(If your monitor suddenly cracked, well, too bad for you, I'm not buying you a new one. This blog has always been a "read at your own risk" deal. Remember all those documents I had you sign the first time you read me?)
Anyway, as it turns out, being overweight isn't really good for a whole lot. According to the latest, oldest, pretty much all of the, news reports, anyone carrying extra weight is, in fact, going to die one day. It's terrible, isn't it? I do try to diet as often as I can, because there are days when I think, "Man, I'd sure like to lose weight and live forever like all the skinny people do," but by the time I'm done thinking about it, I've usually found something else to do with my time or, if I'm lucky, that last pudding cup sitting in the back of the refrigerator.
So, it's never "news" when some size 0 newscaster with perky cheekbones (and don't even get me started on the females) says something like, "Latest studies have found that being obese will lead to cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart attack, ugly naked state and lousy self esteem." For me, it would be actual news if one anchor stick figure started off a broadcast with, "Recent studies have found that fat people can be healthy and lead happy, useful lives." *
But I have found one great upside to being fat today...namely, I couldn't even remotely get away with writing the blog entry you're about to read ** if I were thin. The Fat Universe would tear me to shreds (and possibly eat them if they were deep-fried and covered in brown sugar). But, as I'm already a member of the Fat Universe, the most I'll likely get is a slap on my chubby hand, and I have all that fat to cushion the blow, so hey, give it your best shot.
So, here's today's weighty issue... ***
When my sister (a beautiful lady who, like me, is also overweight) was visiting a week ago, we were watching the news and were told that, shock and horror, there was a brewing "controversy" over actress Melissa McCarthy's latest appearance on the cover of "Elle":
http://www.tvguide.com/news/elle-melissa-mccarthy-cover-1072240.aspx?rss=keywords&partnerid=foxnews&profileid=celebs
Here's the cover photo:
Let me emphasize that Barb is sitting on the couch, I'm sitting in Dad's chair **** and the anchor says something like, "Coming up after the break, the latest controversy over Melissa McCarthy's photo on 'Elle'," and they flash this picture on the screen. It was the first time Barb or I had seen it. And I immediately turned to Barb and said, "Wow, gorgeous picture, but I'll bet there's a controversy over all the airbrushing on the face." Barb and I held a short meeting during the commercial break and determined that The Power That Be at "Elle" must have brushed out some of her chins and, if that were the case, I sure wish I had those same powers working out of my house.*****
So, after the commercial break, Miss Size Zero Anchor Chick comes back on and informs us all that the controversy has to do with Melissa (who is a member of the Fat Universe, and we're damn glad to have you with us, baby) was intentionally being "covered up" by a hideous coat ****** when all the other skinny actresses got to show off an appropriate amount of flesh in their photos, like this one:
And I'm not suggesting that Ms. Woodley isn't a gorgeous person; I'm merely using this photo to demonstrate that The Media didn't seem to find this display of flesh to be controversial at all, which wasn't always the case. You wouldn't have seen a photo like this on display anywhere in the mainstream 50 years ago. Heck, we weren't even permitted to view Barbara Eden's belly-button on "I Dream of Jeannie" in 1966.
So, now controversy happens when a woman is shown wearing too many clothes. Oh wait ... not "a" woman. A FAT woman.
Here's what bugs me the most about this:
Does not The Media understand that if Shailene Woodley had appeared wearing a seasonal fashion choice -- meaning one which would not permit the wearer to freeze to death while strolling through the Minnesota woods in October -- there would never have been a "controversy"? Does this not suggest that it's The Media that has problems with fat women, and not "Elle"? If Melissa had been thin and wearing a coat, there would have been no discussion at all. But when an overweight woman -- even one as gorgeous as Melissa -- dares to command a spotlight anywhere, The Media jumps all over it like a fat guy on a Big Mac. Has Oprah gained weight? Has Kirstie lost weight? Why is Melissa being forced to "cover up" with a coat? If a fat female celebrity dares to not be invisible, even for one second, The Media will find some aspect of that to bitch about and ... worse ... pin their prejudices on a third party.
