More Mandisa
And my local radio hosts from back in the day, Kevin and Bean. The topic on their morning show was "Would Mandisa be an American Idol front-runner if she were white?" Bean said:
"It's fascinating that she can be a front runner and look like she does, yet there's no way 'Whitey' shows up at 280 [lbs.] and gets in the Top 10. It's not even possible."
I absolutely tend to agree with that. I've written before (as politically incorrect as this is) that I used to wish I were a black woman because then it would be more acceptable to be overweight. One listener's counterexamples (Fats Domino and Aretha Franklin) are both non-white, kind of missing the point. I love having a woman of size on American Idol at all, but there's definitely an order of acceptability. Ruben, then Scott Savol, then Mandisa.
The article is here; thanks to the Weetabix half of Weetapidol for the link.
"It's fascinating that she can be a front runner and look like she does, yet there's no way 'Whitey' shows up at 280 [lbs.] and gets in the Top 10. It's not even possible."
I absolutely tend to agree with that. I've written before (as politically incorrect as this is) that I used to wish I were a black woman because then it would be more acceptable to be overweight. One listener's counterexamples (Fats Domino and Aretha Franklin) are both non-white, kind of missing the point. I love having a woman of size on American Idol at all, but there's definitely an order of acceptability. Ruben, then Scott Savol, then Mandisa.
The article is here; thanks to the Weetabix half of Weetapidol for the link.
posted by mo pie at 10:28 AM
7 Comments:
I think Mandisa is gorgeous.
I used to work in the music biz. I distinctly remember an R&B artist named Kelly Price. She had a SLAMMIN' voice and she is a BBW. Her record label told her to lose weight because they couldn't market her as one of those hottie Beyonce types. I don't know if she's even come out with anything recently -- must google her.
Missy Elliot also lost a LOT of weight. Her face looks odd, I thought she was cuter when she was chubbier. Faith Evans, too...she was bigger when she first came out but has also lost a lot of weight.
I am thinking that black women in entertainment have less lee-way than they used to, which sucks!
My boss, the CEO of a record label once told me that if you're trying to make it in mainstream music you have to be in your early 20's and hot. He said the only way a non-hot person older than 30 can make it is if it's a niche genre, like jazz or gospel or bluegrass.
It hurt to hear this, being a 28 year old fat white girl who played guitar and wanted to be a rock star.
I'm trying to think of some fat white girl singers and all I can come up with is Carnie Wilson, who is now the poster girl for gastric bypass surgery, and Mama Cass, who is best remembered for choking on a ham sandwich even though that's not how she actually died (heart attack). Wasn't one of the girls in "Heart" kind of chunky too? But yeah, there's definitely a double standard here.
LauraBora said:
"I used to work in the music biz. I distinctly remember an R&B artist named Kelly Price. She had a SLAMMIN' voice and she is a BBW. Her record label told her to lose weight because they couldn't market her as one of those hottie Beyonce types."
I was there when they had that conversation.
I've already done one really long post on here today (*awareness procrastination* - hee), so instead of ranting on about middle-class conformity - in EVERY American race - to upper-class thin Anglo-Saxon (preferably blonde) patriarchal beauty standards and inevitably pissing someone off, I'm going to paraphrase one of my former bosses and restrict myself to saying:
"DON'T believe the hype."
I remember the lead singer of Romeo Void -- this 80's band -- was a chunky white girl, but I wouldn't even call her FAT.
Stevie Nicks had chunked out for a while (she said it was because she quit doing cocaine, which was Ann Wilson's reason for gaining weight.)
It annoyed me that they never showed Ann Wilson in the Heart videos, either. They'd zoom in on her face and then break away to the skinny blonde one. Like, "Oh no!! Don't be EXPOSED to the FAT GIRL!!"
That happened with the Wilson Phillips videos too...they'd linger over the two skinny ones and kind of blow past Carnie.
I can go on and on about the music business and fat girls -- Missy Elliot was front and center in her videos, she danced, she was awesome. She still had pressure on her from the label to lose weight, though.
Oh no! I am traumatized! Ann Wilson has had weight-loss surgery (the less heinous lap band, but still)!
correction, kelly price WAS a BBW she had lost weight too!!!
One thing that really annoys me is when people assume that the size discrimination does not exist in african american or latino communities! In addition to having to conform to the hourglass shape (big boobs and butt are ok if you have a tiny waist) we also have to fight against the stereotype of the fat singing black woman. Just letting you know the grass is not greener on the other side.
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