We are getting fatter. We hear this on the news all the time. The government has launched advertising campaigns and schemes to encourage healthy living. This may help in the future but the reality now is that we are dealing with a more corpulent population and one of the areas of life where this is obvious is on public transport.
Don't get me wrong; I don't mean that bigger people have a tendency to take public transport or that taking public transport makes you fat. Seats on public transportation are clearly marked out. When you purchase a ticket you are effectively hiring a seat, a demarcated space. Thus, you are expected to fit into said seat. Why else would you draw a boundary around a space? People are getting bigger, bums are more voluminous and hence the carefully marked out seats are no longer adequately sized to accomodate the average backside. Elbows are another problem; with increased body width there is also a requirement for increased elbow room.
At the other end of the scales, there is much talk about the size-zero phenomenon; complaints that the fashion industry is encouraging unhealthy body image by using images of very thin models to promote their products and making clothing sizes unreasonable. By that logic, if the size of seats on public transport were anything to go by, particularly those on some aeroplanes, operators of these services probably want to encourage a very similar body image. Passengers do complain about this. These services exist as there is a demand for them. If you feel strongly about it, vote with your feet (and credit card)- action speaks louder than words.
Don't get me wrong; I don't mean that bigger people have a tendency to take public transport or that taking public transport makes you fat. Seats on public transportation are clearly marked out. When you purchase a ticket you are effectively hiring a seat, a demarcated space. Thus, you are expected to fit into said seat. Why else would you draw a boundary around a space? People are getting bigger, bums are more voluminous and hence the carefully marked out seats are no longer adequately sized to accomodate the average backside. Elbows are another problem; with increased body width there is also a requirement for increased elbow room.
At the other end of the scales, there is much talk about the size-zero phenomenon; complaints that the fashion industry is encouraging unhealthy body image by using images of very thin models to promote their products and making clothing sizes unreasonable. By that logic, if the size of seats on public transport were anything to go by, particularly those on some aeroplanes, operators of these services probably want to encourage a very similar body image. Passengers do complain about this. These services exist as there is a demand for them. If you feel strongly about it, vote with your feet (and credit card)- action speaks louder than words.
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