Fat?

I would like to take a moment to discuss Jennie, a beautiful gorgeous woman I take ballet class with. Jennie is a principle dancer with NYCB and recently danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in their Nutcracker. The NYTimes critic commented that she had eaten "one sugar plum too many" and that her partner looked as though he had sampled every sweet in the kingdom. There was huge public outcry that critics shouldn't comment on a dancer's weight - and it might lead to eating disorders, esp. since Jennie has been very open about over coming anorexia herself. People point toward the new movie the Black Swan where Natalie Portman lost 20 pounds to "accurately portray the role," and one newspaper commented that Jennie is the thicker version of Natalie Portman in the movie.

To begin with - The Black Swan is in NO WAY an accurate portrayal of what ballet is like. To begin with - the second scene when the choreographer enters during a ballet class and starts talking about the plot of Swan Lake - that would NEVER happen. Choreographers don't come in and announce their artistic ideas during a technique class. But more to the point (haha - no pun intended), I know of ONE ballet dancer currently suffering from anorexia and about 20 musical theatre dancers who do. The ballet dancers I know are the most kind supportive wonderful down to earth and intelligent people - it's the musical theatre who are the crazies. And I have NEVER had a teacher or HEARD of a ballet teacher who ACTUALLY told a student to lose weight or stop eating. I'm sure it happens, but it is not the norm, it is the exception. Black Swan - stop putting inaccurate thoughts into people's heads! People - Black Swan is a FICTIONAL MOVIE - in NO WAY based on real events or people. AND - Natalie Portman is smaller than most people people (including young children) on the planet when she's HEALTHY - and she can't live like she did to portray AN ANOREXIC CRAZY DANCER in the movie - as soon as it was over she immediately gained the weight and ate carbs again.!

More to the point - and what NO ONE seems to be pointing out - Jennie Ringer and her partner are in NO WAY fat, heavy, plump, thick, "womanly," "curvy," or any other words that would describe anything except SKINNY! I stand across the room from Jennie in ballet class and I can see her abs through her leotard. Today I kept staring at her like a rude person, and was amazed I could also she the front of her hip bones pointing out through her SWEAT PANTS. I'm not sure I can live in a world where that is considered "plump" by a critic of an established newspaper. All of this media attention is asking does ballet put too much pressure on it's dancers to be skinny. The NYCB thinks Jennie is just fine - it's the same paper that tries to stop anorexia that is projecting a completely unrealistic image onto real life dancers. Natalie Portman's character is not real - and Natalie's bones are tinier than twigs! Jennie Ringer IS SKINNY! VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY skinny! I'm sure some anorexics use her for "thinspiration." I don't know what to do to change the world - but we have gotten a very sick idea of a what "skinny" is if it isn't Jennie. And if Jennie isn't skinny - I need to go on the biggest looser ASAP! And the Biggest Loser contestants should just be shipped off somewhere since they obviously don't deserve to be in this society where Jennie is an unacceptable Sugar Plum. I know - I would be THRILLED to be as skinny as her, and it worries me NO ONE else seems to have pointed this out. The simple fact - she is skinny and her partner is ripped and muscley. He is basically an anatomy book in white tights.

I also met a girl at an audition who claimed to be a size 14 - 5'9 size 14 - but beautifully porportioned. (She looked smaller than a 14 to me to be honest.) She was telling me that she does plus sized modelling and anything size 8 or higher is considered plus size - no matter what your height. OMG - that is sick! Size 8? Plus size? Why can't our society get a grip? I mean - granted - I sit around and complain about "how fat" I am - and why Tyler was sitting on the sofa in his underwear - fat - whereas with JP it was somehow o.k. because he was fit. But that being said - JP is fit - and Tyler was fat - but size 8 is NOT plus size (size 8 is one size bigger than me!) and Jennie Ringer is ballerina thin. As a society - we need a reality check ASAP!