Small

My professor told me yesterday to always take note when something bothers me and write about it. Well obviously she hasn't known me very long, because everything bothers me and I talk or write about everything, dwelling long and hard until even small things are blown out of proportion. Like when the bratty undergrad made FUN of me on Monday for saying "pardon me" when he was in my way. I guess he thought I was out of earshot when he started making fun of what I said, so I turned around and said "Well next time, I won't say anything and I'll just push you into the wall." His eye got really big and he said "Damn, bitch, you need to calm down." I hope I get him in class one day so I can fail him for being an asshole. Karma will harm him. I just know it.

But the main thing I've been thinking about today that bothers me is Nike. Nike's men's clothing line did away with the size small. I was working at the Penn State bookstore when I discovered this. I was folding the "our drinking team has a football problem" shirts and noticed we had no more smalls. My manager told me this was because Nike was expanding their women's clothing line and had stopped making things in size small.

I knew what this meant. And I was right! Instead of having interesting t-shirt options, like USA Judo shirts or slogan shirts about soccer or maybe even a nice Penn State Fencing shirt to wear when I run, I was siphoned into the Nike Women's section, where my choices were fitted babydoll tees or tennis shirts with darts to accentuate the breasts and slim waist I'm supposed to show off. Who can pump iron in a babydoll tee? Can you just see me dangling upside down doing hyperextensions in a babydoll tee? I would get fungus on my stomach from the sweaty machines. And the whole world would see a part of my stomach that should not hang out.

This decision made me really angry because it assumes that women don't wear Nike's interesting and practical clothes for exercising. It assumes women want the fitted clothes or pink little outfits. That women don't get down and dirty. This isn't a slight against tennis. I tutor some of those athletes. They are beasts! But I don't think even they wear the Nike stuff without a base layer.

Now all my t-shirts are either scuzzy and 8 years old or certainly not made by Nike. I'm small! I need a size small garment. Why would Nike do this to me? Do they want women to purchase their workout clothes from Adidas? I think all the Nike base layer stuff is great and their running clothes seem pretty good. But what about people who just want a t-shirt to sweat in? I boil to think that only men (or people who can fit in the medium) get the options for all the cool shirts and I'm supposed to squeeze into a sausage skin.

I'm about to take a magic marker and write a hip slogan on my Hanes Beefy T (size small) so I feel clothed AND cool when I work out today.