Here’s the thing: I don’t think she’s crazy–I don’t think she’s attention seeking or anything. She just went from a normal environment as a waitress in Texas to Hollywood, where the average woman in the industry is a size 0 or 2, and anything above that is considered full-er figured.
If you look at any of the other contestants, such as Tamyra Gray or Christina Christian, they’re very skinny, almost stick-like. So I’m sure the fashion consultants (or whomever those kids have been dealing with) had no trouble picking clothes out for them, while they might have had to make trips to the mall or something for Kelly. (Seriously, I’m not making this up. Kathy Griffin, from Newsradio has actually commented on this phenomenen, since as a size 6, it’s happened to her.)
I know this is a lot of speculation, but I think it’s legitimate. I could completely see Kelly thinking she’s normal until she gets to Hollywood, where anorexic beauty is the norm.
From the get-go of this show, I’ve been rooting for her simply because she was more “natural” looking than the twigs you see in the pop-culture scene.
More power to her; as long as she stays “natural” looking, I think her body image will be good for little girls who see her as a pop star.
By no means is she full-figured. She does have a thicker booty, but damn, I find that freakin’ sexy. She’s the girl next door. I’ve never dated a size 0, and I think all of my past (and present) girlfriend(s) have been hot-- as is Kelly.
I recall reading a blurb in Entertainment Weekly that mentioned her “big butt”.
They of course had pictures of all contestants, and I probably spent 5 minutes staring at the photo of her trying to find out what angle you needed to be at to find her butt anything more than perfectly normal.
Cripes, first it was all about J-Lo’s butt, now this one. I just don’t see it.
One of the many reasons I’m not bothering with much on the TV these days!
I would think so; of course that same Us reported on another magazine which allegedly altered photos of Beyonce Knowles so her butt wouldn’t look so big?! (can’t find a cite) Ms. Knowles and Ms. Lopez both look great with thicker thighs and butts. I’m not saying that Ms. Clarkson shouldn’t do whatever she wants with her body (as fas as dress is concerned anyway); I just find it sad she has such a distorted vision of herself and that it would cause her to make judgments about herself. Her talent and class will make her attractive in any case.
I’ve got to go with The Wrong Girl here. She may not be ‘full figured’ or ‘fat’ to all of us, but to the Music/Film/TV industry, she probably IS overweight, and so it’s distressing to her.
And it doesn’t matter how many people outside of Celebrity land come in here and say “Well I like big fat girls, I think they’re sexy”, it’s not going to matter TO HER.
I am an above average sized female trying to make my way as an actress. I’ve been told by several agents to “lose about twenty pounds” and then resubmit my picture.
Yeah, what was it they told Charlize Theron? “Lose eight pounds, but not in the boobs”? :rolleyes: On the other hand, she acts heroic about not giving in to the Hollywood machine by agreeing to this; easy to do when you’re frigging Charlize Theron.
Fuck that shit. This really pisses me off. This woman’s talents are being overlooked or even dismissed on the basis of a completely unrealistic size expectation. I’d really like to know why being excessively thin came to be thought of as beautiful. And I’d really like to know how to make it go away. This kind of thing just makes me sad and angry and it makes me ache for my daughter who just turned 16 and who’s beautiful and talented and smart and sweet and a size 13. Are there people who look past the outside and find what’s underneath? I hope so. I really hope so.
Remember that “full-figured” does not have to mean “I shop at Lane Bryant.” It can mean boobs/booty/hips are fleshed out and curvaceous, rather than straight and slender. As long as the fat is concentrated in those areas, and you don’t end up with “thunder-thighs” or “bagel-wrists”, you could call yourself “full-figured” but not “fat.”
Anyways, I don’t get this revulsion some people have to entertainment’s preference for skinny or busty girls, and muscle-bound 6’ tall or higher guys. Give me attractive people to look at! If I want to see fat people I could:
A) Look in mirror
B) Go to Wal-Mart
C) Visit Warhammer 30K miniatures aisle at hobby store
If I’m watching a movie or TV program looking for talented acting, then I don’t give a hoot what they look like as long as they convince me they’re the character, accomplish with the character what the script requires. I don’t go to crappy movies just to see hot chicks in them (for instance, my favorite whipping-boy, Charlie’s Angels.) However, if I’m wasting 30 minutes on prime time network television, give me hot chicks!!
Now you can tell me fat people are beautiful, but clearly most people don’t agree, at least not in the sense of wanting to watch a show because “damn, that Cameron Manheim is soooooo hot!” They have extensive research divisions in advertising agencies across the country that help determine what sort of things grab a viewers attention. You can talk about “inner beauty” and personality, but that would require writing good enough to make you feel as if you personally knew these characters. You can hardly expect that from TV. Even reality TV like this doesn’t give you a real feel for the people, the video is edited to make them into “characters” of a sort just like the scripted ones. Even when you get writing that good, you go up against the short attention span of the modern TV viewer. Is the average viewer going to give the fat actor time to be endearing, or will he/she change the channel and stop on the show with the hotties and studs? Probably the latter.
Fuck, Kathy Griffin was on Suddenly Susan, not Newsradio. Just living up to my name, folks.
And RexDart, I see what you’re saying, and I don’t think that overweight people are barging in here demanding to have everyone consider them as beautiful as Angelina Jolie (or whoever you like)–Kelly Clarkson is not overweight–she’s not even that “full figured.”
What’s happening with her is a prime example of how fucked up our society is–can you honestly say that if Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, or Lucy Liu gained 10 or 20 pounds, they wouldn’t still be stunningly beautiful? 50 pounds, maybe not (and that’s to most people), but 10 or 20 pounds is not going to make a huge difference in the eyes of most Americans. But for most people in Hollywood, it’s like they’ve suddenly gone and painted warts on their face.
I can see what she’s saying. She doesn’t fit my definition of “full figured,” but she does have flesh on her bones, and (this is just a guess, mind) if she wasn’t working to keep her weight down, she might gain.
In other words, she’s exactly like the rest of us who didn’t get that gene that turn us into nervous little dogs with about as much body fat.
Also, as a performer, she has to be obsessive about how she looks. Voice, charisma, attitude, stage skills is what she depends on to make a living, and, yes, looks play a factor as well. One reason why actors can come off as self-absorbed is because taking care of themselves is full-time work. The ones who make it have to work pretty damn hard to get there and stay there. No wonder some of them turn psycho.
The fact that she’s wearing shirts that reveal her stomach in so many of those photos makes me wonder if she really has body-image problems, as opposed to just wanting attention and pity, whether or not it’s for a good reason. Maybe?
At least Newsradio has the other redhead I confuse with Kathy Griffin also.
I’m amazed that anyone has bought into her being even slightly overweight. I do not think she is the slightest bit fat. Maybe for a marathon runner, type A anorexic, capital B bulemic, professional faster, competitive ectomorph, or Hollywood stereotype. Yeesh, we are one screwed up society. And, no, I don’t like giant unhealthy looking fat women, nor am I fat and compensating. She is not even close.
I guess growing up and watching old movies with Marilyn Monroe, May West, Jean Harlow, and Raquel Welch set my archetypes before I could be all screwed up. They at least ate a couple times a day. The movies of the 70s and 80s (my childhood) featured somewhat normal looking women also. Victoria Principal on Dallas, Barbara Eden as Genie, drool. Thin, but not gaunt. Now, we have some really skinny women passing for healthy, and I’m supposed to think it is beautiful? Naah.
