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Woman Denied Access To Tanning Beds Because She’s Too Fat

I best develop a sudden and overwhelming affinity for cardio or I’m next.

The Ohio salon, Aloha Tanning, is making headlines for denying a patron access to its tanning beds. Kelly McGreevy is disgruntled because she was told by a tanning salon employee that she was too fat to use the facilities. The salon recently put a policy in place prohibiting individuals 230 pounds and over from entering the tanning beds. We have this exact same policy in regards to our sorority house. Kidding, our limit is way under 230 pounds.

McGreevy claims that she’s “never had anyone, ever, tell [her] that [she] couldn’t tan because of [her] size.”

I have no problem with people who are overweight unless they want to hang out with me, but according to Aloha Tanning, this has nothing to do with vanity. It’s a safety issue. Several overweight clients are said to have caused the acrylic glass in the tanning beds to crack, which not surprisingly can be very dangerous, not to mention expensive to fix. At the time of the incident, the employee did not refund the woman, but McGreevy has since gotten her money back. She is still filing a police report against Justin Hileman, the owner of Aloha Tanning for discrimination.

Granted, 230 pounds seems relatively small as far as weight limits go. My ex-boyfriend was 6’4,” 200 pounds, and skinny as fuck. (He probably still is.) I imagine, had he been normally proportioned, he would have been hovering around the 230 pound mark, and it does seem a little ridiculous that a tanning bed can’t support an average-ish sized man.

Still, mortifying or not, I can’t say that size restrictions are discriminatory in nature. Should a very tiny girl be granted permission to ride a roller coaster that safety officials have deemed her too small to ride? Should adults be granted entrance to “kid zones” that they’re too big for? Should we exceed weight limits in elevators for the sake of convenience? Of course not. The general response may be “Well, that’s different,” but it’s not different at all. It’s just not insulting.

Anyway, Kelly McGreevy, I’m sorry this happened to you. Really, I am. I get that you’re embarrassed, and angry, and pale. I know tanning helps you to look thinner, so I understand your frustration, but from me to you, there might be a better way.

[via Huffington Post]

Image via Huffington Post

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Veronica Ruckh

Veronica (@VeronicaRuckh) is the Director of Total Sorority Move for Grandex, Inc. After having spent her undergraduate years drinking $4 double LITs on a patio and drunk texting away potential suitors, she managed to graduate with an impressive GPA and an unimpressive engagement ring -- so unimpressive, in fact, some might say it's not there at all. Veronica has since been fulfilling her duties as "America's big," a title she gave to herself with the help of her giant ego. She has recently switched from vodka to wine on weekdays. Email her at [email protected]

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