A Woman’s Story: An Open Letter from a ‘Fat Chick’ to Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie And Fitch
I’ve never purchased anything from Abercrombie & Fitch in my entire life. Suddenly that fact pleases me greatly.
Amy Taylor
Director of Content and Community Strategy, Geben Communication
I remember the moment as though it were yesterday (which is saying a lot, because it was nearly two decades ago…) Last week of 8th grade. One of the “popular girls” walked over to me in gym class and asked if she could write in my yearbook. When she handed my book back, I excitedly turned the cover, only to discover that she had written (in beautiful penmanship) the following:
Have a great summer. Stay thin.
Except the word “thin” had been crossed out with a single line.
I have always struggled with my weight. Big-boned. Plus-size. Thick. Curvy. Voluptuous. Padded. Pick your adjective. Over the years I learned to deal with it in different ways. I learned to ignore it. Compensate for it. Deny it. Dress it up. Cover it over. Like everyone who struggles with something physical, I…
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He Tasks Me
I give the orders around here.
This post is dedicated to The Boss whoever it* may be. Ed.
It happened on a work day. (Holy fuck. Is that the scariest opening ever or what?)
It was the arrival of a package that prompted the fun. The boss stopped everything he was doing. Ooh, a package had arrived.
Must. Open. Now.
His fleshy, grubby and unwashed digits picked up the box and it rotated in his massive NFL-style steroid-induced mitts. A piece of gooey food substance jiggled in his beard as he moved.
“Oh look,” he said. “I got something for you.”
Inside? You guessed it. New business cards for my department, the department where he always claimed I was in charge and had autonomy.
The cards were emblazoned with his name. Not mine. And underneath, the business title was printed. “Manager.”
Indeed.
Some time later he indicated with an explosion of gas that he had a “task” for me.
All hail the task!
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Measuring my worth
Yesterday I experienced a sobering thought. It rattled me hard.
My current hourly wage is the same as what I made in 1986.
Fuck. Seriously. Why the fuck did that thought have to cross my brain? As if I didn’t have enough to think about already. Like all great thoughts, it has really stuck with me. I find myself thinking about it all the time.
1986. Gee. That was 24 years ago.
I mentioned this thought to a co-worker. She was like, “Hey. That’s a year before I was even born.”
It is hard to describe this feeling. Hopefully you can use your imagination.
As a math lover, I decided to celebrate this revelation like I do with all great thoughts … with a graph!
This graph is based on information I obtained using a web site called “Measuring Worth – Relative value of US Dollars.” If you’ve ever heard someone say that “$X amount in X year would be worth $Y amount in today’s dollars” then you already know what this web site does. The site uses six different methods to attempt to answer the question. It shows my 1986 wage compared to what it would be worth today using those six different computational methods.
Yes, like I often do, I omitted the data labels on the left side of the graph. This is out of shame and embarrassment over my current salary range. But I can express it like this: Based on the data I obtained from the Measuring Worth web site, my 1986 hourly wage would worth about 2.4 times what I make today.
In other words I have less than half the buying power that I had in 1986. The word “career” hardly applies. Of course some of the positive thinkers out there (shudder) would be happy to point out that at least I have a job. Hopefully they won’t attempt to express such a sentiment directly to my face.
That graph was so much fun I decided to celebrate with one more.
Some remarks about this graph:
- 1983 = Cook at McDonald’s
- 1984 to 1999 = 16 year career at a major company where I worked my way up to management (yes, I used to be somebody)
- 2000 = Left major company to pursue a more enjoyable job as computer programmer (with cut in pay)
- 2001 = Moved to the small city to get out of the rat race (with major cut in pay)
- 2005 to present = Current employer
Well, I think that’s about it. I can’t think of much else to say, except I sure am in the mood to go to work now. Up ahead today may very well be the most special ass fucking of the year, but more about that later after I see how it all goes down. I have little doubt what happens at work today will live up to my wildest expectations and will no doubt completely justify my low rate of pay. Wish me luck!
Shouts from the Abyss 
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