Body Bandits | Adios Barbie

Margaret Cho on the Power of Reclaiming Beauty

January 13, 2012 By pia 6 Comments

by Contributor Marianne Schnall, originally posted on Feminist.com

Editor’s Note: We’ve pulled from the vault this 2009 interview with Margaret Cho where she candidly talks about weight, beauty, body image and show business.

Margaret Cho is currently starring in the new, critically acclaimed series Drop Dead Diva which premiered on July 12th on Lifetime. Drop Dead Diva tells the story of a shallow model-in-training who dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, plus-size and recently deceased attorney. Actress Brooke Elliott stars as lawyer Jane Bingum, and Margaret plays her supportive friend and assistant, Terri.

The show is not only well written, funny and entertaining but also touches on body image issues which are close to Cho’s comedy and her heart. I checked in with the outspoken actress, on a break from filming in Peachtree City, Georgia, to talk about her new show, the politics of feeling beautiful, homophobia, the Internet, playing the banjo and her outlook on life.

Margaret Cho is on the Advisory Board of Feminist.com.

INTERVIEW WITH MARIANNE SCHNALL (7/13/09)

Marianne Schnall: I watched Drop Dead Diva this past weekend and loved it. For anybody who has not yet seen the show, how would you describe the concept behind the show and what appealed to you about doing the show?

Margaret Cho: Well, the show is about a shallow, thin, blonde, model girl who dies and gets sort of reinserted in the body of lawyer who is very brilliant, but pretty insecure – she doesn’t really think about her looks much, she doesn’t live the life of the body in the way that the model was used to getting by on her looks and that kind of thing. So it’s really a show about how society values certain kinds of beauty over another kind of beauty and what it’s like to live on the other side – whatever side of the beauty continuum you’re on – sort of all the different aspects of it.

So when I first read it, I was really impressed at the way that it dealt with these issues with such grace and humor. And I was the first person cast in the show. And when I did the pilot I just really thought that they did such a great job casting Brooke Elliott in the lead because she just really is perfect – she’s the only actress I could ever see playing that role. She plays both roles really – Jane and Deb, you know. And it’s funny how a show that’s so based in fantasy, sort of a fantastical premise, is closer to real life than so many of the shows out on TV [laughs]. It shows real women, real body types, real people. I think it’s a beautifully-written show, it’s very funny – that’s what appealed to me is the humor, and also the heart.

MS: I was thinking about your own personal history in television and the struggles that you’ve had in terms of body issues, when on your first show “All-American Girl” the network executives asked you to lose weight to play yourself - and you wound up dieting yourself into the hospital – there’s this sort of beautiful irony to coming back into a show that’s actually dealing with these issues head on – it feels like maybe there’s a little progress there, or some hope, to have a show like this, and that you’re on it.

MC: I love it, yeah, and I love that I get to be on it. And to me it’s a wonderful thing because the images of women are so limited in television, you know. And then if you see somebody who is different than the girls that are like super-thin – then it’s like we’re treated like a visual joke. It’s like weight, just like race, becomes part of the issue. It’s like you can’t just have a person that has a different body size than the norm what is considered hot and not have to have that be the story – it’s like a weird thing. Why can’t all different types of women be considered beautiful? Why can’t we can’t we all be considered possible love interests? It’s very – I don’t know. I think things are getting better – just with the sign of a show like this is that things are getting better. I think maybe a show like this makes things get better.

MS: That’s what I hope. Talking about beauty – your last tour and concert film which I saw on Showtime and loved is called Beautiful, and you’ve said it was your official “coming out” as beautiful. I also saw you on “The View” last week and you said, “We have the power as women to call ourselves beautiful.” Can you talk about that?

