Size and Sardine Packed Southwest Airlines

By Pia Guerrero, Co-Founder/Editor

I hate traveling on Southwest Airlines. In addition to the inescapable thought that the plane is dirty, I can’t help feeling like a piece of meat jammed into a cage with a bunch of others waiting for our imminent doom. I can’t recline comfortably without worrying I’m slamming the person behind me in the face. And when I lean over to grab my Sprite from the attendant, I wonder if I have put on enough deodorant ‘cuz my armpit is smack dab in the face of the passenger next to me.

I am just about 5 feet tall. On any given day I weigh between 103 and 108 pounds. Needless to say, I am small. That’s why I’m glad the recent buzz around director Kevin Smith being kicked off Southwest highlights the prejudicial industry standards around size. If I can’t fit comfortably into one of their seats, how do these airway robbers expects others to?

In her piece Kevin Smith: The face of flying while fat, Kate Harding brings light to the shame so many people (who aren’t a size 2) feel when they board an airplane.

Read More: Broadsheet – Salon.com

Related content:

If You’re Fat, Your Paycheck Might Not Be

NYTimes Writer Barely Apologizes for her Discriminatory Remarks Against Fat People

Jennifer Jonassen: A Sizeless Star

Lagerfeld Sets Aside Fat Phobia for Renn

Carrie Fisher Joins the Ongoing Star War Against Fat

Why Being Fat Is–and Isn’t–All That

Weight Stigma: Breaking it Down with Advocate and Activist Marilyn Wann

2 thoughts on “Size and Sardine Packed Southwest Airlines

  1. True story, although myself being 5’8″ feel like the story holds more weight than from someone as small as 5′. I am not an amazon, but I am still unable to fit comfortably either. My legs are in sever pain at the end of a three hour flight because I don’t have the room to move them around! I avoid Southwest at all costs. I will pay more before I suffer on a flight of theirs. Great job spreading the word!

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