Simply Disgusting

Because I am suffering from a major lack of reality t.v. this summer, I have become addicted to So You Think You Can Dance. As I tune into the show every Wednesday evening I can always count on seeing a commercial hyping Fox’s newest bright idea, a Bachelor-esque show where a rich, good-looking, single man chooses his soulmate from among a harem of women. What’s the catch? All the women are “plus-sized.” As the voice-over in the commercial explains, the average size of an American woman is now a size 16, and the average size of a woman on a show like The Bachelor is a size 2 (or maybe it was a size 4? I can’t remember completely, so forgive my possible mistake). The commercial typically opens with several “plus-sized” women crying about how they are judged by their weight and just want to find love. It then goes on to show them gallivanting with the eligible bachelor, a 26-year old former football player who is 6’3″ and over 300 pounds. When I first saw this commercial I found the concept stupid, but then when they announced the title of the show I became downright offended. Ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars for the premier of Fox’s newest reality show, More to Love.

As a “plus-sized” woman myself, this title simply burns me up! I feel like it is really undermining any good this show might possibly be trying to do. How can you criticize a show like The Bachelor for only focusing on skinny people, when you are going to, in my opinion, mock these women for being bigger by titling your show More to Love? I find it disgusting.

Also disgusting for me is that they open the commercial with all of these women crying about how they cannot find love and are judged by their weight. I don’t know all of their personal stories, and while I am sure that is true to some extent, why paint these women in such a pathetic light? How about showing strong, powerful, successful women, not whiny, crying, pathetic women who can’t get a date because of an extra 20 pounds?

Finally, it really infuriates me that the bachelor they chose for the show is a “big” guy himself. To me this is subtly saying, “Okay, overweight people can find love too, but only with other overweight people. If you are a plus-sized woman we believe you can find love, but only with a football player or someone of similar size.” Really, Fox? Really? I might have a little more respect for the show if it was “plus-sized” women with a man similar to those starring on The Bachelor, but to deliberately choose someone that is “plus-sized” himself is simply continuing to reinforce negative stereotypes for overweight people. I would say Fox should be ashamed, but that would imply that someone there has a conscience. I would never make that assumption.