College Senior Body-Shamed at Work Quits Job and Fires Back on Social Media
Add this to the list of emails you never want to get from your boss: the one telling you that you're not "model material" and shouldn't be representing your company because you're not a size small.
It happened to Sherene Zarrabi, a student at Oklahoma State University who until this week worked at juniors clothing store Dainty Hooligan in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Dainty Hooligan's founder and CEO, Jessica Issler, sent an email to Zarrabi's store manager after deleting photos of Zarrabi and others from the store's Instagram page.
"Something I want to make sure you keep in mind," Issler wrote in her email, "I want size small, the stereotypical 'model' type to model our clothes. Please use pictures of our models if Stillwater can't find someone who would be considered 'model material.'"
Zarrabi was forwarded Issler's email. In response, she posted the email on Facebook and quit her job.
I have recently been attacked and discriminated against by the owner of Dainty Hooligan. She went on our stores Instagram and deleted all of the pictures where I was modeling the clothing and then sent this email to my manager. I do not want to respresent [sic] or support a business that has such archaic values and beliefs. THIS is the reason young girls have body image issues. This is disgusting. I quit immediately and I suggest that my friends and family do not support Dainty Hooligan. Love yourself, no matter what you look like.
Issler told The O'Colly, Oklahoma State University's student newspaper, that "I am accountable for the email that was sent. I never meant to be mean or attacking, but I'm not apologizing for the unsaid fashion rule."
Issler questioned Zarrabi's actions and defended herself. "My No. 1 priority is the safety of my staff, so the evil and lack of positivity is terrifying," Issler told The O'Colly. "This girl has now created a hostile work environment because she has a sad body image of herself."
She later apologized to Zarrabi in an email obtained by The O'Colly. "I wish you the best of luck and honestly I don't have any ill or hard feelings toward you and I want to thank you for a very humbling experience," Issler wrote.
For Zarrabi, quitting her job has at least one upside. "I overheard my 9 year old sister saying earlier that every person is beautiful, no matter what size they are," she posted on Facebook. "If anybody tries to bring you down, it's because they are dissatisfied with themselves."
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