MC: Well, it’s more like – I always thought that people told you that you’re beautiful, that this was a title that was bestowed upon you – that it was other people’s responsibility to give you this title. And I’m sick of waiting, people! [laughs] Waiting around for people to tell me that I was! I’m tired of waiting. And I think that the world is pretty cruel to women, in what it considers beautiful and what it celebrates as beauty. And I think that it’s time to take into our own hands this power and to say, “You know what – I’m beautiful – I just am. And that’s my light – I’m just a beautiful woman.” And I am just going to start talking about how beautiful I am, and people will start talking about it after I start talking it. And I’ve noticed – and I’ve done this now for a couple of years – and it’s changed the way that I carry myself, it’s changed the way that people respond to me, and it’s changed the way that I feel , and I think this is an important experiment and an important thing for people to do. To start telling people that you’re beautiful, or just feel beautiful, just start acting like you are the most beautiful woman in the world. And it really improves everything! Because your sort of psyche responds to it – like this is truthful! I think self-deprecation is such a disease, and I want to cure everybody of it and so that’s my contribution.

MS: And I’ve heard you say, which I thought was interesting, that even being able to call yourself beautiful is almost like a political act – where it’s not just something you do for yourself, for feeling good and self-esteem – but it’s also that the more women feel beautiful, they are more inclined to use their voice.

MC: Right. And express their opinion and feel powerful. Like when you feel beauty – and beauty for women is definitely power. When you feel powerful, you are willing to stand up for your rights, you are willing to stand up for what you believe in, you’re more willing to stand up and be counted. I think it goes deeper than just something that’s about looks or something that’s about any kind of sexual power or whatever – it really has to do with pride. And pride and a sense of self, and a sense of worth.

Read More of this Interview: Feminist.com

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Filed Under: Body Bandits Tagged With: aging, Beauty, beauty standards, body image, Celebrities, Drop Dead Diva, Margaret Cho, weight

Thembi Ngubane’s Story: HIV and AIDS Acceptance

August 4, 2011 By Sharon 2 Comments

By Sayantani DasGupta

“Our parents struggled against apartheid, they wanted to be free. And it is the same with HIV/AIDS. This is the new struggle.” – Thembi Ngubane

Thembi Ngubane was a 19-year-old South African woman from Khayelitsha township, outside Cape Town. She never thought she would inspire people from around the world with her life’s story. Surely, she never thought she would continue to be an inspiration even after her death.

But when Thembi was given a tape recorder by NPR’s Radio Diaries, and asked to record the day to day experiences of her life as one of South Africa’s millions of HIV+ youth, everything changed. In light of the severe social stigma that remains around HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa, Thembi had until then been relatively silent about her condition. Even when Radio Diaries played segments of her story on National Public Radio in the U.S., she did not want her story broadcast in her home country.

Yet, in the personal to political tradition of so many social change movements in the U.S. – the 1970’s feminist movement, the civil rights movement, and now the body acceptance movements – Thembi took her personal story and connected it to a broader global movement around HIV and AIDS acceptance. She traveled to the U.S. and met with former President Bill Clinton and then-Senator Barak Obama. In March 2007, she spoke to the South African Parliament about the need to address AIDS-based discrimination in her country. Indeed, in the sheer act of telling her story, Thembi galvanized a movement around acceptance of HIV and AIDS both in South Africa and around the world.

In Thembi’s words, “I wanted to reach other young people who are also infected with HIV, who are hiding, who are afraid to come out and disclose their status. I thought that I would be affecting someone’s life, helping some person who maybe has not disclosed his status or some person who has not been tested.”

