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Monday, August 25, 2008

The Fat Actress


It's not news that Kirstie Allie has regained most, if not all, of the weight that she lost on Jenny Craig and it's isn't surprising news to most people that the Jenny Craig diet didn't work. Remember when Kirstie appeared on Oprah in her bikini complete with the horrible line of her extra support pantyhose down the middle of her stomach? I think she was doomed from there.

Maybe she shouldn't have called herself The Fat Actress or maybe that tongue in cheek portrayal was really much healthier than Jenny Craig. We Fat Chicks know that it's easier if we take the first shot at ourselves. Humor is a great cover up. What really saddens me, though, is that Kirstie is hunted, mocked, and cruelly beaten down by tabloids and celebrity bloggers (yes, you Perez). They seem to celebrate in her mortification, in rubbing her own truth into her face. Can you imagine? It's my worst nightmare.

What have we become as a society when we don't reach out to those who are struggling with compassion and love? What are we teaching our children when we stand by and watch such bullying? This isn't a new problem, but it seems the Internet has quickened it's speed and it's nastiness. The anonymity of this new media has allowed people to hide behind their keyboards and I wonder just what will come of this. How much more vicious will we become? And worse yet, just how much more hate and violence will we become numb to?

I sympathize with you Kirstie. I really do. All of us chubby chicks have been there at one time or another. It's not easy. The sense of failure can be profound and more detrimental to our health than the actual weight gain. Our pain has been private, just know, that you're public pain is looked upon with sympathy more than with hatred. I know that this just has to be true.

On a more positive note, she is still one of the most beautiful women in the world. I still remember the first time I saw her in that TV mini-series, North and South (incidentally, Patrick Swayze was also in it). She was stunning and still is. Maybe from this public display, we'll get, not fat acceptance (I don't agree with that), but maybe just a smidgen of celebrating the beauty in what you are now. Which, for all of us, is to love that you are always a work in progress and to love the journey, wherever it takes you.

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