So I saw the premiere of Less Than Perfect last night, starring Sara Rue, who played the “fat girl” (then a size 10) on the late lamented Popular. She’s now a still-huge and whale-like size 8, and of course there are all these jokes about how fat she is and how much she eats.
My head hurts. I need some ice cream.
The U.S. is the fattest nation on earth, we suffer from an epidemic of obesity and all kinds of weight-related illnesses, and here’s a show about a 120-pound fat girl. Are we supposed to go, “oh, good—finally, a heroine who’s fat!” or, “omigod—the fat girl is half the size I am!”
Jeez, this stuff pisses me off in a big way (no pun intended.) I didn’t see either of those shows, but I’ve seen pictures of Sara Rue and I just have to say HELLO! That chick is about 50,000 twinkies shy of fat so just don’t even go there! As if women don’t have enough body issues to torment themselves with!
Jeez, this stuff pisses me off in a big way (no pun intended.) I didn’t see either of those shows, but I’ve seen pictures of Sara Rue and I just have to say HELLO! That chick is about 50,000 twinkies shy of fat so just don’t even go there! As if women don’t have enough body issues to torment themselves with!
Are you sure she’s only a size 8? I look at her and think we’re about the same size, and I’m a 12. (Or…could it be that I look larger than I think I do? Eep! )
Reminds me of the Smallville episode last year where they had a “fat girl” who became kryptonitally thin; when she was “fat”, they couldn’t afford a decent costume to represent that, so they made this huge prosthetic neck/face thing to make it look like she should weight about 300 pounds, but from chest down, she was maybe a size 12.
Less Than Perfect also has an actual fat girl in the cast (probably, oh, a size 14 or so). I wonder what she feels like on the set? Jolly Olly, from Barnum’s Freak Show?
There are pictures of Sara Rue in the link provided by Eve. Specifically the ones of her in the black dress. That girl is not a size ten. I’m a size ten and she’s way fatter than I am. She looks like a size 16 in those pictures.
One of the things that really annoyed me is that, while we were watching the American Idol show, someone brought up the fact that they’d probably force her (Kelly Clarkson) to lose weight if she won. And what a surprise, last weeks episode comes out, and she had lost a little weight. She was fine before, just a normal, healthy (skinny even) girl. I don’t see why they have to turn her into a waif.
And for your consideration there’s also Marissa Janet Winokur, starring as the fabulous and sassy Tracy Turnblad in the musical Hairspray. You may also remember her–as I fondly do–from American Beauty as the “you are so busted” girl at Smiley’s. I admit that this isn’t a great picture of her, but apparently in a NY Times article in the archives (so I can’t link to it), she’s a size 14.
And maybe I have a totally warped body image, but I think she’s a little bigger than that. I have a suspicion that a lot of the bigger actresses out there may simply make available the smallest size they fit into. I wear anything from a 12 to a 16, depending on cut, length, and bust. Am I a 12? Not technically. Would I say so when asked? Probably.
Whew. Pseudo rant off. Eve, can I have some ice cream too? I brought my own spoon.
I just want to appear on Eve’s tv. All the time. I’d like it projected out into the world.
But, yes, last night she looked larger than I am and I’m between a 10 & 14, depending on the brand/cut/fit etc. OTOH, they dressed her in “fat girl” clothing (too many ruffly, tentshaped, sloppily fitting, ugly prints. Which might have added to my impression.)
Showing fat girls really is a taboo. I once worked on a YA novel where one of the main characters was supposed to be not plump but FAT. That was a large part of the plot. She was so fat that her eyes squinched up, and she couldn’t see her feet. The cover picture showed a girl would could stand to lose a few pounds. After I objected (strenuously), the picture was beefed up to a girl who really needed to lose a few pounds.
You have to wonder what a teen would think reading the book. The message seems to be that a truly fat girl is such an obscene thing we couldn’t possibly actually show one on the book cover.
Okay, Okay. I agree with those who state that Sarah is certainly larger than a size 8 or 10 (or at least appears to be so on camera). However, I really don’t think clothing size is the point. She is a very attractive women, who does happen to be on the large side. Not fat. Large. There is a difference. She is also a healthy large.
While I was annoyed with some of the size cracks made last night… I didn’t really know if I should be. I liked that she ate what she wanted. I liked that she joked about how she would like to lose weight, so long as she didn’t have to diet or excersise. Moreover. I liked her. I think America will like her. It is a good character, size aside. I think that the actress playing such a (less than perfect) character could just as easily be skinny.
I really hope the show realizes that and doesn’t always focus in on her weight however. I could see that happening. And that really doesn’t seem to be the point. She could be Every Woman.
Sara dated a very good friend of mine for a few years (they broke up a few years back). I always liked her, and it’s really great to see her have success. She’s very talented, and deserves it, IMO. As far as her size goes, she’s lost a lot of weight over the years, and while she could hardly be considered ‘fat’ today by most of the sane population, she’s still decidedly not one of the rail-thin actresses that occupy most of the roles on television. It really is wonderful to see her in a lead role, and not the quirky, slightly overweight best friend.
She’s fat, but she’s not waaaay fat. I’ll bet she’s easily a 16. There’s no way she’s an 8 or 10. No way. And I agree with whoever said she was wearing fat-unfriendly clothes on the show. I thought it was great (although Eric Roberts kinda freaked me out). I think it’ll be a hit.
I’ll tell ya who’s fat…the fat kid, Mark, from “Ed”. He truly looks like he could die any minute. I hope he trims down.