There is something incredibly powerful about one voice telling one story about one life. Thembi’s tale affected listeners of diverse nationalities, genders, and embodied conditions. In bearing witness to a traditionally marginalized story, listeners became changed. In the words of one listener,

“Thembi inspired me, enlightened me, made me cry, and made me laugh. To be so far away, I can hear her story and see her pictures and she is not foreign to me. She is African and I am African-American but we are sisters because her spirit reminds me of my mother, my sister, and so many strong vibrant women in my life. The best thing about her story was that I didn’t feel sorry for her but simply and wonderfully inspired by her. To be a better person, become more selfless, and to give more. My prayers are with her and Africa.” —Listener from Rowlett, Texas

During this time, Thembi became pregnant, and gave voice to the experiences of HIV+ mothers. In the words of another listener,

“I was completely engaged when I heard Thembi’s voice describing her existence with AIDS. I became extremely emotional over the fact that a young woman such as Thembi had not only come to terms with her illness but with the hope that she could become a mother and hopefully avoid her daughter from being infected. Often times we can become judgmental about hearing stories of women having babies with that are ill. However, I heard such a sweet and honest voice in Thembi describing her desire to bare a child…. someone she could live for. Thank you Thembi for sharing your story with us.” —Listener from Anaheim, CA

In courses I teach on narrative, health and social justice, I often use Thembi’s radio diary as an example of how telling one’s personal story can be used to enact broader social change. And inevitably, my students and I are moved to tears, as we witness, honor, and stand beside Thembi and all the other young women like Thembi, like ourselves, who only want to speak, to tell, to declare “I am.”

Thembi’s AIDS Prayer:

“Testing, 1-2, 1-2. Test, test, test.

Hi this is Thembi.

It’s time for my prayer. Every morning when I wake up, I run off to my drawer, take out my mirror, and look at myself. Then I start to do my prayer.

I say it every day, every time when I am feeling angry. Like when you are angry at someone, you always have that thing in you that you have to tell that someone what you feel.

I say hello HIV, you trespasser. You are in my body, you have to obey the rules. You have to respect me, and if you don’t hurt me, I won’t hurt you.

You mind your business, I will mind mine. Then I will give you a ticket when your time comes.”

Thembi Ngubane died in 2009 from multi-drug resistant tuberculosis at the age of 24.

Filed Under: Activism, Body Bandits Tagged With: AIDS, discrimination, HIV, npr, radio diaries, South Africa, stigma, Thembi Ngubane

Living a Limitless Life

January 7, 2011 By Sharon 3 Comments

By Sharon Haywood

“Imagine being born without arms. No arms to wrap around someone, no hands to experience touch, or to hold another hand with. Or what about being born without legs? Having no ability to dance, walk, run, or even stand on two feet. Now put both of those scenarios together: no arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that affect your everyday life?”

This text comes directly from the website Attitude is Altitude, which describes the reality for 27-year-old Nick Vujicic, who was born without limbs. His path to acceptance was not an easy one:

Throughout his childhood Nick dealt not only with the typical challenges of school and adolescence such as bullying and self-esteem issues; he also struggled with depression and loneliness as he questioned why he was different to all the other kids surrounding him; why he was the one born without arms and legs. He wondered what was the purpose behind his life, or if he even had a purpose.

After pushing through those difficult years with the love and support of his family and friends, his purpose became clear at the young age of 19 when he started his career as a motivational speaker grounded in his philosophy that, “attitude is everything and self perception determines direction.” To date, he has shared his story and his beliefs with millions of people, including high-school students and their teachers, businesses, churches, and even world leaders.

To get a taste of how powerful his message is, watch this video of him speaking to high school students. (Warning: It literally left me in tears over my morning coffee.)

In addition to inspiring people of all ages around the world, he founded the motivational speaking company, Attitude is Altitude; he is the president of Life Without Limbs, a non-profit organization based out of California; and most recently, he is the proud author of Life Without Limits. Peruse his websites and let his message sink in. Genuine self-acceptance and living the life you desire is within reach. It all comes down to choice. And perseverance.

Thank you, Nick.

