Body Image
I feel the need to write. It won't be "good" as writing was never my forte. This will probably be just another rehashing of what I have already written, but I just need to get this out.
As Westerners, we have a focus on external beauty that is nearly unachievable by most people. Our idols today are for the most part actors and actresses that have to look good for their jobs. Granted we could have "normal" looking people on the screen, but since we watch TV and movies as escape, why would we want to see "average Janes and Joes" instead of a fantasy of a world full of beautiful people? Indeed there are a few actors and actresses that are overweight and it seems that that is the focus of why they are famous.
Let's take a look at Christina Hendricks. Oh my, my, my! She's curvy, voluptuous, and how she displays her ta-tas is always on tabloids. Granted they are quite fabulous and it's nice to see someone who is greater than a size 2 on screen, but that seems to be what people are focused on. The thing with Ms. Hendricks, however, is that while she is very voluptuous, she is definitely an hour glass. According to Wiki, only about 8% of women have an hourglass figure. Well, it's no wonder why she's getting a lot of attention for her body! She is one of the lucky few who are naturally curvy and have an hourglass figure. I still look at the tabloids that feature her as I consider her an inspiration/appearance goal for me to get down to. Quite possibly hypocritical of me, but well...oh well. The reason, I guess, I feel like this is hypocritical of me is because she has an unattainable figure, like many of the other actresses, and yet this is what I'm trying to attain. This could be my own expression of what is being thrust upon us as consumers of pop culture.
Recently, CBS premiered a new series called Mike & Molly. This is not going to be a review as I have yet to see enough to write a fair review. What I did see, however, was not pleasant. They cast 2 overweight people as the titular characters and they are definitely not in the Christina Hendricks category. They look like they could be your neighbors. Mike has quite a gut and Molly is apple shaped. I thought I might like this as they fall in love (who doesn't love romantic comedies??) and get together. When I was able to catch some of it, I was unfortunately not too pleased. It felt like one fat joke after another dealt out by their skinny friends. Molly is seen fighting on a diet and trying her hardest to lose weight. Instead of showing how overweight people are *gasp* human and not to be made the butt of every joke, they went down the easy route. It's very frustrating. So, it seems like this has gone down the "review" path, but if anyone who has seen more of it can convince me to sit through it, I would greatly appreciate it. Basically, the concept to me seemed great, but they utterly failed at the execution.
One other thing that bugs me about some sitcoms (even animated "sitcoms" a la Family Guy/Simpsons) is the overweight (or even unattractive) husband and the super hot wife. Some examples: King of Queens, Family Guy, Simpsons, and I would even include Married with Children (Al was definitely not very attractive but Peg, I feel, could be very attractive). A lot of these husbands promote the "no fat chicks" rule like they are the absolute hottest things in the world and couldn't possibly lower themselves to date a "fat chick." As a fat chick, I kind of resent this attitude of unattractive men thinking that even they are above the fat chick. (and, of course, I still watch them *headdesk*) I have a male friend who I think is rather attractive, short, lean, and a bit of a metalhead. He's a great guy and indeed I did fool around with him. He had just gotten out of a relationship and I was in my phase of refusing any sort of relationship. At that point, he was having a bit of a coming out. He was coming out as a guy who like chubby chicks. I remember sitting in Frontier Pizza with him discussing weight and issues like that and how some guys really like chubby girls. He kept acknowledging it as if he understood but I was kind of clueless for a bit. We went to his house to chill out and he explained that he did have a "bachelor pad" with "tasteful" naked chicks. So, I go in, and realize that the chicks were all very chubby. He then explained that when we first met back on the bus a year or so before he thought I was cute. For him, he confided in me that it was very hard for him to explain to some of his friends that he actually preferred the "fat chick." Why is it such an issue that a guy would like chubby chicks over thinner girls? Prior to this weird phase we're in, chubby chicks were *more* desirable because they were able to eat enough to be able to keep the fat padding and that would be useful when pregnant and lactating.
