Uniforms and sizes and the difference between men and women

I recently ordered 25 uniform sets for my bike team which has both men and women and made several observations. The manufacturer suggested that I get height, weight, waist and chest sizes for all of my team.

Now for a man, weight is what appears on the scale. No more no less. While they may wish to weigh more if they are bulking up, or a little less. They reported their actual weight.

A woman uses the same scale, but reads it differently. Women will report their hoped for weight or their wished for weight and argue they can squeeze into the uniforms.

A man will take his waist and chest measurement with no explanation. A woman will once again provide the measurements they want and once again, hope for the best.

The women on my team are educated and career minded. Yet they too have been unduly influenced by images of what they should look like. We should all look like Katherine Hepburn, or Halle Berri...or a Bond girl and so we project this and rather than giving a true measurement we project and hope.

The men's uniforms all fit. The only exception is for those men who are stout and short, or tall and thin. The women's uniforms are a different story. I have heard of shorts being too small, when there is not enough room for a molecule of water to get through the space between short and skin, jerseys being too large when again they are stretched to the limit and on and on. I suspect that the reason for this is because the women provided me with 'approximate' or hoped for measurements. Those who were honest, have uniforms that are a perfect fit.