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Filed Under: Body Bandits, Disability Tagged With: disability, motivational speaker, Nick Vijicic, self-acceptance, Self-Esteem

Shaking All Types of Booty

January 3, 2011 By Sharon 8 Comments

By Jennifer Jonassen

Amy Jonassen (left) and Jennifer Jonassen

At 37 years old and almost 350 pounds I decided to audition for a dance troupe in L.A. called R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance). I am now going into my third year with R.A.I.D. and it is my greatest pleasure to talk about the troupe that literally changed the course of my career and my life. R.A.I.D., the brainchild of the visionary choreographer Ramie Becker, is a radically inclusive, egalitarian dance troupe. Founded in 2004 with the simple idea that everyone has the right to dance, R.A.I.D. has been consistently booking gigs and playing to sold-out crowds from San Bernardino to San Francisco. As a dancer with R.A.I.D., I have opened for Peaches with Shunda K at the Music Box theater in L.A., performed for over 100,000 people at the Electric Daisy Carnival, and danced regularly at our home base, Bootie L.A. at the Echoplex in Los Angeles.

R.A.I.D. features dancers of all shapes, sizes, ages, and dance levels. From professional world-class dancers to untrained brave dancers, we all partake in the festivities equally. We are known for our creative and colorful costumes and props, but especially for dancing in our signature gold spandex unitards. But I think above everything else, it is R.A.I.D.’s joy that the audience most responds to.

To say that dancing with R.A.I.D. has had a profound effect on my life is an understatement! There really are no words to describe my journey to accepting – and hell, I’ll say it – loving my body. As a woman deemed morbidly obese by the medical community, I never thought I could have seen the day where I would be go-go dancer. In fact, I never dared to even go to clubs in my college years. It’s easy to feel like the ugly duckling at most nightclubs in L.A. But Bootie L.A. and R.A.I.D. provide the most accepting and FUN place imaginable. When you step into our world you walk into a place where everyone is equal and it is okay to be yourself. At Bootie L.A. the crowd is the most magnificently diversified I have ever seen. People of all ages, sizes, colors, genders, and sexualities come out to have a great time and to celebrate their bodies through music and dance. Now, as I dance my way into my forties I feel like the duckling who has finally found her swans.

I could sing R.A.I.D.’s praises forever but since we are a troupe I would like you to get to know some of the many wonderful dancers and contributors, starting with the originator of R.A.I.D.:

Ramie Becker – choreographer & founder of R.A.I.D.: I wanted R.A.I.D. to be more focused on the performance aspect than flash mobs. I spoke to DJ Paul V about trying it out at Bootie L.A. and the club really responded to it. By the way, Lady Gaga made an appearance there the night R.A.I.D. debuted.

I’ve definitely become far more comfortable with my body since creating R.A.I.D. It’s a comfortability that transcends my actual weight in a weird way. I’ve been fluctuating within a 30-pound range, but R.A.I.D. reminds me that I have the RIGHT to dance no matter what I weigh. I have the RIGHT to be sexy, silly, bizarre, playful – anything I want to be, no matter what size clothing I wear. For me, life is too short – I am not going to give up an opportunity to experience my bliss (which is dancing) because my body isn’t ‘perfect.’

R.A.I.D. challenges people to not just own their sexuality ‘at any size,’ but to also challenge themselves to move beyond the shackles of having to be ‘sexy’ all the time. I don’t look or feel sexy all the time – nobody does! Why can’t I be silly or strange? So, I’m challenging myself to get beyond trying to replicate the standard modes of bodily display and performance – i.e. the ‘sexy dancing girl.’ That’s so boring to me. There’s absolutely nothing subversive or interesting about it. The gold suits are one way to get into creative bodily expression, to push through those tropes. It’s like mask-play in theater, but these are full-body masks … that are really unmasking as well.

Jennifer Jonassen: Why do you think R.A.I.D. is so empowering?

Ramie Becker: People in club culture people get really strangled by this idea that they need to be sexy. There is a very narrow band of what is considered acceptable. So I think we are unexpected. We defy standard body types and ages. People are accustomed to seeing one type of go-go dancer and costuming. They are not expecting to see our dancers. We are challenging who gets to dance on stage and who gets to perform in a nightclub. Moving past that very limited scope of what is considered sexy at a night club. At the same time it is not a protest. When we go-go we bring silliness.

