US2 min(s) read
Published 11:17 15 May 2021 GMT
Six Flags has responded to claims that staff at one of their theme parks "body-shamed" a female guests over the length of her shorts.
Last week, Colorado native Bailey Breedlove went viral after she claimed she had been stopped by police in the park over her attire and subsequently "banned".
Footage of the incident - which took place at Frontier City amusement park in Oklahoma City on April 30 - was later shared on social media, which showed Breedlove's confrontation with staff.
And in a damning Facebook post, Breedlove recalled the "traumatizing" experience, claiming that her "daughter was yelled at by a park police officer for rolling down a hill on her heelies", which then let to an "incompetent manager" showing up, who Breedlove says "body-shamed" her over the length of her shorts.
"I was told I needed to go buy new shorts which I am not obligated to purchase anything I don't want to," Breedlove said. "Then I was threatened with criminal trespassing when I agreed to buy new shorts so my family could enjoy their vacation."
After being left "terrified" that she was "about to go to jail over a pair of shorts", Breedlove says she was also served a five-year ban from the parks.
Now, following a backlash from social media users, Six Flags - the company that runs the Frontier City amusement park - has issued a statement on the matter, featuring their side of the events.
Breedlove also shared the following TikTok showing the shorts she was wearing at the park:Per the Star Telegram, representatives from the park state: "The guest was initially stopped because her shorts exposed a significant portion of her buttocks.
"She was given multiple opportunities to change or cover-up but refused. Instead, she responded with profanity and offensive conduct, including further exposing her buttocks.
"The guest was removed from the park after she refused to stop her unruly and offensive behavior, targeted at the police and other park guests."
In an additional statement to the New York Post, representatives for the park added: "Six Flags does not body shame and did not remove this guest from Frontier City because of the length of her shorts."
The official park policies of Six Flags do state: "Because Frontier City is a family park, we expect guests to behave appropriately. Violating our park policies may be cause for ejection from the park without refund."
However, this same document does not specify what constitutes an inappropriate garment, and there is no mention of the length of women's shorts or skirts.
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us4 min(s) read
Published 11:01 11 May 2021 GMT
A woman has claimed that she was body-shamed by members of staff at a Six Flags theme park in Oklahoma City.
Colorado native Bailey Breedlove had visited the Frontier City amusement park on April 30, along with her 11-year-old daughter.
In a later outraged Facebook post, Breedlove claimed that her daughter had been "yelled at" by a "police officer" at the park for roller-blading down the hill.
She then alleged that this officer grabbed her arm and told her that the shorts she was wearing were too short. The officer in question did not provide their badge number or any other identification.
Breedlove then says that a park manager showed up and stated that she needed to purchase new shorts in order to remain at the park.
Uploading a video of the incident to Facebook in a post made on May 2, Breedlove wrote to the Oklahoma City Police Department: "Your officers made my 11-year-old daughter cry hysterically thinking that her mother was about to be arrested."
She continued: "[The manager's] policies are vague and confusing and the way he body shames and discriminates against is illegal.
"I have a five-year ban now, but I will not go back to any of your parks if this is how a woman, law-abiding citizens, and visitors are treated. You should be ashamed of yourselves."
The post has since accrued a number of comments from other Facebook users, who were equally disturbed by Breedlove's treatment.
For instance, one person wrote: "Sorry that happened and I posted about the whole thing as well they needed to be fired for discrimination and harassment."
A second commenter wrote: "Outraged for you! I hope you can heal quickly from this, you are supported all over the world and [by] your family."
This person then stated: "You looked fine. That was an awful way to treat a customer. I get awfully hot & wear shorts or what I want, if someone doesn't like it, they can look the other way.
"Too bad that a lot of people still tend to sexualize the female body when you were just being cool and comfortable!"
Meanwhile, another person added: "That fake cop was straight-up harassing her over shorts that she looked good in and she wasn't bothering anyone. This theme park and their security need to be sued."
Finally, another commenter stated: "If there was something wrong with her attire, why was she let in the gate? Just to get her money, so they could kick her out afterward?"
In a later update on her original Facebook post, Breedlove stated that she had spoken to the captain of the Oklahoma Police Department, who reassured her that the uniform-wearing person seen in the video "was not an Oklahoma City Police Officer."
The official park policies of Six Flags do state: "Because Frontier City is a family park, we expect guests to behave appropriately. Violating our park policies may be cause for ejection from the park without refund."
However, this same document does not specify what constitutes an inappropriate garment, and there is no mention of the length of women's shorts or skirts.
health3 min(s) read
Published 18:49 28 Oct 2024 GMT
us4 min(s) read
Published 17:17 24 Nov 2022 GMT
A woman has recently opened up about her experience as a plus-sized person visiting Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Summer Len Davis said that her day was ruined after being denied entry on the rides due to her size. And just to make things worse, she was left humiliated after she was forced to try out the test seats in front of crowds.
The mom-of-two took to TikTok to recall the horrific day.
"I’m going to tell you a story about how this woman is too fat to fit on any roller coasters at Universal Studios," Davis says, pointing to herself in the picture.
She then tells her followers that she's not under any illusion that she's "thin", but she explains how regardless of her size, she's trying to teach her children that even "a body like this is capable of climbing mountains and doing good things, and even capable of having pretty solid bloodwork.”
She continued: "What I don’t like is taking my daughter on a girls’ trip for her 13th birthday and not being able to spend time with her."
