Entertainment seats have a plus-size problem and it’s time we address it

She was excited when she got tickets to see & Juliet, an alternative take on Shakespeare's tragic love story set to Britney Spears. She was stuck in a seat that was too small for her body.

She tried to change seats before the performance began, but was not happy. She was trying to find two seats that were free so she could get some extra space at the sold out show. The pain was so bad that it was hard to concentrate on the musical while she was gone.

It's more common than people think. The humiliation of arriving at the theatre and realizing you can't fit into the seat you paid good money for is one of the topics discussed on r/plusSize. People have predicted the death of theatre due to theaccessibility of seats while others complain that they don't have enough space for their bodies. On public chat forums like Theatre Board and Seat Plan, users discuss the fear of being in tiny chairs.

Many fat people use AllGo, a U.S.-based app that reviews public spaces for larger bodies, to address this issue. People try to make it easier for the next person by adding as much detail as they can from their own experience. Fat visitors often have to extend their budgets to pay for premium seats.

Is it fair that visitors are responsible for this? There are periods of self-loathing and even harm in my body. The person next to me was uncomfortable when my body spilled into their seat and that's why I stopped going for gig. The act of approaching ground staff for wider seats is taxing for him and he would rather watch his favorite artists perform on the internet. In an ideal world, we should be able to stand up for ourselves, but that is not the case.

Charlotte Weber believes that it's unfair to insist on self-confidence as a solution. She says that it can feel burdensome to ask for more space and that it's more important to have a good feeling. Venues have faced this question a number of times, but there is little they have done to change the institutional landscape. Fat accessibility should be seen as an issue of exclusion as they make space for wheelchair users.

A fat comedian named Sofie Hagen is using her platform to hold theatres accountable. She added a clause to her contract that every venue she performs at has to update their accessibility information. "In my current show, I talk a lot about being too fat for chairs and it felt strange that the audience would be uncomfortable while watching this," she said. The tour wouldn't be long if I limited myself to theaters that could accommodate fat people. The bare minimum is to know the width, depth and height of the seats.

There are over 25 venues in the UK that have permanently added seat accessibility on their websites. The online equivalent of having boards that say "no fat people allowed" is the public acknowledgement that regular seats may not fit fat bodies. Venues are encouraged to come up with a plan that makes space without forcing larger people to pay more. The Old Fire Station theatre in Oxford, UK, now offers to place three seats without armrests next to one another in order to make space for fat visitors.

Ben Jackson, the founder of SeatPlan revealed that the company is considering a new section on the website. Users can further refine their reviews to find the best seats. A fat person's autobiographical shows on life in a fat body are created by Katie Greenall. Reducing the number of seats is one of the ways she addresses inaccessibility. There are real financial implications for theatres, but they also invite more people in the long run.

The plus-size market in the UK is expected to be $9 billion, while in the US it is expected to be $601 billion. There is a large group of fat people who are willing to spend money if they get the chance. There is a lack of initiative from the venues. The theatres were made when the average UK body was small. According to the managing editor of Fat Girls Guide, if they update a few seats in every price point, they will sell out.

Ambassador Theatre Group is the largest theatre conglomerate in the country and has "access champion" appointed at every venue to help with inclusion I tried to get in touch with 10 of their theaters, but the seat sizes are still shrouded in mystery. Theatre RoyalBrighton did not respond to emails at all, even though they put me on automated hold. The press team at the Young Vic ghosted me when I talked to them about fat accessibility.

The O2 communications team wouldn't comment on their seats being too small, a problem that I experienced as a UK size 14. The average dress size in the United States is UK 16. Fat people feel marginalized even though they are paying customers because it is hard to get some of the country's best known venues to share less information.

The FAA wanted to know if people preferred minimum seat dimensions for flights in the US. The entertainment industry needs to address the inaccessibility that it breeds. "For things to change, we need advocacy from people of all sizes, not just fat folk," says Rebecca Alexander, the founder of AllGo. Venues will not understand the seriousness of the problem if they don't know it.

It is necessary to change the way we look at fat bodies and to make sure they have access to the things they need. When plus-sized people are dismissed and asked to lose weight, it's a lifestyle issue rather than an inclusion that needs to be seen institutionally. Being fat is not something to be shamed for. There will always be groups who are forced to watch recorded performances or read plot summaries online instead of living in seats that can accommodate their bodies until this changes.