When Gabourey Sibibe burst on the Hollywood scene she caused quite a commotion. When she was nominated for every acting award possible including an Academy Award everyone was both elated and agast- She didn’t LOOK like a “Hollywood” actress but she was good and lovable. Then Howard Stern came out and said he didn’t understand why people were so excited about her.
He and co-host Robin Quivers went on to discuss the impossibility of Gabby finding any work in Hollywood after ‘Precious.’
“And Oprah’s lying and saying you’re going to have a brilliant career,” said Robin.
“Oprah’s another liar, a filthy liar,” said Stern. “She’s telling an enormous woman the size of a planet that she’s going to have a career.”
*Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/09/howard-stern-gabourey-sid_n_492102.html
It is quite strange to think about the dichotomy that exists in this country. On one hand there is the ever-present social pressure on women to be thin and beautiful, accompanied by the eating disorders that come with it. The other hand holds the part of the population that can’t seem to maintain a healthy weight. While Hollywood has always held unrealistic expectations, the average American hasn’t always been so overweight. Junk food has never been so cheap and Americans haven’t been this undereducated in quite some time. While I don’t think overweight people should be ridiculed or embarrassed publicly, I do think healthy eating habits need to be a topic of greater importance in schools and in our culture.