SharonHaywood.com
FEATURE
Yes, We Carry Your Size
In Argentina, I’m a size 44 (UK 16/US 14). I feel branded by this number. Last year when I was searching for a wedding dress, all I had to do was observe the saleswoman’s reaction when she looked my way and I knew that I wasn’t going to find anything. Almost always, I heard the same worn-out phrase, “We don’t carry your size.” In the majority of shops I’m lucky if I fit into the largest size. In other stores, they only offer “one size fits all”: sometimes it fits; a lot of the time it doesn’t. In spite of all this madness, I don’t have a problem saying that I use a size 44. I am one of the majority, I am part of the average female population. Even though I’m Canadian, I’m also of Italian descent and short in stature, so as long as I don’t speak, people think I’m Argentine. But many Argentine women have bodies similar to mine and they’ve said they would like to lose weight to be able to fit into a size 42 or even a 40. Others say that 38 is their ideal size.
This is what AnyBody Argentina’s ongoing investigation has revealed after surveying hundreds of women between sizes 36 and 54. Through our research we discovered that...
For the full story, please visit AnyBody.
Bio
Sharon grew up in a suburb of Toronto, Canada. She stayed close to home and earned undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Exceptionality in Human Learning at the University of Toronto. In her last year of study, she was a regular guest on the radio program Life Rattle where she orated several of her stories, many of which addressed issues such as body image and violence against women. After graduation she devoted her energies to a career in social work, in roles that included co-facilitating eating disorder support groups, supporting families and individuals with intellectual and physical handicaps, and acting as a literacy assessor and educator for homeless women. Upon reaching burnout, she decided to re-evaluate her professional goals via traveling, studying alternative healing arts, and of course, writing.
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Bio
Sharon grew up in a suburb of Toronto, Canada. She stayed close to home and earned undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Exceptionality in Human Learning at the University of Toronto. In her last year of study, she was a regular guest on the radio program Life Rattle where she orated several of her stories, many of which addressed issues such as body image and violence against women. After graduation she devoted her energies to a lengthy career in social work, in roles that included co-facilitating eating disorder support groups, supporting families and individuals with intellectual and physical handicaps, and acting as a literacy assessor and educator for homeless women. Upon reaching burnout, she decided to re-evaluate her professional goals via traveling, studying alternative healing arts, and of course, writing.
After backpacking throughout Mexico, Southeast Asia, and much of South America, she found her second home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was there she committed herself to writing. She began studying the craft, joined a writer's group (Thursdays@Three), and started experimenting with various styles of fiction and non-fiction, which led to her participation as an author, editor, and presenter at the International Book Fair in Buenos Aires in 2008 and 2009.
Today, she works as a freelance writer, editor, and translator in addition to her responsibilities as co-editor for Adios Barbie and being a member of the AnyBody team, part of the international movement, Endangered Bodies. Sharon's work with AnyBody inspired her to organize Endangered Species: Preserving the Female Body in Buenos Aires, one of five international summits held in March, 2011. She has since established AnyBody Argentina, the Buenos Aires chapter of Endangered Bodies that fights against sizeism and promotes healthy body image for Argentine girls and women. The rest of the time you can find her writing articles, essays, and fiction that deal with the subjects of body, self-image, violence against women, and feminism.
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