When Vanity isn't so Fair

So today on CNN.com I stumbled across an article "Can talent outweigh size in Hollywood?" Before I go on, just look at the picture above and what do they all have in common? The title of this is cover is "A New Decade, A New Hollywood" These are the faces of the "New Hollywood" now many have asked, why Zoe Saldana (who's not overweight but she's not white either) or Oscar nominated actess Gabourey Sidibe weren't on the cover? Howard Stern, being the shock jock that he is goes on air and says "What movie could she play in?" Stern questioned on his live broadcast. "You feel bad because everyone pretends that she's part of show business (why isn't she part of show business?), and she's never going to be in another movie." the growing sentiment seems to be tht he's only saying what everyone else is thinking. Jeffrey Wells says "Gabby is a lovely person and a fine actress, but the hard fact is that she's way, way too fat," adding that the actress will suffer from health problems as well as limited career opportunities if she doesn't lose weight. Since when is Hollywood concerned about health? Every other week we find out about another celebrity dying of an overdose, prescription drugs, or suicide. So she's fat, but who's business is that? Wells states"I don't want Gabby to not work, but the only roles she'll have a shot at playing will be down-market moms and hard-luck girls working at Wal-Mart," Wells continued. "No casting director would choose her to play anyone in the upscale executive world ... because no one in the executive world looks like her." In the modeling industry, there is extreme pressure for women to be skinny, sometimes dangerously skinny, they develop eating disorders that are sometimes fatal. Models don't look like the average American, in fact statistics show that America is becoming more overweight so riddle me this...Speaking in terms of film, is life supposed to imitate art or does art imitate life? What is to be said of talent? Gabby's life was far from her role in Precious, she pulled out the authentic grit and emotion to carry out one of the best performances i've seen in awhile. Why can't she be great? It begs the question of the relevance of beauty and success, should talent go unnoticed for the fat, short, darker skinned, less physically attractive? Gabourey is a classic example of why you should dare to be who you are, dare to step outside of your shell and be great because no one would have ever imagined or believed if you told thim that she would be nominated for an Oscar. People are still in disbelief as if it were some green one eyed unicorn that will never happen again. We are to defy stereotypes, we are to love ourselves, and we are to be examples for those coming from the rear. And by "we" I mean anyone affected by adversity, or that isn't the cookie cutter image of perfection. People's perceptions and opinions are just that, perceptions and opinions...I'm rooting for Gabourey, if she loses weight fine, but if she is the one breakout actress that just so happens to be fat and dark, then so be it, the world is yours!~

Fatolitics: the Politics of being Fat

So I was reading one of these "Urban Entertainment" blogs and there was a post about Mo'Nique being okay with her husband having sex outside their marriage. Firstly I do believe that marriage is a covenant, it is sacred, and a commitment. I can't say I think that's a good idea but that's her...And to each his own. Well after I read the post, I scrolled through the comments and couldn't help but notice almost each of them mentioned her being fat. The overwhelming issue that people had with her is her weight citing her low self esteem is the reason she would agree to something like that. People got really foul, I mean fat this, fat that, if she would put down the food this...And i'm like daaaaamn what is the real issue here??? I know it's a far stretch for me to take it there but should "fat" be a protected class in America? Now this has less to do w Mo'Nique post as it does with the trending concerns on the rise in the news concerning obesity. The statistics are alarming, we are a fat country. Children are having medical issues that don't usually arise in most people until their 40's and it's a legitimate concern that our weight directly affects healthcare. People who are overweight develop diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other medical issues as an effect. I've read the statistics and understand the implications but what does all this do to overweight people socially? How do people react to overweight people? Is it fair? Are they discriminated against by employers? Is it fair for airlines to charge an overweight person double? Can that be justified? Should there be a fat tax? Should fat people be happy? Before I go any further on that, let me clarify with a few examples about what I mean by that. Mo'Nique started a big is beautiful movement meant to empower fat women. She wrote a book that both satirized and humanized the struggles of being overweight. The message in it all was for women, especially overweight women to love themselves. Some people took issue with that. To some people, there's nothing worse than being fat and happy. If you're fat you should be either doing something about it or somewhere in seclusion hiding yourself from the world. There's little sensitivity when it comes to weight and the effects thereof. My friend's husband treats her like a drug addict when it comes to her weight, he said it's the same as any person addicted to crack. I'm a big girl and I've dealt with depression, low self esteem, ridicule (as a child), seclusion, and many other vices. On one hand you hear to love yourself first, make people respect you, you can do anything, don't settle for less, but on the other hand society tells you you shouldn't love yourself, thin is beautiful, your peers ridicule you, men tend to use you or don't want to touch you with a long handled spoon, you get excluded from cliques, family pressures you to be different, the people you see on tv and the magazines don't look like you so it becomes difficult to see through all the shut doors. You have to acquire thick skin because your adversities are great and the biggest struggle of all eventually becomes the internal struggle to Love yourself, to pick your head up and come out of your shell of depression and loneliness. It's difficult not to feel like a victim, you're not but you feel like it. It's also important to say that not all fat people go through this dark spiral. Right now approaching 30 I don't have the issues I did growing up, but still do have some of the residual effects. I'm finally accepting that some men like a well kept beautiful woman even if she has a few extra pounds and I have something to offer, lots to offer. That are the politics of being fat? Why shouldn't weight be considered a protected class? Now i'm not saying that it should, only posing the question...