Rant, E-style

Can I just vent for a moment about this new trend in TV programming where models get dressed up in fat suits to see if they're treated differently when they look like they weigh 300 lbs? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, PEOPLE. In the last two weeks, I've seen this on Tyra Banks, Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show and at least two other news/entertainment shows whose names escape me. (And it's always women making the transformation, never men. Because, you know, fat is only visible if you have a vagina.)

God, there are so many things about this that annoy the living crap out of me. First, this "transformation" is typically presented as some kind of social science experiment: what will happen if this twig-like twentysomething suddenly morphs into a slob three times her size?!?! Gee, I fucking wonder. Do we actually need to demonstrate that fat people get treated differently than thin people in this culture? I mean, really?

Then there's the way that the models involved are presented as being so progressive for their willingness to undergo the humiliation and torture of being fat. Clearly, the audience's sympathy is supposed to go out to these poor waifs, suffering under their layers of latex and foam. I mean, THANK GOD that poor thing isn't stuck that way permanently! The horror!

But possibly worst of all is the underlying assumption that adding a fat suit to a model is an acceptable approximation of an actual overweight person. I watch these disguised women walking into restaurants or down the streets and I think: of COURSE people are fucking staring at you - you don't look at home in your own body! You look like you have no idea how to move! This makes sense for a tiny model in a huge fat suit, but contrary to popular belief, many heavy people are quite graceful and comfortable with their size. Instead of looking tortured and guilty about their appearance, some of them even look confident, stylish, and - gasp - sexy!

But we can't show those women on these segments. We can't have *actual* fat women talking about what it's like to be heavier than a size 8 in this size obsessed culture. We can't talk about how fat doesn't necessarily mean unhealthy, or look at some of the amazing role models out there helping to change the perception of larger women (Queen Latifah, Oprah, Kathy Najimy, etc.). No, all we can do is interview fucking models about how it felt for them to be "fat" for three whole hours. It's sexist, it's size-ist, and it's goddamn offensive. Katie, Tyra, Mary - the next time you want to get some insight into what it's like to be an overweight woman in the US, give me a call. I have a happy, loving relationship with my husband, I get tables at all the restaurants I want, and when I choose, I can dress up pretty damn nicely. And I REFUSE to be defined by your picture of my life.