‘More to Love’ proves that size matters
There’s a war going on in this country, and it’s not on terror. Society is pitting fat girls against skinny girls.
It’s a theme you can find most anywhere. In the movie/play “Hairspray” Tracy Turnblad is shunned once she becomes part of the cast on “The Corny Collins Show.” Her weight is at the center of the storyline, as she falls for the leading man. Unfortunately, the fact that Tracy is twice his size hints that her heart might end up broken.
Yes, there are men out there who won’t look twice at a woman that isn’t a size two. At the same time, there are men that are all about the big, beautiful women and are turned off by a woman that is the size of a stick. Then there is my favorite type of guy: the one that likes ‘em all. It’s not exactly like he sees him them as a smorgasbord as an old Elvis song suggests but he likes his women of any shape or size, but how can you really argue with a guy that doesn’t care if you’re short or tall?
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve helped the fat vs. thin fight when I’ve looked at a woman half my size and thought that I could snap her like a twig if I really wanted to. And then I’ve looked at women that were bigger than me and thanked my lucky stars that I wasn’t that size. It’s not something I’m proud of but it’s an ugly cycle that’s hard to break.
And now as if there weren’t enough problems already, we have reality shows cultivating the size differences of the women in this country. The new FOX show “More to Love” follows “one regular guy” in his search for love. Luke Conley, who according to FOX’s web site stands 6’3 and over 300 pounds, is looking for Miss Right. It’s a show in the style of “The Bachelor” but his choices are all what the Web site calls “curvy” or “voluptuous”.
The commercial noted that most reality TV stars are a size two while the average woman is a size 14 or above. So this show is all about letting the average woman find love, according to the commercial. I agree that a size two is not exactly your girl next door. But she’s not exactly a size 20 either. You guy next door is exactly a svelte toned hunk of burning love but he isn’t necessarily over 300 pounds either.
Reality shows have long fostered the notion of the hot, thin girls trying to capture a guy’s heart. Think about it: could you really picture Bret Michaels looking twice at a size 14? Of course not. The only thing that should be big on Bret’s girls are their cup size. So yes, he likes the skinny girls with a lot of silicone. In fact, most of the girls on the reality TV shows that involve Mr. Right looking for love could probably be broken over my knee.
Does that mean that we have to have to have a show that features a man with a pot belly looking for love with women that won’t be flattened by him? Do we really need another show that emphasizes women that aren’t skinny? Don’t “The Biggest Loser” and “Dance Your Ass Off” do that enough for us already?
What ever happened to the days of Jack Spratt and his wife? Since when is love based on size? So what if “The Bachoelor” is nice and toned and looking for love among women who are pretty nicely shaped themselves? Is the alternative really to make a show featuring a bachelor who could stand to lose a few pounds looking for love that FOX chooses to call curvy? Couldn’t there be a skinny girl in there, too? Or maybe a “curvy” girl in the mix on “The Bachelor” show?
Maybe I’m naive, but I thought the shows were about finding love. I didn’t realize that love came down to a tape measure and a scale. Oh well, I’ve been wrong before.