Anyways, I love Nikki Blonsky, especially in Hairspray. She's not in that small percentage of hourglass, she's average, very much like the actress who plays Molly. However, she seems to play roles that are empowering. Granted, what I've seen of the show Huge, she mostly plays a whiny teenager, but she does stand by her beliefs even if they are unhealthy. Her character differs from some of the other characters, particularly the "popular/pretty" one. That character is thinner than most (but still above a "healthy" weight). She is focused on weight and being "perfect," it is actually kind of sad. She is such a stark contrast to Ms. Blonsky's character. I feel like they represents the polar opposite opinions that many overweight people feel. I'm sure there's a part of everyone where we say "fuck you" to the standards and want to down the entire box cookies or that pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream because it tastes good. Then there's the other part where we scrutinize every little thing about our appearances and what we eat and how our clothes are fitting. The rest of the show is basically about normal teenage drama but at a weight loss camp. I love the character of Tracy Turnblad, but that isn't specific to Nikki Blonsky. I loved Tracy as portrayed by Ricki Lake and by the various actresses on stage. I think what I like about "Tracy Turnblad" is that she takes her own struggles as an overweight teen and aligns herself with the Civil Rights movement. I feel that this was interesting as the Civil rights movement was about those who were alienated/ignored/treated as subhuman and many overweight people are viewed as not on the same level as thin/healthy weighted person.
I do not intend to make this a "omg! fatties have it so hard!" sort of rant. There are indeed those on the other end of the spectrum who are at a healthy weight but feel the jealousy of the overweight. The "skinny bitches" of the world have their own demons in this society. There's the demand to stay skinny, the demand to look good, to have the right size boobs, tiny waist, right sized hips (remember that (according to Wiki) 8% of women are hourglass). We also have the situation where some of our 'idols" get too skinny. Case(s) in point: Angelina Jolie and Kelly Ripa. Ms. Jolie is stunningly gorgeous, but she does appear to be frighteningly thin at times. She has admitted that she has had eating disorders and I'm glad that she is open about it. Ms Ripa, to me, just looks really scary. When she started with Regis, she looked very healthy and absolutely adorable. Then, possibly due to the pressures of the business, she lost a lot of weight. Instead of what she says, it's her body that gets her into tabloids. Now, here I am talking about their bodies rather than what they say, which probably doesn't make me any better than the tabloids.
As I was writing this, I saw a commercial for a new A&E show called "Heavy." It's a weightloss show where they take super obese people and change their lives. This isn't like The Biggest Loser, but more like an Intervention sort of show. It's not a competition so you don't get people doing bad things to their body to make it seem like they weigh less, just people transforming their lives. Hopefully this will go on Hulu so I can watch it when it starts coming out as it seems like it would be a good show to watch, where the extremely overweight are not on to be made fun of.
Speaking of tv shows, Tyra Banks has been doing a "thing" on changing the name of "plus size" to Fiercely Real. Part of me really really likes this. I love how a huge name in fashion is saying that "plus size" girls are attractive. The other part of me also thinks of the thin girls who consider themselves "fierce" and they are also real. It harkens back to the argument of only real women have curves, which is not true. Women come in all shapes and sizes, from the small, boyish frame, to the matronly, to the very, very large and everything in between. These are all real women with something to offer to society. My own opinions have changed since I've been maturing and at one point I was in the "only real women have curves" camp. But when I think about it now, I kind of want to slap myself. How would a naturally thin, athletic woman who has like no boobs or hips feel if she were not considered a "real" woman? If some people are only attracted to that body type, then I feel like that should be acceptable. Same with someone who likes fat chicks. My issue now is that people shouldn't be criticized for what they like, provided that everyone is an adult and consenting and human.
This is all stemming from me watching myself while belly dancing. I would watch myself doing some moves and doing them very well and then I would look at one of the thinner students and wish that I could like that because I felt as though it looked cleaner then when I danced. Instead of focusing on my posture and all that other stuff, I would focus on my bat wing arms and how large my butt is. I would then yell at myself internally and try to focus on good things like how flat I can keep my hips while doing figure 8s or the differences between some shimmies or even at least how good it feels to be dancing again. I would love to be able to dance well enough to do something where I can earn some money from it and be able to wear those gorgeous outfits. But there's *no way* I'm exposing my belly because I don't like it. I really enjoy it and while my foot is being dumb, it doesn't seem to bother me as much as say going to the gym would. I don't know, maybe some day.
I've also been making a conscious effort for every negative thing I think about another woman, I find a way to (at least internally) find something positive about her. We have enough negativity in this world, particularly among women. I want to challenge other women to do this as well.
Now, to make up for my own negativity in this post:
Kelly Ripa: She has a fun, upbeat personality that is contagious.
Angelina Jolie: Stunning, wonderful actress.
Tyra: Great business woman, yet another beautiful woman no matter her weight.
Christina Hendricks: besides being gorgeous, was wonderful as YoSafBridge in Firefly. Haven't seen her in Mad Men yet, but great in Firefly.