Davis then goes on to claim that her daughter had to ride the roller coasters alone because she was deemed "too fat" to get on.
The video takes an emotional turn as the mom breaks down in tears while explaining that she's never had to experience anything as humiliating as she did at Universal - adding that there were no problems at Disney or Six Flags.
"I’m so disappointed in Universal and the message that this trip sent to my daughter," she says, wiping her eyes. "Also, shame on you Universal, for having test seats in front of everyone... Humiliating. Just humiliating."
Social media users were seemingly divided over the issue.
Some claimed that it wasn't Universal's fault that this happened as safety is their number one priority.
"It’s not supposed to humiliate you, it’s supposed to show you if you can ride safely. if you don’t fit in the test seat, you can’t," commented one user.
"Ok sorry but I don’t get it, the seats are made that size for safety to take average weight and size people, I really don’t think they are extra small," wrote another.
However, despite the negativity, there was also an array of supportive comments to help make the heartbroken mom feel better.
"Universal and all theme parks must do better, this is unacceptable. Sorry you had to deal with this," empathized this TikTok user, while another thanked Davis for being brave enough to be open about her experience.
A third stated: "I've come to the conclusion that Universal's designers don't know what women are shaped like. I barely scrunched into their rides."
Size inclusivity is extremely important and while other industries like fashion are changing the narrative around it, we need to make sure we're also pushing that same movement into other industries too.
travel1 min(s) read
Published 08:40 12 Oct 2019 GMT
A water park in Australia has been criticised for being "sexist" after implementing a dress code which prohibits women from wearing "cheeky" bikini bottoms. Despite the backlash, the park has stood by its decision, alleging that the decision was not "gender-specific".
Adventure World, in Perth, describes itself as a 'family-friendly park", and recently took to Facebook to share an infographic informing guests that revealing bikini bottoms are now banned. The image shows two full coverage options, which the park deemed "appropriate", and two others - a high-cut swimsuit and a thong bottom - which are now no longer allowed.
The flyer was captioned "Don't be too cheeky".
The post incited quite the furore on social media, with many deeming it to be sexist and discriminatory. "And this is why sexism still exists," commented one social media user, while another sarcastically wrote "Those men better cover their nipples too. Won’t somebody think of the children!?"
This woman spoke out after she was kicked out of her local pool due to an "inappropriate" one-piece:
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"Bum cheeks will scar your kids? Stupidest thing I’ve ever seen," a third wrote, and another added "Thanks for policing women’s bodies Adventure World. Now where’s the men’s version?"
Some, however, praised the park for allegedly upholding family values. "Glad to see something still standing for modesty and appropriateness," one social media user wrote.
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A second chimed in, "I support this Adventure World - Official Page!! People have no manners these days. Cover up and have some respect for yourselves and consideration for the other people who are also enjoying the park."
"Well done Adventure World!! I think this is a great move!!" wrote a third.
Adventure World have since released a statement to News.com.au, addressing the contentious move: "Let’s not confuse the issue. This update is about dress standards and dress standards only. It is not gender-specific," asserted the venue. "Adventure World is a family-friendly theme park. We keep informed of industry trends and whilst this was not a decision taken lightly, it is in line with other parks nationwide."
But I think we can all agree that there are worse things to find in your swimming pool, like a near 10 foot alligator:
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world3 min(s) read
Published 11:24 30 Sep 2021 GMT
A theme park in Perth, Australia, has been accused of "fat-shaming" guests after introducing weighing scales for its rides.
Adventure World's recent changes have been slammed as "humiliating" and "degrading," with some patrons calling for a boycott of the entire park.
The "self-serve" weighing stations were a point of particular ire, as they flashed red or green at the end of the queue, depending on whether the rider fell between the max weight limits.
Customers were told that they could not weigh over 198lbs (90kg) to ride the rapids, while they could not be over 165lbs (75kg) to go on the roller coaster, Abyss.
A woman named Jess, who was there with her two daughters, last Saturday, told The West Australian how her 13-year-old had a "humiliating and embarrassing" experience.
"My eldest daughter took my youngest daughter, who has special needs up the slides. She noticed the weight machine but just lined up with her sister and her friends," she said.
"Once at the top she was stopped and asked to stand on a weight machine. The lights flickered green and then red and then green again. The operator then walked over to an electrical box and looked inside it, and then came back to her and said sorry, you weigh this amount and you can’t go down,” she continued, adding that her daughter had to walk down in a "walk of shame".
"I was angry and disappointed in Adventure World. We’ve enjoyed these rides for years and now all of a sudden we weren’t able to."
The CEO of Adventure World, Andrew Sharry, has since issued an apology on Facebook, and has conceded that their waterslide safety mechanisms "would be received as traumatic and upsetting for some of our guests and members."
''Apology, In our efforts to introduce important systems to better manage safety on some of our waterslides, we have handled the communication of these new waterslide systems poorly and we have upset our Guests and Members.
"This is the last thing we wanted to do."
"On Monday, I connected with an expert who specialises in body image and eating disorders, and I can now see how these waterslide safety systems would be received as traumatic and upsetting for some of our Guests and Members.
"I am genuinely sorry that we have caused this distress to our Guests and Members - Our purpose is to create happiness and magical memories. We have not achieved that on this occasion and I acknowledge that we can do better.
"I have spoken with the family involved and have personally apologised for the hurt that we have caused.''
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