Wednesday, July 29, 2009

because society says its perfectly acceptable to kick a big girl while she's down

I like making statements. I tend to boycott things I don't like. Like Walmart. Can't stand the Waltons. Can't stand what they do (or rather don't do) to their employees. Won't forget how they refused to stock Plan B in their pharmacies until the Court stepped in. And Smoking Loon. They make wine I won't buy. Why? Because the owners use some of their profits to donate to anti-choice causes in California.

And then there's Fox. I hate Fox so much I now prefer to watch The Simpsons online. Thankfully, my boycott of Fox allows me to miss this monstrosity of a show--More to Love.

More to Love is a reality dating show for the people Fox has deemed as "Real People". It's like The Bachelor but with big girls and a big bachelor. And instead of inspiring viewers to root for the hottest/nicest contestant to win the heart of the suave, successful bachelor like on The Bachelor, the show elicits more of a pitying or mocking reaction. Why? Because unlike The Bachelor, the girls on More to Love have sob stories which the show's producers want you to know about every opportunity they get. Apparently, if you wanted to be a contestant on More to Love, you had to be:

Overweight
Had attempted dieting at least 2 times in your life
Had failed at such attempts
Have long flowing locks
Wish you were skinny
Have skinny friends that you envy because they get everything they want and you don't

Bonus points for:
Having never been in love
Having never been on a date

(Megan from Jezebel actually auditioned for the show and wrote a post about it. It's a great read. Don't stop at the end of the post. The comments are good too.)

What More to Love does is encourage stereotypes about big girls and elicit pity as it is an acceptable reaction to big girls and their "pathetic" lives. While I certainly don't expect any better from Fox (after all, this is the network that brought us Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?), it still upsets me to see these women edited to appear as they they are nothing without a man. And the only man who is capable of loving them is a big man. Come on, Fox! One of them is an actual rocket scientist for chrissakes!

And don't get me started on the bachelor of this show. If you look up "smarmy" in the dictionary, his picture will be right there.

I have news for Fox. I'm a big girl. I've never dieted in my life. I play tennis, I work out on the Wii, and I do a lot of walking in this city. Yes, I indulge in the occasional slice of pizza, but I balance that with healthy snacks. When I get upset, I play with my cats instead of eating a tub of Ben and Jerry's. My hair is short and dyed red because I like to take chances with my hair. I don't wish I was skinny (shocker, I know). I actually like who I am. Oh and when good things happen to my friends of all sizes, I'm happy for them. Moreover, I've been on many dates and I am currently in love. By the way, my boyfriend is big, but it's muscle, baby. Just feel his biceps (actually, don't because I can get a bit possessive).

And while it's totally cliche for me to tell you "You can kiss my fat ass!" I won't. I will tell you that if you don't stop that sh*t I'm going to send my boyfriend to beat you up.

2 comments:

Capitol Hill 20210 said...

everyone is posting on this today, that show pissed me off so much ---
I think it should be cancelled and the guy is creepy.

Malnurtured Snay said...

Y'know, OC? Maybe it's just because you're very outspoken, but I kind of have a hard time imagining you sending your boyfriend to beat someone up until you'd already had a crack at 'em!

Also, if you don't read it already, I think you'd like this blog: http://the-f-word.org/blog/