On Sundays, I reach for the Calendar section first. Well, first after the comics. Today I read about Sarah Steele, 16 year-old co-star of the new movie "Spanglish." Apparently she put on 15 pounds to play the part of Bernice, "the sweet, overweight daughter." That and a fat suit, and she had it nailed.
At first, I was taken aback. Should we really be encouraging kids to go the "Raging Bull" route? Recklessly eating at McDonald's (which is how she claims to have done it) and giving up the free weights?
And then I had a second thought (two in one day tends to be my limit): perhaps this is a good lesson for a young girl. She learns, let's suppose, that weight is not something that enslaves you. It's not something to fear -- it's something you change as you see fit; you put on a little one week, you take off a little the next. And for some activites, the extra weight is good. And maybe she learns that a little more weight is not the end of the world, or maybe she feels healthier when eating a little more?
I'm always a little optimistic at the turn of the calendar, but the idea that she could be a new kind of role model -- "Put on a little weight! It's fun! You can always take it off later! Or not! Who cares? I'm happy!" -- has me in a good mood.
1 comment:
Considering that you have daughters you are very naive. First of all that the part requires a chubby girl in itself indicates that weight does matter. Second, do you honestly think that the girl who put on the weight did not try to loose it as soon as she was done filming, not to mention that a child, who is still growing, should not be messing with her nutrition or her weight just to play a part. So it is O.K. for a young girl to be overweight (clearly this girl was not, as she still needed a fat suit) for a part but not in real life. I want our girls to see health as more important than thin, and you don't binge on junkfood or diet because it is easy to change your weight when you want to. I know that this is not true and, frankly, at the risk of revealing my own insecurities, it makes me nervous when you comment about weight.
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