clear. Every single day.
They show up anyway. They do their jobs anyway. They smile at customers and process transactions and support their coworkers anyway.
But they do it while being constantly reminded that they’re not quite acceptable enough to fully belong.
What Needs to Change
Companies need to ask themselves: If we wouldn’t hire someone because of their body type, that would be discrimination. So why is it acceptable to employ someone but exclude them from representing the brand because of their body type?
They need to expand their size ranges – not as a favor, but as a basic inclusion practice.
They need to feature diverse bodies in their marketing – not once a year for a “body positivity campaign,” but consistently, because diverse bodies exist consistently.
They need to stop treating certain sizes as specialty items and start treating all sizes as standard inventory.
The Truth About Belonging
Because here’s the truth:
Every body that works for you should be able to wear your brand. Every employee should be able to see themselves in your marketing. Every person on your team should feel like they actually belong there.
Not as an afterthought. Not as a diversity checkbox. But as a fundamental part of how you operate.
I See You
To anyone who’s experienced this: I see you.
I see you showing up to a workplace that doesn’t quite make room for you.
I see you being professional even when you’re being excluded.
I see you staying gracious while being made invisible.
Your body doesn’t need to change to be worthy of inclusion. The systems that exclude you need to change.
You are valuable beyond measure – and you deserve to work in a place that treats you like you are.
Even if that place hasn’t figured that out yet.
You are valuable beyond measure – whether or not your workplace has learned to see it.
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