Jennifer Jonassen: Why do you think silliness is so empowering?

Ramie Becker: Silliness is empowering because it takes a lot of balls to be silly as opposed to sexy. It’s a whole new level. It’s almost a satire of what sexiness is in our culture. The crowds understand it and respond to it enthusiastically.

Jennifer Jonassen: I think of R.A.I.D. sometimes as a contemporary burlesque troupe.

Ramie Becker: Yes it definitely has elements of modern dance and burlesque. Burning Man was a definite influence.

Jennifer Jonassen: I agree! Why is irreverency so important to R.A.I.D.?

Ramie Becker: I feel like we need an irreverency and not take it so seriously. As opposed to being exclusionary. It’s kind of like karaoke. Dancing with R.A.I.D you can play around with your body. I feel there needs to be more of a playing field for dance. It needs to be more inclusive. As a choreographer people ask me if there are limitations using many untrained dancers. But professional dancers have limits as well too. They might not be able to play characters or transcend their training. I like making something that is really unique.

The troupe at Bootie LA

Jennifer Jonassen: What do you look for in dancers?

Ramie Becker: I look for stage presence. If they are excited about the idea of wearing a gold bodysuit and dancing on stage – if that makes them excited, then they are in.

Jennifer Jonassen: Other clubs turn away potential patrons for not looking a certain way.

Ramie Becker: Clubs are afraid they are going to calm their cool factor but R.A.I.D. has actually boosted club attendance.

Jennifer Jonassen: Bootie L.A. is unique in that it invites everyone. I feel like R.A.I.D. fosters that. I often have people contact me and tell me they are dancing now because of watching us perform with R.A.I.D.

Ramie Becker: That is what R.A.I.D. is about!

Jennifer Jonassen: What is next for R.A.I.D?

Ramie Becker: R.A.I.D. has been expanding organically for 2 1/2 years now, and the next level is for us to get our own rehearsal space, a home for R.A.I.D., where we can store costumes, props, and rehearse. I’d love to bring in teachers so we can have workshops and classes. We keep attracting people to the project, people are contacting us for gigs constantly – so it’s time to have our own space … and maybe a bus! Can you imagine? A solid gold tour bus, the R.A.I.D. Brigade!

* * *

I asked members of R.A.I.D to describe how they felt wearing the gold suit and how R.AI.D. has impacted them:

MG: Dancing in the gold suit feels glorious, glamorous, and exuberant. I feel like I glow when I’m dancing! I feel sexy and I feel loved and appreciated by the audience. My dream came true [with R.A.I.D.] at age 62. I always wanted to dance with a theatrical troupe onstage but in my 20s when I was at the height of my talent I was not given these opportunities.

Male Dancer: I’ve only had two performances with R.A.I.D. so far and my body image hasn’t changed per se. What has changed is my self-confidence level. Up on stage I can do anything I want. No reservations. It’s so freeing.

Katie: In the suit, I feel like a communist dance pirate from the future. I am a founding member of R.A.I.D. We are all dancers no matter what size we are. I am not as embarrassed about my skinny shoulders or pokey hip bones. Suze Q [another R.A.I.D. dancer] and I have been R.A.I.D.ing for 1 1/2 years and it has been an honor to bring my professional dance and choreography skills to the table, helping Ramie, our founder. I have danced with Madonna, Pink, Rihanna, and more, but the enjoyment I get out of RAID is second to none.

Dahni: How do I feel in the spandex suit? Sextatic! I’ve been with R.A.I.D. for almost a year now. Growing up I used to have major body image issues, and over the years I’ve slowly grown to love myself. Joining R.A.I.D. was the final rite of passage for me. Looking back on the past year, I feel like I’ve grown and become much more confident in myself, I no longer care what others might think or have any body insecurities that burden my life and it feels great! Natural.

