faux fat

at first, i felt like writing something about it. then i decided not to bother at all, mainly because saying something would mean admitting that i had actually watched the show, an admission i thought would make me squeamish.

others may not feel much shame about having tuned in to watch a supermodel well up with tears and condescendingly paw her fat guests after having gone under cover in a fat suit to check out what life is like for a big woman. it was "one of the most gut-wrenching days i have ever experienced," she said. judging from all that empathy she displayed to the chubby guests - typical talk show experts, apparently - she must have really felt a great deal more than just suffocating heat in that get-up. and oowee! the indignation with which she declared her frustration for the horrifying discrimination that biggies face. you go grrl!

i wanted to write an hommage to tyra, to thank her for her courage and to acknowledge her dogged pursuit of sound investigative journalism. i wanted to ignite a collective shout-out to the woman who dared go where no supermodel had gone before. i wanted to start a chain letter of gratitude that would wiggle its way through ethernet cables the planet over, signed by the millions of people undoubtedly touched by her bravery, whose lives are now inextricably altered thanks to her ground-breaking expose.

i wanted to write in celebration of the fat suit: giving unfat people a secret glimpse into that shocking alternate universe. clearly, the fat suit is an extremely powerful tool, nay weapon, with which the truth can be pierced. i believe the fat suit will change the world, one attitude at a time. because viewers will come to understand the "painful world" as seen through the eyes of a supermodel through the guise of a fat suit. and that shit truly is painful.

luckily for me, tuning in to tyra is part of wendy's ongoing gig with twop (what just might be my dream job, if only it paid). so she too was drenched by the tsunami of heartfelt emotion from post-fat-suit tyra. she encapsulates in this suitably supportive piece the relief of normally distraught and voiceless fatties everywhere -- rejected to rejoicing. it is one of those rare blog postings where the reader comments are in fact even funnier than the original post. thanks wendy, for once again putting it better than any of us could.