Monday, December 25, 2006

ouchhhhhh. OUCH.

okay, i just saw something on tv that has really got my panties in a bunch.

vanessa minillo, an mtv vj, or whatever they are called, has gone undercover as "ugly vanessa", just like america ferrera in ugly betty. okay, fine. so it's an expose (sorry i can't do the little accent over the e) about how fat, ugly people are discriminated against.

my must fat and ugly always go hand in hand? it's ridic.

so how did vanessa prepare for this hard hitting news report? she was given braces, a wig of thick black hair, some dumpy clothes and a fat suit. or should i say "fat suit"-- but let me get back to that in a bit.

first i will address the dumpy clothes. i love how when these "reporters" go "undercover" to expose the unfairness of the world when it comes to "fat" people. let me please just say that just because you are overweight does NOT mean that you shop exclusively at k-mart and the salvation army or that you get your shoes at stride-rite.

we are not a fashion-challenged people just because we require more inches of fabric in our jeans.

so the fat suit. do you want to guess what size the fat suit brought her up to? don't read on for a second and just guess what atrocious size they made her so that she would appear obese and unattractive...

a size motherfucking 12. do you know what a size 12 looks like? i would have to lose at least 10 pounds to fit into a true size 12-- not the size 12 at old navy where they make their sizes bigger to make you feel better about yourself. (thanks, old navy, that's kind of sweet.)

are your eyes bugging out of your head? is your forehead all scrunched up in a "what the fuck??!" expression?

so ugly vanessa first went as pretty vanessa and tried to crash a party and the bouncers let her right in. then she came back with her obesity and tried the same and lo and behold, she was not invited in. shock.

when she talked into the camera with fake tears in her eyes she talked about how invisible she felt but at the same time people were staring. and we're supposed to feel sorry for her. why doesn't she get angry instead of sad? she just sort of adds to the passive, pouty image of the fat girl leaning against the wall at the 7th grade dance.

she gets to take it off and go back to being regular, hottie, sleeping with nick lachey and eating carrot sticks vanessa. because let me tell you, in hollywood they are not eating. the skinny girls have it hard, too. they are unhappy and hungry. but this is certainly not about them.

the truth is-- what happened to vanessa is what would happen if you were, god forbid, a size 12. by the way, i would say 14 is probably the beginning of the real discrimination.

but the thing is-- she didn't need to put on the braces, the wig or the dumpy clothes. the truth is that even if you are an attractive woman with good style, pearly white teeth and good hair, you are treated unfairly and with way less respect than a woman who, simply because of her size, is treated like a person of value.

that is the honest truth. of course there are exceptions, but not many.

um, happy holidays?
xo rachel