TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society)
makes a tee in women’s fitted medium!
Photo: Richard W. Clapper, 2010.

I adore online storefronts that sell specialized geeky tees.

I like ordering from them and I don’t mind paying just a bit more for a shirt that says exactly what I want it to say!

When I received an e-mail notification announcing a new Firefly tee for women from one of my favorite stores, I took a pause in my workday and clicked on the link.

Lo and behold, I found awesome shirts displaying quotes and jokes from Thor, True Blood, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and more! I was in heaven.

Until I went to order the Thor shirt.

Sometimes female Browncoats
have to suck it up and wear
men’s tees instead.
Photo: M. Billig, 2010

I’ve worked hard to lose weight, and I’m down to a women’s medium! Yay! However, that’s not small enough.

Apparently us geek ladies are supposed to be girls. You know, not bigger than a size small. Because if you want a fitted tee shirt from some of these online retailers, you only get the option of junior sizes.

By design, I’m pretty short. However, my swimmer shoulders (even though I’m not a swimmer) wouldn’t fit into a junior tee even if I dropped thirty pounds or three sizes. That’s because I’m a woman, not a girl, and so I fit into women’s clothing.

What are my other options on some of these tee shirt sites? Well, there are men’s tees. Some of the designs only come in women’s sizes (maybe they don’t understand that Firefly is loved by all, and gay men like Mal, too). That means I couldn’t order a men’s size even if I wanted to.

I really don’t get it. At conventions and fan events, I see women of all shapes and sizes. Also, some of us aren’t naturally thin in all the ‘right’ places for a junior tee. And last I checked, geek guys (like most other straight dudes) like boobs. So what’s with the small sizes?

All of this is further emphasized by the fact that the larger size junior tees are sold out. No XLs left. Could that be because most women wanting to order this are a healthy but regular size? ::GASP!::

I get that the Tinkerbell and 101 Dalmatians shirts are in kid and junior sizes. I can live with it, and whatever, I’m going to Disney World soon and I’m sure I can find something in my size. I’m not a kid anymore and I can deal with it. But when you bring Thor and Mal into the discussion, I cannot accept a lack of sizes for real women.

And for the record–I don’t mind throwing this out there–when I say ‘real’ size, I don’t necessarily mean plus size, though plus-size customers are also neglected in this market. I mean pretty damn average, size medium women’s fitted tee.

Is that too hard to ask for?

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