Is Target sending fat girls a message?

I am a former Target employee -- 10 years with the company, in fact, and I have always been a fan and loyal shopper, even after leaving them to begin a career in non profit work. Target spends a lot of money attracting the latest and greatest fashion designers and putting a lot of them in the mainstream for us common folk who can't really afford to shop on Rodeo drive or on 5th Avenue. Great looks, hot trends made affordable. Right? That's the message I receive from the advertisements. Visit the store as a plus sized female shopper and I start to get another message. No fat girls here, please.

Let's take a look, shall we?
If you're a plus sized woman seeking clothing at Target, be prepared to go hunting (no camoflauge needed). In each of the Target stores I visit (and I get around to quite a few in my area), I make it a point to visit the plus department, titled Women's on a big sign hanging overhead. This would lead one to believe that there is an actual department. No so. The Women's "department" is wedged in a tiny corner of the store, right by the fitting rooms and directly behind the expanding maternity department. Here's what I found waiting for me on my last visit:

• One cube rack of t-shirts. One side included clearanced regular sized t-shirts. I guess they ran out of space.
• A two-sided rack with pants on one side and a few blouses on the other
• One small rack of bathing suits and cover-ups
• A wall rack with a few pants and t-shirtsThat's it.

Oh, and did I mention that the racks were so close together that they were barely shoppable? No cart is getting in that area. Also, since the department is located right by the fitting room, a big rack with new merchandise for the regular sized department was wedged in there to be worked out to the floor; thus, making it nearly impossible to get to one of the racks to shop.

So what's the message?

Target is not alone. I have witnessed shrinking plus sized departments in a few other stores as well such as TJ Maxx and even Macy's (although not significant shrinkage here, just a bit). With more than 50% of Americans being classified as obese, I think these retailers are missing out on a big (no pun intended) market! Perhaps their research tells them that obese women don't want what they have to offer. I don't know. But as a consumer, and a plus sized woman, the message I'm receiving is "we don't care about putting clothing on your back, so find it somewhere else."

Oh, and I did fill out a customer comment card at Target to voice my concerns. Six months later, I've received no reply.

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences. Until next time...