I’m waiting and waiting for the “so round, so plump, so fully packed” (yes, I know that’s about Lucky Strikes, but Mr. Rilch says it also describes me) to come back into fashion. I’ve been told that in the 1900s and early '10s, skinny women were as reviled as overweight women are today.
Now here’s something I’ve been discussing with some women on another page. The page is a [blush]Hugh Jackman fansite[/blush] and we’ve gotten hold of some early promotion for his most recent film (not Swordfish, but one that isn’t out yet). He’s playing this late-19th century hotshot who gets transported to 2K1. The female lead is Meg Ryan.
There will be the usual culture-shock quandries, but one thing I know they won’t discuss is the fact that someone from 1890 or whatever would not, at least physically, be attracted to skinny Meg Ryan. In fact, he might think she was dangerously underweight. My pals and I have outlined a very pleasant scenario in which Hugh Jackman sets out our favorite indulgence foods (chocolate/raspberry ice cream and salt’n’vinegar potato chips for me) and says, “We’re going to feed you up…You’re not leaving until you eat this, every bit!”
I was just about to post a new thread about this, but I can make it just a reply.
I just finished watching “But I’m A Cheerleader” which is meant to show that the idea of Gay reform (i.e. you once were gay but learned to be straight) is absurd, and that we need to let go of traditional gender roles and stereotypes.
It takes place at a surrealistic camp where all the boys dress in blue, all the girls dress in pink and they learn traditional roles so they can learn to be straight. The movie makes fun of this all the way through. I’m fine with that. Good message. More tolerance, be yourself, no stereotypes.
Except for the fact that they used every stupid gay stereotype that there is!! AAARRRGGHHH!!!
All the gay guys prance around and are afraid of cars and football and talk with lisps etc. They all hold their hands up in that awkward “gay” way. I hate you Hollywood. You can’t make a movie about tolerance without thoroughly insulting the people you are supposedly speaking for. Dammit that makes me mad.
I’m surprised no-one’s mentioned Shrek in this thread yet.
I went to see this with my girlfriend a few weeks ago and she was offended because she thought that the ‘Beauty is only skin deep’ idea was ineffectively conveyed. This she argued was because of the manner in which the central female character was beautified even as a ‘monster’. Thus it communicated a mixed message.
I was inclined to agree with her, but didn’t pick up on it at the time.
The same applies to Beauty and the Beast: Disney made the “horrific” Beast into a big cuddly plush toy, so the audience knew he was really a big softie at heart. What I want to see is Beauty and the Elephant Man, or maybe Beauty and the Cthuloid (leaving a little trail of slime around the computer-animated ballroom…)
Looking at paintings and photographs from the 18th and 19th century I don’t know how you can come to that conclusion. Most of the young women potrayed in those paintings and photographs don’t look to me like they’re in the least bit plump or overweight. At least not the younger ones.
no matter how you spin it, being overweight is not beautiful and it is not healthy!!!
why doesnt rosie “now im depressed” o’donell lose some weight and be an example like oprah is and save lives through healthy living instead of talking about things she has no knowledge of?
oh and bye the way , ever notice how overweight women are never attracted to overweight men? they want guys who are in good shape
but men are pigs for thinking that way about women
oink oink
This differs from what I recall. I seem to associate this time period with women in society strapping themselves into corsets to create an artificial wasp-waisted look, which would jibe pretty well with today’s obsession with being thin.
Which brings me to another point. Meg Ryan is not skinny, she’s thin; there’s a difference. Look at supermodels, they’re skinny. Meg Ryan has a healthy amount of meat on her bones.
Do you think that Mr. Jackman would have a fan club if he were 50 lbs. heavier and had a pot belly? I’m not saying that Hollywood doesn’t have an unrealisitic view of feminine beauty. There’s an article in last month’s Psychology Today that claims that this unrealistic view hurts people of both sexes. Clearly, Hollywood has a narrow definition of what is / is not sexy / beautiful in women. The same is true of men. As a general rule, Hollywood presents an unrealisitic picture of everything
As many people have said before, some people find overweight people attractive, and some people find skinny people attractive. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. So, what is wrong with the Farrelly brothers thinking overweight people are ugly and using that in their movie? They wrote the movie and they are using their definition of beauty. If you have a different definition of beauty the movie won’t be funny to you, but to other people it will be.
Being underweight is not beautiful or healthy either, and it is possible to weigh well more than the ideal portrayed by the media without being overweight in the medical sense.
If I were to magically gain 50 pounds I’d have to buy some bigger pants, but I could still be perfectly healthy. However, if I were to suddenly lose 50 pounds, I’d be lucky to survive. If I did, I’d be little more than a skeleton with skin.
And if those 50 pounds gained was all fat? You might be healthy for a while but eventually all that fat would take its toll on your health. Back and joint problems, diabetis, and cardiovascular difficulties will probably plague you later in life. In the short term you may have difficulty with physical activities because of shortness of breath,excessive sweating, and a hard time fitting into seats.
Of course even if you’re obese losing 50 pounds to quickly would be very unhealthy and possibly life threatening. That’s one thing I like about Richard Simmons. If you want to lose weight in a healthy fashion you’ve got to eat right and exercise on a regular basis.
I do agree that Hollywood has an interesting idea of what is fat. Remember a few years ago they had these diet commercial that showed twins. One took this special skill and the other did not. I didn’t think the twin that wasn’t on the diet pill needed to lose any weight. She didn’t look overweight at all.
Because some of us think that making fun of people because they are unattractive, by anyone’s definition, isn’t funny. I find amputees unattractive…would it be “funny” to use them in a movie to laugh at? I also find people with Down’s Syndrome unattractive to look at…does that mean I get to laugh at them because of it?
I find severe acne completely repulsive…does that mean it’s ok for me to make fun of people who suffer from it? And there are millions of people on earth who, in my opinion, lost the genetic lottery. They are just plain ugly as hell. Does that mean we get to laugh at them for it?
But I think female celebreties are more likely to be singled out for being fat then male ones. Most overweight female characters are not potrayed as having hot to trot husbands or boyfriends. But the same is not true of male characters.
King of Queens: Fat guy has a pretty hot wife.
Daddio: Crummy show but again a fat guy with a pretty hot wife.
Honeymooners: Fat guy with a pretty hot wife.
But then I do have to wonder. I know there’s men’s magazines devoted to overweight and obese women. Are there any lady’s magazines devoted to overweight or obese men?
One man’s tragedy is another mans comedy. I can’t imagine not being able to make fun of people. Its FUNNY. The Farrely brothers thought it would be funny to write this movie. Someone thought it was funny enough to actually make the movie, and some people will think it is funny enough to go see it. Who am I, or anyone else, to judge what other people should see as funny? If you have a problem with the film you don’t have to see it.
I think it is very important to be able to laugh at yourself, and at things that are normally taken very seriously. If an overweight individual is comfortable with his/her size then they should be able to go to this movie and still laugh at it because it is not them who is being made fun of. It is a totally unique person who happens to be overweight. The fact that that person is seen as ugly does not mean that all overweight people are seen as ugly. However, if an overweight individual is not comfortable with their size they should not go to see the movie at all because they will be offended by it.
