Image issue

Big_Wonder_Woman
Originally uploaded by brunhildecrow.

I really wonder what the circumstances were surrounding this photo. I was going to post on the Academy Award nominations and while I was looking for a little Oscar (tm) icon I happened upon this.

I love the hair the very most, but the visible underwear (which is HUGE at the high school, but huge in a different way than illustrated here - I'll post on that someday) adds a great deal to the overall vibe. And the look on her face is one that I see in the mirror frequently. And while there is a very good chance that this is a man, I love her anyway.

It puts me in mind of last night's episode of American Idol which was more entertaining that I had been led to believe it would be. I watched the final 12 last year and enjoyed it a lot. To the point of obsession if you ask the men I live with. But I had no real interest in the cruelty of the culling of the herd at the beginning of the season. And yet there was NOTHING on, so I just cracked open the door of shame and flipped on FOX.

One of the two people I liked was a woman about my size who sang beautifully. I mean she had a really tuneful, smooth and unique voice. And Randy liked her and chose her right away. And then Kenny Loggins said - "Well, there is a bit of an image problem." Which I thought was a very delicate way of saying - "I thought you told me no fatties!" But her talent outweighed (heh heh heh) her girth. And as Randy said, "It worked for Reuben."

Which cracked me up that he even thinks the tiniest bit that fat men are subjected to the same amount of judgment that fat women are. Not to minimize the "victim-hood" of the fat man. [And I must pause to say that I am not a "Fat Avenger!" (tm) it is just a thing of which I have been accused of being "too". I don't ascribe to the idea that being fat gives you the right to special treatment only that people deserve decent treatment regardless of their BMI.] And the sense of shame that is systematically bred into women about their imperfect bodies means that a woman who is 5 pounds "overweight" is judged (if not by society - frequently by herself) the same way as a man who is 25 pounds overweight.

But back to American Idol - there was a cute little 20-ish boy who sang "I Just Can't Wait to be King" with a really nice pop-friendly voice and they didn't give him the tiniest bit of notice because - as we all know - people can only do one thing and if you can sing crappy musical theatre numbers there is no way in hell you can sing crappy pop songs!