Sunday, November 22, 2009

I'm fascinated, when not irritated or infuriated, by the managed flow of Fat in media imagery. That is, the particular way that images of fat people are let in--or not--for public consumption. Everything is managed to varying degrees, but fat is its own particular problem--TV producers who don't like to feature fat people onscreen as witnesses, for instance, because they "lack credibility."

I can speak only to the print part of Martha Stewart's world (I haven't watched her TV show post-poncho) but there is almost NEVER fat in her magazine: no fat people in the little dinner parties, features on entrepreneurs, models, anything. There is actually a pretty specific beauty ideal attached to the MStew world (very scrubbed, subfusc, JCrew, spare/lean). So I was amused to see this in her blog the other day. Because sometimes you just have to let the fat in, baby. And then, I guess, you call it voluptuous. Which they certainly are, not even particularly fat, but--what can I say, I noticed it. Little essay on class-race-money-NYC-media-fame-etc. here.

3 comments:

Demandra said...

Why is the damned comment on their bodies even necessary? Did she have "thin lady guests" or "Asian lady guests" or "silicone implant lady guests" on her blog?

Elizabeth M. Tamny said...

Agreed--totally gratuitous. Just a little overflow out of Martha's mind. For some reason it amused, partly cause she seemed so awkward about it...

Elizabeth M. Tamny said...

BTW, I really think this overflow -- although About Size -- is really about race. I mean, the origin of the overflow. I get the feeling if they were white ladies, she wouldn't have said anything one way or another.