So ... I'm glad I got that off my full-figured bosom... but here's what bugs me SECOND most about this (and this is the part of this blog post that's probably going to get my sizeable ass busted):
Why does covering up one's fat mean that someone's "ashamed" of it?
Why can't something be covered up because it simply looks better that way?
Can't there be, I don't know, some happy mid-point between what's "shameful" and what's "skanky"?
I guess this is my age showing, because when I was growing up (and yes, I was a chubby-- albeit active-- kid), it was considered a sign of good taste, if not breeding, to wear clothes that flattered your lines. Breaking this down: If you had flabby upper arms, you didn't wear sleeveless tops. If you had an ample butt, you wore a jacket long enough to cover it. If you had a poochy stomach, you didn't tuck your shirt into your pants, and you certainly didn't wear tank tops that appeared to have shrunk in the dryer. But if you DID want to break with tradition and ignore any of those rules, then you did that, knowing others would give you grief about it. It wasn't society's fault if you got some grief; it was simply your choice to ignore it, and that was the end of it.
Me ... I haven't gone sleeveless in public since I was 11 years old (except at the swimming pool), because I believe it was then my mother told me to cover up any part of my body that moved independently from the rest. (Of course, my mother also told me to wear dark colors because they were "slimming", so I used to defy her by buying stuff that was pink.) Yeah, maybe there was some fat "shame" at play. Frankly, I think a little more well-placed shame, now and then, might benefit Society greatly (and that's a whole 'nuther entry). But I also have Mom to thank for having childhood photos of myself that do not, today, make me puke.
Look ... body parts that jiggle, swing, shake or bobble shouldn't be seeking attention. These parts want to be supported. They want to be nurtured. They want to be loved. They want to be enveloped by silk, satin, velvet, cashmere, any gorgeous garment that flows, or -- for the guys -- swimming trunks that don't outline junk I don't need to see. Men and women in Victorian England didn't cover up their bodies in public out of shame; they did it because yeah, Society made them do it, but also because being seen without clothing was a privilege reserved for private moments behind bedroom doors. In other words, being naked wasn't something to be ashamed of, but something that was meant to be an event, something special, something not common.
Today, you tell me ... what's special about seeing Shailene Woodley wearing a swimsuit on the cover of "Elle"? Flesh is everywhere. It's too common. It's not special, even if it's flesh that's attractive as Ms. Woodley's is. You'd walk past this magazine at a newsstand in an airport and probably barely (no pun intended) notice it, because there's a sea of flesh on the same rack. Let me stifle a yawn while I rush to my gate.
So, a memo to The Media ... you can call me old-fashioned because there are still people out here who prefer to see imperfect body parts covered by something beautiful, but do NOT call me "fat-shamed." I like to think we can still exercise our imaginations while reinstating good fashion taste in public places. I'd so like to walk up to the next chubby, scantily dressed 14-year-old girl I see at the mall and say, as my mother would have said to me 40 years ago, "You really should cover that up, honey".
*This hasn't happened yet, but I'm really very hopeful.
** What, you say? I'm not reading your entry yet? Just what in the hell have I been reading here?
*** Actually, it was last week's issue, but there's a time delay on the planet where I live.
**** Dad passed away in 2010. The chair will always belong to him first.
***** Melissa, if you're out there reading this (and God only knows why you would be), you're so stunning, and so talented. I loved "Bridesmaids" and I watch "Mike and Molly" all the time, and I just know it's going to become a massive hit when TBS shows three hours of re-runs every night like they do with "The Big Bang Theory". So, if you didn't have one alteration made to this picture and you want to sue me, please remember how much I love you and how very beautiful I think you are, and no matter how smarmy that just sounded, I'm being totally sincere. Oh, and I'm really poor.
****** Honestly, I think this coat is gorgeous and would kill for it if the warden would let me wear it in prison.
No comments:
Post a Comment