astro
June 7, 2003, 8:11pm
1
Mexican “size-friendly” resort caters to big tourists
Some bits from article.
[sub]In a world enthralled by thin, perhaps no place is more slanted toward the slender or more daunting for the double-chinned than the beach.
No more. The beach is being made safe for the amply built with the opening of what claims to be the world’s first " size-friendly, all inclusive beach resort." At the Freedom Paradise resort south of Cancun, the motto is: " Live Large, Live Free!"
The resort, which formally opens June 15, targets people afraid to go out on the sand with a few extra pounds, or a few extra dozens of pounds. No more enduring cruel jokes on the beach, or wisecracks from the staff.
It’s marvelous because it’s not just for one size. Everybody fits here," said Alonzo, one of the few pre-opening guests.
Alonzo’s biggest gripe about regular hotels are the flimsy beach chairs: " I don’t know why they make them out of such cheap plastic. They just collapse under you."
Freedom Paradise has big, wide benches made of tree trunks, four-foot-wide chaise lounges, and 26-inch wide dining room chairs. All the furniture is reinforced and made of wood.
No more getting stuck in a chair with armrests, because there are no armrests. No more getting stared at on crowded beaches, because the hotel’s Tankah beach is 250 yards long and relatively secluded.
Cindy Sabo, spokeswoman for the Sacramento, Calif.-based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, NAAFA, said the beach can be both a place of anxiety and freedom.
" One of the most empowering things I ever did was when I turned 40, I bought a two-piece bathing suit and went out in it. My husband thinks I look cute, and I feel good," said Sabo, who places herself in the " oversize" category at around 400 pounds.
She recalled a less pleasant experience on a recent vacation in Hawaii.
" We had some terrible experiences with some other tourists," she recalled. " Especially some people from Asian countries would walk right up to you on the beach, poke you in the belly and make some rude joke."
Other vacation spots bill themselves as " size-friendly." For example, Juno’s Stables, near Yuba City, Calif., advertises riding classes using draft horses, saying it is " dedicated to putting big beautiful women on horseback."
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Jeez, I’m not THAT big, but those chairs sound pretty sweet.
I love people who make me feel small! And I want one of those chaise lounges.
Bobby Hill: “All this time you thought I was an extra large but it turns out I’m a medium.”
I’d love that place. There are chairs big enough to easily curl up in. I hate having to sit with my feet on the ground–it feels so much more comfortable to curl up.
. . .wait. . .I’m missing the point here, aren’t I?
Eh, I say it’s a good thing. If people’re gonna pay for it, more power to 'em. Aside from which, being on the beach is excruciating for ANYONE with even a whit of self-doubt; I can’t imagine how it must be for Sabo. Making a situation where people’re gonna feel comfortable? A-okay by me.
Especially if I can go down there and snag me one of them huge chairs!
That sounds like a nice, relaxed place to be- and I’ll bet they’ll get plenty of customers who aren’t in the ‘morbidly obsese’ range but just like the idea of being able to enjoy themselves without obsessing about whether they look adequate in their beachwear.
It sounds like a good place, to me. However, I think it’s kinda sad that such a place should be necessary. In an ideal world, people wouldn’t be ridiculed for being different.
400 pounds and wearing a bikini… Hm.
I’m not hugely overweight, but I’d like to go to that beach. It’d be nice to not feel so self-conscious.
A two-piece isn’t necessarily a bikini. Just means the top and bottom are separate. The top is allowed to overlap the bottom.
Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. I always equated them. Good thing I don’t wear them, huh?
dan, free yourself. Be daring and bold this summer. Wear a tankini! Usher in a new trend in men’s swimwear!
I’m alternating between giggling helplessly and being very disturbed at THAT image
