Edmonton Addition Elle Fires Employee Who Used ‘Fat’ to Describe Plus-Sized Customers

Over the last few years a huge stigma has evolved around use of the word fat, turning it into a taboo term/subject that no one wants to talk about.

But here’s the thing, some people are fat. That’s not an insult, a stereotype, or a judgement. It’s just a fact.

Need proof? Nearly 40% of Canadians are considered to be overweight or obese. With the clear and present dangers of obesity just a click away, isn’t ‘fat’ a term that needs to be talked about more rather than less?

So when an admittedly plus-sized woman from Edmonton is fired over using the F-word shouldn’t that action be more disturbing than the simple use of a well, fairly accurate, adjective?

Connie Levitsky, a MacEwan University student openly describes herself as fat and is proud of her body. So, as a sales associate at a plus-size women’s retailer Addition Elle, she had no problem describing her job title on Facebook as, “Conquering the world, one well-dressed fat lady at a time.”

But her managers had a serious problem with what she wrote.

“My manager specifically said ‘You know, fat isn’t a word that the company wants to associate itself with, we want to associate ourselves with words like curvy, shapely’,” Levitsky said.

I’m feeling angry and disheartened as I write this today.The other day, I was called by my former manager at ADDITION…

Posted by Connie Levitsky on Tuesday, April 5, 2016

So she removed her post at her manager’s request.

Levitsky was later fired for “embarrassing the company,”and because the word fat does not exist in the company’s vernacular due to the negative connotations attached to it.

Following the news of her dismissal, Levitsky took to Facebook to express her disbelief with Addition Elle — a company she originally admired for the way it advocates for acceptance of all women’s bodies. It would seem Addition Elle needs to take some notes from Lane Bryant, a U.S. plus size retailer that’s proud to celebrate all female body types.

According to CBC, “Addition Elle responded to Levitsky’s post with a statement on its Facebook page. The company said firing Levitsky was a mistake and that it “took the word ‘fat’ out of its context,” worried it might offend customers and employees.”

Levitsky also added that while she had not been contacted by her employer yet, if offered her job back she would not accept it.

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