Rachel: I feel super sexy in the gold suit. I have been dancing with R.A.I.D. for a year and I feel much more comfortable in my own body and I have become much more ballsy since joining. Frankly I just don’t give a damn anymore what anyone thinks of me. I get to live my dream of being a dancer and to inspire people to be more confident and crazy.

Amy: Wearing the suit is like being zipped into an alternate reality. Yes it’s transformative to see oneself in the suit, inner gold made to shine on the outside. I see my body in backstage mirrors and I can only feel ‘yes this is my body’ and that matter-of-factness does cross over into daily life. There’s no need to fear what you know and the suit exposes all.

Dan: In the suit I feel strangely liberated. I’ve been with R.A.I.D. on and off for about a year now. Donning the suit can be a little tough at first. Those suckers are skin tight. The thing is though, once your fellow R.A.I.D.ers are also in the suit, it gives you a boost of confidence you didn’t realize you had. As a team, we can do anything, and look hella crazy/sexy doing it!

Clint Tauscher: In the suit I feel desirable and invincible! It demands that attention be paid; I cannot help but feel that I deserve to be the center of attention.

Nigel Ficke: I love R.A.I.D., because they don’t judge you. Most importantly, they like to have fun, which, I’ll let you in on a little secret, IS THE WHOLE POINT!

* * *

All photos courtesy of Joe Stewart & MC Pepper of www.drunkrockers.com

* * *

Links:

R.A.I.D. in February 2010

R.A.I.D. on New Year’s Eve 2010

R.A.I.D. & Bootie L.A. on Fox News

R.A.I.D. on Facebook

Bootie L.A.

Bootie (International) & free downloads

Filed Under: Body Bandits, Body Image Tagged With: body image, Bootie L.A., Dance, inclusion, inclusive, R.A.I.D, RAID, Ramie Becker, Random Acts of Irreverent Dance

For 2011 Try Body Image Boosting Boot Camp

December 30, 2010 By pia 2 Comments

Angela Parker of Body Inspired Fitness rockin' the strength she's got.

By Pia Guerrero

New Year’s Resolution

In 2010, I made a resolution. I was gonna get strong. As in, ‘I can do man push ups’ strong. I’d been way too stressed out. Which meant no time to take care of my physical bizniz. Soon enough too little protein and no exercise left me weak in the knees. And back. And legs. When I noticed myself out of breath going up a single set of stairs I realized it was time to seek professional help. No excuses. I was joining a local exercise boot camp. Eek!

Exercise Boot Camp? Really? Me?

When I showed up on day one I was worried. As a dancer I never really ran or lifted weights. Also our teacher Angela Parker kinda looked like a Barbie doll. You know — fit, tan, and blond. I was sure she’d go on and on about how we should do more lunges to fit into our prepubescent skinny jeans. To my surprise she didn’t say it that day or any other day after that. Instead she coached me for weeks to show up and work like it was my last day on earth. The motivation? To seek pure health, strength, and endurance.

Through her humor and a genuine commitment to loving our bodies for their power and grace, Angela motivated me and our group to be our strongest physical selves. Twelve weeks and two sessions later, I can do man-ups, run 2.5 miles, and go up twenty flights of stairs with no problem. My body image has transformed. I no longer know my body as weak or helpless. I’m capable and strong and freak’n proud of what my body can do. It is truly empowering.

Words from a Wise Workout Wonder Woman

I recently asked Angela to email me how she finds value in who she is and not in what she looks like. She had some pretty rockin’ things to say:

Hands down the best way for me to find value in who I am, and not in what I look like, is to inspire others to be as fit and healthy as possible. Healthy and fit does not mean NOT skinny and perfect. Only when we are the best, most vibrant, healthy and fit versions of ourselves can we truly connect with our own value. When I see my students get this concept, I feel it is the single greatest moment of my life. I also feel valuable … not hot and sexy. Being a person of who contributes to others is what makes me a beautiful person.

