The Digest
Emme, Tomi, Tami, Katy, Jennifer, and several other so-called "plus" models discuss the ups and downs of being in an industry that seems to ignore the fact that not all of us are a size 2. In fact, there is some 60 percent of women who are not smaller than a size 12. That is a startling revelation and as these ladies so eloquently discuss, you'd ever know this fact by looking at the images that are presented before us day in and day out.
The Dish
Curve is a very entertaining, yet sometimes painful documentary. Not painful to watch, but rather, painful to hear what some of the women have endured over the years. The attack on their self-esteem and the discrimination against larger women is just unbelievable. These women look perfectly normal to me, yet time and time again they are told to lose weight and deny who and what they are. Since when is 160 pounds too big for a woman who is damn near 6 feet tall? A casting call goes out for a "Marilyn Monroe"esque woman (Marilyn was said to be a size 12 or 14) and yet they give the role to a short blond who weighs 115 pounds.
And what is up with anything over a 10 being a plus size? How ridiculous is that? Or how some stores put the plus size racks in the basement and next to the cafeteria or the luggage. Well thankfully those of us who are "plus" size have a few people going to bat for us. Like Richard Metzger (who calls himself a big snooty queer) who is currently designing for Oprah and makes designer clothes for women sizes 12 - 22 or Emme who has been breaking down doors as a 160+ lbs super model with her own clothing line. Not to mention African American models Tami Fitzhugh-Simmons and Angellika who are also paving the way for "normal" sized women.
The Directive
This movie should be required viewing in every Junior High School across America. Our young girls need to know that you can be beautiful and successful without being rail-thin. I think it's especially important for fathers to watch this movie with their daughters. Our girls take a lot of cues from the behavior exhibited by dear old dad.
Curve is an independent film that is making the rounds at various film festivals. Please visit the Curve official site to see when it's coming to a theater near you.
Or better yet, just pre-order the VHS.
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Copyright Kamal "The Diva" Larsuel-Ulbricht, 2002
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