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This summer, the Lifetime channel aired its original series Drop Dead Diva. It's not a ground-breaking premise - skinny blond model (Deb) dies and gets sent back to earth in the body of a plus-sized lawyer (Jane) - but the show somehow manages to not be cliche. The girl who plays Jane does a great job as a skinny girl in a fat girl's body. She has Deb's soul but Jane's brain, which means she has Deb's memories and personality but Jane's knowledge. And she's just so damn likable.
The show's not perfect. Deb's BFF Stacy - and the only one who knows the truth - is a ditzy and vapid stereotype. But Margaret Cho is pretty hilarious as Jane's assistant. And bonus! Fred the guardian angel looks just like Scott Baio.
The show naturally takes on such issues as body image and living one's life to the fullest. Jane argues cases that allow her to say things like, "No one can tell you how to live your life." and "Being fat does not make us less of a person" and "I'm going to make the most of my life this time." Which I know sounds rather trite the way I've written it here, but, in the context of a dramatic closing argument, actually comes across as a genuine reminder of truisms that women need to hear.
A year or so ago I was shopping in Macy's on a Saturday, and they were having a big fashion show emceed by none other than Clinton Kelly. (Which, seriously. If you had to click on that link to see who Clinton Kelly is, YOU ARE MISSING OUT.) After the show he took some audience questions and eventually someone asked a question related to being "too fat" to wear something.
And Clinton said (paraphrasing here), "My job is to make women feel better about themselves through clothes and accessories. It may not be much, but it's what I've got. And everywhere I go, I meet women with really warped body images. And the media is mostly to blame for this. I know - I work in the media. All you see are celebrities who are thin and models who are thinner. But I want to tell you: THOSE WOMEN ARE NOT REAL. I worked in the fashion magazine industry for years; I know what they do to those photos.
"You see a gorgeous 17 year old in a shampoo ad, and she's got long beautiful hair, bright blue eyes, skin with no pores, a perky little nose, shiny white teeth, high perfect boobs, and legs that start at her boobs and go on forever. But guess what? THE HAIR IS EXTENSIONS, THE EYES ARE CONTACTS, THE SKIN IS AIRBRUSHED, THE NOSE WAS PAID FOR, THE CHICKLET TEETH ARE VENEERS, THE BOOBS ARE SILICONE OR SALINE AND THE LEGS ARE A FREAK OF NATURE. She is no more real than that chair right there, so quit comparing yourself to her!"
Naturally the crowd (of women) burst into applause. Because we know this. We do. But sometimes we need to hear Clinton Kelly say it.
And sometimes we need to hear it every Sunday night at 8 p.m. Central time.
Naturally the crowd (of women) burst into applause. Because we know this. We do. But sometimes we need to hear Clinton Kelly say it.
And sometimes we need to hear it every Sunday night at 8 p.m. Central time.
Note: I don't know all the new laws for bloggers, but I do know that no one asked me or paid me to write this post.
4 comments:
Yeah but it's hard to see all these 18 year olds walking around campus that look like they should be in said commercials, you know what I mean, Elijah has friends like that.
Here's the thing, Breanna, and I'll try to say it without making myself look like a dirty old man.
There are always going to be girls around who look like the models you see on TV or in magazines. I see them and they are beautiful, but the thing I've realized over the years is that there are beautiful women everywhere who don't realize it. Lots of them. Tons. They might be "plain" or "overweight" or "skinny" or "gothed out" or something. They don't fit into those media-created beauty buckets.
I watch Clinton and Stacy a lot (since I got married) and it's remarkable the transformations they manifest. You know where the biggest transformations take place? Between the ears. Women (and the few men they have on the show) have to get picked up, shaken and reprogrammed. They are able to express their individuality in much more appealing ways, accentuating their strong points and masking the weaknesses. (Axioms like "dress the body you have, not the one you wish you had" and "dress your age" are so facepalm obvious once you see it work over and over again.)
I'm not going to lie. Guys like looking at those supermodel women. But guys who don't see the beauty all around them are turds women shouldn't worry about. Let them live in the world of hotchickswithdouchebags.com .
K, please help me out and delete this if it comes off at all db-ish at all.
Don, I agree with every word you said! We should start a he said-she said blog where I write the women's perspective and you write the men's.
Yeah, sometimes I need to hear it from Clinton Kelly, too.
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