As Westerners, we have a focus on external beauty that is nearly unachievable by most people. Our idols today are for the most part actors and actresses that have to look good for their jobs. Granted we could have "normal" looking people on the screen, but since we watch TV and movies as escape, why would we want to see "average Janes and Joes" instead of a fantasy of a world full of beautiful people? Indeed there are a few actors and actresses that are overweight and it seems that that is the focus of why they are famous.
Let's take a look at Christina Hendricks. Oh my, my, my! She's curvy, voluptuous, and how she displays her ta-tas is always on tabloids. Granted they are quite fabulous and it's nice to see someone who is greater than a size 2 on screen, but that seems to be what people are focused on. The thing with Ms. Hendricks, however, is that while she is very voluptuous, she is definitely an hour glass. According to Wiki, only about 8% of women have an hourglass figure. Well, it's no wonder why she's getting a lot of attention for her body! She is one of the lucky few who are naturally curvy and have an hourglass figure. I still look at the tabloids that feature her as I consider her an inspiration/appearance goal for me to get down to. Quite possibly hypocritical of me, but well...oh well. The reason, I guess, I feel like this is hypocritical of me is because she has an unattainable figure, like many of the other actresses, and yet this is what I'm trying to attain. This could be my own expression of what is being thrust upon us as consumers of pop culture.
Recently, CBS premiered a new series called Mike & Molly. This is not going to be a review as I have yet to see enough to write a fair review. What I did see, however, was not pleasant. They cast 2 overweight people as the titular characters and they are definitely not in the Christina Hendricks category. They look like they could be your neighbors. Mike has quite a gut and Molly is apple shaped. I thought I might like this as they fall in love (who doesn't love romantic comedies??) and get together. When I was able to catch some of it, I was unfortunately not too pleased. It felt like one fat joke after another dealt out by their skinny friends. Molly is seen fighting on a diet and trying her hardest to lose weight. Instead of showing how overweight people are *gasp* human and not to be made the butt of every joke, they went down the easy route. It's very frustrating. So, it seems like this has gone down the "review" path, but if anyone who has seen more of it can convince me to sit through it, I would greatly appreciate it. Basically, the concept to me seemed great, but they utterly failed at the execution.
One other thing that bugs me about some sitcoms (even animated "sitcoms" a la Family Guy/Simpsons) is the overweight (or even unattractive) husband and the super hot wife. Some examples: King of Queens, Family Guy, Simpsons, and I would even include Married with Children (Al was definitely not very attractive but Peg, I feel, could be very attractive). A lot of these husbands promote the "no fat chicks" rule like they are the absolute hottest things in the world and couldn't possibly lower themselves to date a "fat chick." As a fat chick, I kind of resent this attitude of unattractive men thinking that even they are above the fat chick. (and, of course, I still watch them *headdesk*) I have a male friend who I think is rather attractive, short, lean, and a bit of a metalhead. He's a great guy and indeed I did fool around with him. He had just gotten out of a relationship and I was in my phase of refusing any sort of relationship. At that point, he was having a bit of a coming out. He was coming out as a guy who like chubby chicks. I remember sitting in Frontier Pizza with him discussing weight and issues like that and how some guys really like chubby girls. He kept acknowledging it as if he understood but I was kind of clueless for a bit. We went to his house to chill out and he explained that he did have a "bachelor pad" with "tasteful" naked chicks. So, I go in, and realize that the chicks were all very chubby. He then explained that when we first met back on the bus a year or so before he thought I was cute. For him, he confided in me that it was very hard for him to explain to some of his friends that he actually preferred the "fat chick." Why is it such an issue that a guy would like chubby chicks over thinner girls? Prior to this weird phase we're in, chubby chicks were *more* desirable because they were able to eat enough to be able to keep the fat padding and that would be useful when pregnant and lactating.
