I Don’t Fit In At Work, Literally
Exploring design, size, discrimination, and connection at work
Most days, I struggle to find a comfortable seat that supports my body. Though I’m not the fattest person in the world, I’m definitely bigger than most other people. My size makes it difficult to find a chair that doesn’t constrain my body, leave marks, or hurt my back. If I’m going to a theater from the early 20th century, I expect to be uncomfortable few hours, crammed into a seat when people were much smaller. When choosing to eat an older restaurant, like those Italian American places with dark wood and leather, accented by brass fixtures, served by waiters in tuxedos, I know that everyone will want to sit in a booth. These booths are wide semicircles with high dividers facing out to the restaurant like it’s a show. I don’t say anything when my body is squeezed between the leather back and the fixed table. If I’m on public transportation, eating at a new restaurant, or sitting at a bar, I never know how long I will be able to stay.
Airplane seats are one of the biggest challenges for fat people. Airlines try to make the seats as small as possible to fit as many people as possible on their flights. But as Americans (and others) are getting bigger, more people don’t fit as easily in this narrow chairs. Fat people aren’t alone. Someone six feet tall or more…
