Can you be a fat actress? (part 2)

Fallen Chubby Champs (continued) 

FALLEN CHUBBY CHAMPS (CONTINUED) 

So I started this "Can you be a fat actress" post, with a specific structure in mind - Name the women that have succumbed to the pressures of the media to lose weight, then name those who haven't - "The Real Chubby Champs". But alas, my blog hit a snag when I realize there are no "Real Chubby Champs".... at least not anymore. Any women in television or the media that has made a name for herself, and at one point was considered chubby, has lost weight in order to fit in with what American society expects it's celebrities to look like. 

However in the middle of writing this blog I realize that I am not being fair. All these women I've listed below are amazing, and losing weight is not an easy task. Furthermore, I commend them for stepping into a realm bias for size two women, as themselves, and prevailing as full figured women.

The fact that they later lost weight does not diminish this accomplishment in any way. It does however speak to a bigger problem -A problem not with the women themselves wanting to lose weight, however a problem with society expecting them to. 

Every women wants to lose weight, in fact I'm on a diet at right now. This isn't a random fixation that we all have, but for most a need subliminally injected into our self-conscious. It's a poison imbedded in our minds -That we have to be thinner to be attractive. I'm not going to sit here and say this is "man's" fault for objectifying us and treating us like all were good for is sex, because at some point we have to take responsibility for ourselves. We as women feel inadequate because we measure ourselves up against other women. These other, thinner women do happen to be the object of a lot of men's desires and fantasies, but we helped put them there, by one day buying into the image of a skinny woman as perfection. We make the fashion and the trends and we determine what's sexy.

The kicker of it all is that the women that we have built up in the media as pictures of perfection and aspirations actually have to live up to these ideologies ( or attempt to),  a institution that has led to some adverse effects.  Cases of eating disorders and self esteem issues are all too common in TV land.

There are women in television that have spoke out about the affects of a life in the limelight and the pressure to be perfect (and thin).

Tracy Gold, of the hit 1980s Growing Pains, and Demi Lovato, of her own popular Disney sitcom Sonny with a Chance, both admittedly battled anorexia as a direct result of the pressure they felt from being on television. 

  

I'm not sure at what point we stopped believing that full figured women like Marylyn Monroe (who was a size 14) were sexy, but they do say that everything comes back around, in this case however I believe we're too brain washed to turn back now. I just find it a bit sad that most times we as women don't love ourselves for just who we are and that is what we truly need to get back to; A sense of self love.  

Jennifer Hudson

Queen LatifahAmerica Ferrera 

Kelly OsbourneStar Jones

Kristie Alley

Oprah Winfrey

Roseanne Barr

Can you be a Fat Actress?(part 1)

It isn't a secret that in Hollywood your looks are everything. It also isn't a secret that no matter how much we say "big is beautiful" no one really believes it. Or do they?
We can claim to have an appreciation for a nice round rump, and tummy rolls, but one of the only things that sells more than sex, is skinny people (and skinny people having sex I suppose).

Admittedly, our acceptance of 'round' people in the media has come a long way in the past 20 years, but no where near as far enough to accurately depict what real Americans look like. And I guess, who wants to see real Americans?

But as a women, I at least want to see women bold enough, fierce enough, to be in their own skin and love themselves, whether that's a size 5 or size 25. I want to look at the screen and see women who look like the people in my life, who beat out the skinny bitches that were considered prettier because of their waist size, even though they were less talented. The Chubby Champions.

For every 100th skinny bimbo however, there does arise a Chubby Champion, and then America gets to them, tells them they are fat and that they don't measure up (or down...?) to their peers, subsequently they are less famous than their thinner co-stars.

FALLEN CHUBBY CHAMPS  

One of the most recently fallen chubby champs, and inspirations for this blog is the ever so lovely Raven Symoné. Admittedly one of my idols, she gained her original success as Olivia on the Cosby show, and in the early 2000s the star of her own hit television show on the disney channel, That's So Raven. I recall reading plenty of interviews from Raven, in her, That's So Raven days, as well as many interviews prior. She was constantly harrassed by the media for her weight, however she never backed down - unwaivering she praised her curves , considering herself to be "thick and fabulous". So why in the hell did she lose all the weight?
When I first saw her pictures I was disappointed.
A bit of disappointment still lingers, however after Raven shared her weight loss secrets on The Wendy Williams show, I suppose I understand. (click either for video interview)
Raven states on the Wendy Williams, that her weight loss is attributed to her lack of stress. She goes on to explain that when she was 15, and the star of her own show, she was under a great deal of pressure, having to be the star of her own show. Raven states that while "normal 15 year olds were worried about who was going to invite them to the prom I was worried about like taxes and stuff". Which of course could put anyone under stress, then the added pressure of being a fifteen year old role model for thousands of young girls, probably didn't help. It does however seem convenient that her weight loss came around the same time as her new show launch on ABC's State of Georgia. Ironically however her character Georgia Chamberlain, is cast at Raven's original size, therefore she must wear padding for the part.
Hopefully the producers will keep the concept of the 'chunky' lead and Georgia won't have a sudden miracle drop in weight. 
As for Raven she sticks to her guns. ‘I was beautiful before I lost weight. Egotistically speaking, I thought I was amazing.’This is how all curvaceous girls should feel about their bodies. Sad to say I will miss the chubby Raven as a role model for chunky girls like myself, but now I suppose I have to learn how to  love Raven for what's inside, because that's what matters, Right?