This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/twoxchromosomes by /u/ReesieVA on 2023-08-09 15:13:21.
This incident happened many years ago when was in the Army (early 1980s). I was shopping for a new uniform. The uniform tops were on one shelf and pants on another. The sizes were all mixed up so while I was searching for my size, another shopper came over and started looking for his size.
He struck up a conversation about how unorganized the stacks were and asked me what size I was looking for. I told him extra small, extra short. He told me his size, which I don’t remember now.
After looking for awhile, he tells me that I don’t look like an XS/XS would fit me, because his wife was that size and I looked bigger than her. For context, I was 5’3", about 115 lbs, and I have always had a curvy hourglass figure. I definitely knew what size I needed, and this guy is overstepping his boundaries in the guise of “helping” me.
I should have just told him off, but instead it made me feel weird, almost like I had to defend my size. I really internalized his comments and felt like I didn’t look good.
I think about this incident every once in awhile, it’s stayed with me for all these years and I just wanted to share.