We have the unique opportunity everyday to go against the ridiculous images and messages the media feeds us. I think the best place to start is turn off the damn T.V. Next, STOP buying magazines that only tell you how imperfect you are. Then, surround yourself with real people who love you just the way you are. People who are invested and dedicated to living healthy and fun lives. People you know and have relationships with are real. The media is not, it is not your friend. The media is like that super mean kid from 7th grade that spread rumors about you and made fun of you. Stay away!

As you can see I truly believe in HAVING FUN and finding your own way. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to choose how we want to live our lives and who we want to be. Can you say VALUE now!

Angela Parker
Fitness Expert, Motivational Maven, All around happy person!
Owner of Body Inspired Fitness
BodyInspiredFitness.com

Make 2011 the year to Flaunt it, Own it, Rock-n-Roll it!

As you know, we’re big fans here at Adios Barbie of highlighting body image boosting businesses and Body Outlaws. To kick off 2011, we’re here to offer you a potential resolution. Get into your body. Breathe. Stretch. Move. Enter this contest that Angela is hosting at Body Inspired Fitness. If you live in LA, Chicago, or New York you’ll get VIP treatment from Angela and her team.

The Grand Prize makeover week includes a value at up to $4,000.00 including:

Two personal training sessions each day with Angela Parker
Daily routine nutrition coaching
A 10-day cleanse, compliments of Paleta
A pantry makeover with good choices starting in the kitchen
A workout wardrobe provided by a leading fitness and lifestyle brand

For full contest details go to Body Inspired Fitness.

Filed Under: Body Bandits, Body Image Tagged With: 2011, Angela Parker, body image, Body Inspired Fitness, boot camp, exercise, fitness, new year's resolution, strength, training

Filmmaker Amanda Micheli Defies Categorization

November 5, 2010 By Sharon 2 Comments

By Sharon Haywood

Amanda Micheli

What do a cowgirl, Wonder Woman’s stunt double, and a beauty queen crowned inside a Colombian prison have in common? Filmmaker Amanda Micheli. Since 1996, she has cast women such as these as the unlikely protagonists in her acclaimed documentaries, such as Just for the Ride, Double Dare, and La Corona. Micheli, an award-winning director, producer, and cinematographer isn’t interested in fitting into a particular niche or appealing to a specific audience, but rather the Harvard graduate gravitates to creating films that fall “outside of the box.” According to Micheli, women filmmakers are “pigeon holed.” She elaborates by saying, “We have weepies, movies that make you cry, the touch-feely women’s films. I have nothing against those films but they aren’t the kind of films I make.” No, instead Micheli creates the type of films that we celebrate at Adios Barbie, films that present women in roles you rarely see in mainstream media: Women “who identify themselves through a certain kind of physical presence and courage that goes beyond sexual identity.”

Her latest project is no exception. Micheli branches away from documentaries to explore the world of fiction. She is working on her first screenplay (tentatively titled Tomboy), a coming-of-age story featuring 16-year-old Ruby and her experience as a young rugby player. Micheli is vested in giving the female athlete more screen time, which makes sense considering that the filmmaker also played for the U.S. women’s rugby team. Her screenplay, although not autobiographical, taps into her experiences as a player for the national team and as a coach for Berkley High’s all-girls rugby team. Inspiration for her screenplay in part comes from watching the teen girls grow from playing rugby: “Some never played sports before, had low self-esteem, and didn’t feel a sense of power in the world,” she explains. “Playing rugby opened their eyes to the power in their bodies. You’ve got girls of all shapes and sizes who never thought they could [feel] that joy of taking someone down. It is not a typically female experience. It’s not about violence. There’s a very positive outlet for aggression in contact sports that men have enjoyed for centuries.”

