With plus-size flyers becoming an increasingly hot topic in the world of air travel — with an ongoing debate raging over whether plus-size passengers should have their seats subsidised by the taxpayer and endless mid-flight fat-shaming scandals flooding the internet — the news that a big-bottomed Instagram model has come out crying discrimination fits a growing trend.
Gracie Bon — who has amassed a massive following thanks to her strikingly ample derriere — has demanded airlines address the ‘comfort disparity’ in first-class seating for larger passengers. Bon believes current seat dimensions don’t adequately accommodate individuals who, in the immortal words of Sisqó, quoted by our dear friend Gary Leff, possess ‘dumps like a truck’.
Posting a video to Twitter, the social media star shared personal anecdotes of struggles with the dimensions of first-class seats, combined with strikingly effective visuals to further demonstrate her point…
Instagram model and social media personality Gracie Bon has petitioned airlines over their seat sizes
— House of Mojo (@HouseOfMojo_) January 27, 2024
📹 @graciebon1 pic.twitter.com/9QMeHl04Oo
While many commenters quickly pointed out that she could easily and alternatively opt for a more spacious arrangement in economy class by purchasing two or even three seats at a time — providing extra width for her noticeably wide load — Bon insists on her desire and right to enjoy the luxuries of first-class travel. Her plea includes calls for wider and deeper seating, along with readily-available seatbelt extenders for better passenger safety.
Despite the predictable and probably quite valid backlash that centred around the buttocks in question likely being the result of surgical enhancements — and therefore a personal choice rather than a lifelong disability or accessibility issue — Bon fought back in no uncertain terms:
“It’s not my fault to have an a** this big.”
Gracie Bon
This is far from the first time such concerns have been raised. ‘Big Curvy Olivia’ points to the narrow aisles of aircraft as another potentially discriminatory issue, sharing videos of herself struggling to get through United Airlines’ Polaris business class cabins, underscoring the need for more spacious pathways. In fairness, this could pose major safety issues should an emergency landing or evacuation take place and the aisles become blocked by a larger passenger.
While construction regulations stipulate that commercial planes must accommodate the needs of a diverse range of people and body shapes, there hasn’t been that much consideration for mandating wider seats and aisles on aeroplanes, especially when you consider the ongoing obesity epidemic around the world.
Lol and the First Class cabin has much more space than economy pic.twitter.com/YCAh501hF3
— Ben Kew 🏌️♂️ (@ben_kew) May 18, 2023
Widespread change would likely require reducing the number of seats on any given aircraft. This would have huge financial implications for airlines that they would likely try their hardest to pass on to customers. US federal laws currently mandate larger accessible lavatories on widebody aircraft, with plans to extend these requirements to smaller planes soon.
Critics wisely argue that Bon’s social media campaign is probably more about raising her own (already considerable…) profile rather than putting a serious accessibility and discrimination debate on the map.
Do you think this is cynical clout-chasing or a big-ol’ issue that needs to be taken seriously?
Let us know.