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Race and weight: ’White fat’ vs. ’black fat’ |
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Written by Megan Scott, asap
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Wednesday, 28 March 2007 |
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Kirstie Alley may have taken a beating for pudging out. But some super stars haven’t been brought down by the celebrity weight debate: Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Sara Ramirez, America Ferrera.
All are heavier and curvier compared to the contemporary ideal of waif-like actresses — and all are basking in the glow of their curvedom.
The common denominator?
Ferrera and Ramirez are Hispanic. Queen and Hudson are black — all members of ethnic groups that tend to be more open about embracing the full figure.
Hudson was the third black person to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine. Beyonce was on the front of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue, her curves coming back after slimming down for her role in the movie “Dreamgirls.”
Ramirez, the Broadway actress and “Grey’s Anatomy” star, is on the cover of the April issue of Latina magazine. Even Queen Latifah is doing some modeling as a spokeswoman for Covergirl.
So where are the snarky fat attacks? The tabloid headlines about gastric bypass surgeries gone wrong?
“I think the press picks people that they love — for talent, likeability or star potential,” says Nada Manley, author of “Secrets of the Beauty Insiders” and a fashion columnist for the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“Jennifer Hudson and America Ferrera are extremely talented and both became famous with the bodies they have now.”
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A DOUBLE STANDARD?
Still, it can’t be ignored that when a white actress is overweight, it’s almost always a part of the conversation.
Alley gained weight, was ridiculed, starred in a show called “Fat Actress” — and now is the face of Jenny Craig. Talk about being defined by your size.
The “accept the curvy black woman” might be an unspoken rule in media, says Anthony Mora of Anthony Mora Communications in Los Angeles. “Then again, with Tyra or Halle Berry, someone who is known for a particular look and fit, if they started to put on weight, I don’t think there would be that much more acceptance.”
The tabloids were unforgiving of Tyra’s weight gain, with screaming headlines “America’s Next Top Waddle” and “Tyra Pork Chop,” after unflattering pictures of the former supermodel in a bathing suit circulated on the Internet. Sure, she was in an industry known for thinness, but why did she have to stay at her model weight?
It’s simple: “If you have established yourself kind of as a plus-size celebrity to begin with, you have almost carved a different niche,” says Mora. “If you have established yourself as the stereotypical model that America uses to gauge beauty and then you gain weight, the media and society are not forgiving.”
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THE RACE FACTOR
But who is the “white equivalent” to these full-sized superstars?
Emme? Plus-size model Melissa “Emme” Aronson is not a household name. Rosie O’Donnell? She is not considered sexy and glamorous. Neither was Roseanne Barr for that matter.
Kate Winslet? She’s outspoken about refusing to shed pounds, but she’s just not that big — surely nowhere near the size of some of today’s stouter starlets.
“There is a different standard for whites and blacks,” says Kirk Olson, consumer strategist for Iconoculture. “What we have seen for many many years, among African American audiences, in particular is a beauty standard that is more accepting of curves, of booty, more accepting of everything to do with fuller figured women.”
Perhaps for that reason, black women have been getting away with full figures for decades. For Nell Carter, Esther Rolle and Thea Vidale, weight was never a negative that invited derision.
The same holds true for the latest crop of full-figured celebs. Hudson told Newsweek that “Somebody has to represent the big girls.” Queen talks about eating macaroni and cheese. She recently developed a plus-size clothing line called Curvation.
“I never hear anyone talk about her size,” says Susan Moses, Queen’s stylist. “People talk about her beauty and talent. Same thing with Jennifer Hudson. She was awesome in ’Dreamgirls.’ Who could deny that? Who could deny Queen Latifah? She’s a Covergirl and in my opinion, she is a supermodel.”
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WOMEN REALLY HAVE CURVES
Maybe it’s just that women are fed up with the notion that thinness equals beauty.
More than 50 percent wear a size 14 or larger. They want to see themselves on the catwalk, on television, in magazines. They want to shop somewhere other than the Avenue and Lane Bryant.
“It seems like for so many years, we have been constantly addressing the opposite and forgetting the fact that there are many women not (size 0, size 2, etc.),” says Sasha Charnin Morrison, fashion director for Us Weekly. “It’s a glorious eye opener to see people who are glammed up who are your body type wearing designer fashion on the red carpet.”
It’s happening in advertising as well.
The Dove ad campaign features six “real women with real bodies and real curves.” McDonald’s is planning to put ordinary consumers who eat at the hamburger chain on its packaging. More designers are creating fashion for plus-size women.
“Hollywood and that marketing pushes this young, mostly white figure of beauty,” says Morris L. Reid, a brand strategist and managing director for Westin Rinehart. “Guess what? America is becoming less and less mostly white — and fatter. Dove is being smart. What they’re doing is reinforcing that people can be beautiful in any size.”
But despite the positive message, Reid says this is a fad. He says skinny minnies are still going to be the thing. The top 10 highest paid actresses — Nicole Kidman down to Jennifer Aniston, are all thin.
“The media are becoming more accepting of different body types,” says Manley. “That said, I don’t think the emphasis on skinniness in Hollywood is going to change. For instance, Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton or Christina Aguilera, when their weight fluctuates, it is still going to be news.”
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Megan Scott is an asap reporter based in New York. | Only registered users can write comments.
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