Plus-size women are subjected to a lot of hate. There are certain industries they are not allowed to work in simply because of their body weight, which is unfair.
But tweeps came out in full force after Ayepyep Lifestyle, a club in Pretoria posted vacancy opportunities on their Twitter page.
Some of the requirements for the hostesses and bottle service ladies vacancies are that one must have 2500K followers on Instagram, be a small to medium size, be well put together and be able to walk and work in heels.
‼️‼️‼️Attention Ladies‼️‼️‼️
— AyepyepLifestyle (@AyepyepMenlyn) October 5, 2021
We are looking for hostesses and bottle service ladies.. please RT to save a life,there might be a jobseekers on your TL.. #JobseekersSA #Jobs #ayepyep pic.twitter.com/xys1tcaxft
While people expressed their concerns regarding the confusion on the requirements, some added that Ayepyep is not the only establishment that prefers slim girls over curvy ones.
Some even brought Miss SA organisers into the debate, saying the beauty pageant has been doing it for years.
Not dragging ayepyep for what Miss SA has been doing for years. pic.twitter.com/AP07L3gXKq
— chun swae. (@girl_kaybee) October 6, 2021
“There's a lot of industries out there that don't take plus size women, e.g Miss SA and Flight attendant. Y’all only complain now when Ayepyep chose to be honest about its preference,” commented @EllenMakhubele.
There's a lot of industries out there that don't take plus size women, e.g Miss SA and Flight attendant. Yall only complain now when Ayepyep chose to be honest about it's preference. https://t.co/wymfvofthy
— YouTube: Ellen Makhubele 🌈 (@EllenMakhubele) October 6, 2021
Another Twitter user, @naledimashinini commented: “This poster just said the quiet part out loud. There are so many establishments I’ve either been to or seen that don’t have a single plus-sized woman working there. When people say fatphobia is systemic this is what they mean. It literally limits employment opportunities.”
Miss SA follows the international pageant rules. Miss SA doesn't have their own set of rules. If they intend to compete in a global stage they've to follow the rules. Miss Universe board those are the people that can be questioned. https://t.co/Q18C9u34Yq
— Andiswa (@Andiswa_PLK) October 6, 2021
As much as these establishments have the right to work with whomever they choose, what does a person’s physical appearance has to do with their ability to do their job?
Why are plus size women limited to certain jobs, or not allowed in certain spaces?
In March 2019, there was an incident where plus-size model Naomie Chaput claimed that she was not allowed at a Miami club where Future was performing. She said she was told by the bouncers that “fat girls” were not allowed.
Future slammed the rumours, saying he was not the one who told club promoters to prohibit “fat girls” from the club. DJ E Feezy, who was performing with Future, aired his frustrations about the incident. He said that in Miami, most club promoters do not want big girls inside the club.
“First off, the big girl who said that said the promoter said that Future said that he didn’t want no big girls in the club and that’s a problem with a lot of Miami promoters is that y’all don’t want big girls in the club,” said Feezy at the time.
He added, "Sometimes y’all barely want black girls in the club and y’all black. Now what happens is, because you blame it on another n*gga ’cause you don’t want the big girls in your section now it’s all over the f*ckin’ blogs. Man up to your own sh*t, promoters."
Ayepyep still stands with the requirements for their vacancies.