Size 6

The saleslady in the American department store came off as incredibly cruel and judgmental.  Salespeople are supposed to be helpful and treat their customers with respect.  Seeing as the woman attempting to buy a cotton skirt is from Morocco, she is not familiar with the “image of beauty” in America.  Telling a customer she is too big is completely unnecessary and very offensive.  She refers to the sizes four and six as “the norm”, as if it is expected of all women to be either of those sizes.  This makes the Moroccan woman feel humiliated and self-conscious about her physical appearance.  The saleslady could have found less hurtful words to use to explain that the store only carries sizes four and six.  I do not completely see the relevance in Fatema Mernissi’s comparison between the image of beauty and Muslim women wearing a veil.  Muslim women are forced to wear veils, which has a physical and mental effect on them.  This is done to establish male domination.  Forcing women to do something messes with your emotions much more than if you can fit into a size 6 or not.  Designer brands do not intend on offending women by make their clothing certain sizes.  A person’s size and weight depends on that person and that person only.  No one is forcing women to be a certain size.  I feel these two situations are not similar enough to compare.