A department store’s decision to describe women for whom plus size is “rotten” and “extremely terrible” is going as well as one might reasonably expect. The exact reason RT-Mart, a Taiwan-based retail chain with 416 stores in China, chose to promote tall women’s sizes as’ horrible ‘, while petite sizes were referred to as’ slim’ and ‘ beautiful ”, has not been fully explained.
A photo of the sign on an undisclosed RT-Mart site shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo, went so far as to include a size key indicating which section women of certain heights and weights should be in. their purchases, according to CNN Business, which could not independently verify the photo. “Suggested size chart for women,” the panel read, aimed at women ages 18-35.
The photo has since racked up over 4 million network views, with a caption that read: “I was shocked when I saw this size chart in an RT-Mart today. Am I completely rotten?
RT-Mart was quick to apologize in the wake of the backlash, saying they “deeply [regret] causing discomfort to the public due to inappropriate words used in some of its promotional materials, ”and claimed the incident was isolated.
“After the incident, RT-Mart thoroughly inspected all RT-Mart stores immediately,” the company said. “Upon investigation, it was confirmed that such an incident had occurred in a store, and headquarters promptly instructed the store to remove all signs.”
A Weibo user reportedly called the sign a warning sign of Chinese sexist culture as a whole.
“As long as there was a staff member in question, it would have been impossible to publish it,” they wrote.
China Women’s News, a site run by the pro-communist group All-China Women’s Federation, denounced the size chart as “loathsome.”
“Don’t lose respect for attention. Advertising and marketing should reflect corporate values and cultural images. A responsible business shouldn’t market in this way. Learn the lesson! Said the group.
The controversy comes about a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking on women’s issues, told a United Nations conference that world leaders should reiterate their efforts “to promote gender equality and advance the global cause of women’s development ”. The president also pledged $ 10 million to UN Women over the next five years.
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