Anyways, I love Nikki Blonsky, especially in Hairspray. She's not in that small percentage of hourglass, she's average, very much like the actress who plays Molly. However, she seems to play roles that are empowering. Granted, what I've seen of the show Huge, she mostly plays a whiny teenager, but she does stand by her beliefs even if they are unhealthy. Her character differs from some of the other characters, particularly the "popular/pretty" one. That character is thinner than most (but still above a "healthy" weight). She is focused on weight and being "perfect," it is actually kind of sad. She is such a stark contrast to Ms. Blonsky's character. I feel like they represents the polar opposite opinions that many overweight people feel. I'm sure there's a part of everyone where we say "fuck you" to the standards and want to down the entire box cookies or that pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream because it tastes good. Then there's the other part where we scrutinize every little thing about our appearances and what we eat and how our clothes are fitting. The rest of the show is basically about normal teenage drama but at a weight loss camp. I love the character of Tracy Turnblad, but that isn't specific to Nikki Blonsky. I loved Tracy as portrayed by Ricki Lake and by the various actresses on stage. I think what I like about "Tracy Turnblad" is that she takes her own struggles as an overweight teen and aligns herself with the Civil Rights movement. I feel that this was interesting as the Civil rights movement was about those who were alienated/ignored/treated as subhuman and many overweight people are viewed as not on the same level as thin/healthy weighted person.
I do not intend to make this a "omg! fatties have it so hard!" sort of rant. There are indeed those on the other end of the spectrum who are at a healthy weight but feel the jealousy of the overweight. The "skinny bitches" of the world have their own demons in this society. There's the demand to stay skinny, the demand to look good, to have the right size boobs, tiny waist, right sized hips (remember that (according to Wiki) 8% of women are hourglass). We also have the situation where some of our 'idols" get too skinny. Case(s) in point: Angelina Jolie and Kelly Ripa. Ms. Jolie is stunningly gorgeous, but she does appear to be frighteningly thin at times. She has admitted that she has had eating disorders and I'm glad that she is open about it. Ms Ripa, to me, just looks really scary. When she started with Regis, she looked very healthy and absolutely adorable. Then, possibly due to the pressures of the business, she lost a lot of weight. Instead of what she says, it's her body that gets her into tabloids. Now, here I am talking about their bodies rather than what they say, which probably doesn't make me any better than the tabloids.
As I was writing this, I saw a commercial for a new A&E show called "Heavy." It's a weightloss show where they take super obese people and change their lives. This isn't like The Biggest Loser, but more like an Intervention sort of show. It's not a competition so you don't get people doing bad things to their body to make it seem like they weigh less, just people transforming their lives. Hopefully this will go on Hulu so I can watch it when it starts coming out as it seems like it would be a good show to watch, where the extremely overweight are not on to be made fun of.
Speaking of tv shows, Tyra Banks has been doing a "thing" on changing the name of "plus size" to Fiercely Real. Part of me really really likes this. I love how a huge name in fashion is saying that "plus size" girls are attractive. The other part of me also thinks of the thin girls who consider themselves "fierce" and they are also real. It harkens back to the argument of only real women have curves, which is not true. Women come in all shapes and sizes, from the small, boyish frame, to the matronly, to the very, very large and everything in between. These are all real women with something to offer to society. My own opinions have changed since I've been maturing and at one point I was in the "only real women have curves" camp. But when I think about it now, I kind of want to slap myself. How would a naturally thin, athletic woman who has like no boobs or hips feel if she were not considered a "real" woman? If some people are only attracted to that body type, then I feel like that should be acceptable. Same with someone who likes fat chicks. My issue now is that people shouldn't be criticized for what they like, provided that everyone is an adult and consenting and human.
This is all stemming from me watching myself while belly dancing. I would watch myself doing some moves and doing them very well and then I would look at one of the thinner students and wish that I could like that because I felt as though it looked cleaner then when I danced. Instead of focusing on my posture and all that other stuff, I would focus on my bat wing arms and how large my butt is. I would then yell at myself internally and try to focus on good things like how flat I can keep my hips while doing figure 8s or the differences between some shimmies or even at least how good it feels to be dancing again. I would love to be able to dance well enough to do something where I can earn some money from it and be able to wear those gorgeous outfits. But there's *no way* I'm exposing my belly because I don't like it. I really enjoy it and while my foot is being dumb, it doesn't seem to bother me as much as say going to the gym would. I don't know, maybe some day.
I've also been making a conscious effort for every negative thing I think about another woman, I find a way to (at least internally) find something positive about her. We have enough negativity in this world, particularly among women. I want to challenge other women to do this as well.
Now, to make up for my own negativity in this post:
Kelly Ripa: She has a fun, upbeat personality that is contagious.
Angelina Jolie: Stunning, wonderful actress.
Tyra: Great business woman, yet another beautiful woman no matter her weight.
Christina Hendricks: besides being gorgeous, was wonderful as YoSafBridge in Firefly. Haven't seen her in Mad Men yet, but great in Firefly.