She describes Ruby as “a real life female action figure” who Micheli has cast as a shorter girl. “In the rugby world there’s a specific position that’s meant for smaller people,” she explains. “It’s incredibly rare to have that kind of diversity. In a lot of sports you tend more toward uniform body shapes. In rugby … gaining weight, body fat is okay.” Tomboy not only looks at body-image issues but it will also potentially tackle themes of identity, such as homophobia, and racism as it relates to the Samoan community in San Francisco. Although her first draft is complete, the filmmaker admits, “I’m struggling as a writer to create her true image. I want Ruby to figure out who she is.” One thing Micheli knows for sure is that Ruby “does not fit a cookie-cutter image.” The same can be said of Micheli’s eclectic documentaries.

Jeannie Epper and Lynda Carter

Her first production, Just for the Ride (1996) received a Student Academy Award and features two fearless female rodeo champions, 76-year-old Fern Sawyer and 51-year-old Jan Youren. Micheli’s exploration of women in professional rodeo questions traditional perceptions of women and has been touted as a film that rails against sexism and ageism. Her second film, Double Dare (2004) stars two stuntwomen: Jeannie Epper and Zoë Bell. Epper donned the real muscles behind the 1970s Wonder Woman, and Bell shouldered the heavy lifting for Lucy Lawless as Xena the Warrior Princess and Uma Thurman in Tarantino’s Kill Bill. The documentary has earned praise as a film that smashes gender stereotypes but what Micheli loves about this film is that it reveals the “real people behind the iconic images.” Her next documentary, the Academy Award nominated La Corona (2008) co-directed with Isabel Vega, chronicles the experience of four inmates in a beauty pageant set inside Bogotá Women’s Prison. The character-driven film challenged her own beliefs about beauty pageants: “I thought it would be easier to criticize or deconstruct these women’s involvement in the beauty pageant but when I got in the prison I recognized that were so passionate about it … and it was hard to take an ideological stance.”

Fans of Micheli’s work have tried to categorize her both personally and professionally, but she resists classification. Both Just for the Ride and Double Dare have received an overwhelming positive response from the LGBT community, which has led folks to label her as a gay filmmaker. For the record, Micheli who is in a long-term relationship with a man states:

“I certainly don’t identify as a straight woman, but I don’t identify one way or another. I take the more intellectual point of view that sexual identity is sort of limiting … I think that gender identity is much broader than sexual identity.”

In terms of the women in her films she says: “I haven’t set out to make films about women of any certain sexual identity. Just for the Ride is about two female cowgirls who identify as straight but they’re kind of butch. That’s one thing I love about these women is that they defy categorization.” And that’s exactly what we love about Micheli and her work.

Read more about Micheli and her various other projects at her website www.runawayfilms.com

Filed Under: Body Bandits, LGBQ and Transgender, Representation and Identity Tagged With: academy award, Amanda Micheli, Double Dare, Film, hollywood, Just for the Ride, La Corona, Oscar, Stereotypes, Tomboy, Women

Jennifer Jonassen: A Sizeless Star

January 17, 2010 By Sharon 12 Comments

Photo credit: www.amycrilly.com

By Sharon Haywood

“It’s important for me to portray being fat as beautiful,” said Jennifer Jonassen, a 40-year-old up-and-coming plus-sized actress, dancer, and writer intent on breaking sizeism barriers in Hollywood. Originally from Brooklyn, New York she worked in various off-Broadway shows from the age of 18 to well into her thirties. With the exception of one stage role, she exclusively played mothers. It was only when she moved to Los Angeles and broke into film that she was cast in a wider variety of roles. She stated, “I finally was able to be portrayed as beautiful.”

It hasn’t been easy. Via her regular column at PLUS Model Magazine she shares her frustrations at the excess of demeaning roles for fat actors in Hollywood. Although she admits that she could work more, she will not compromise herself. In 2007, Jonassen was hired to play the lead in a film shot in San Francisco. Upfront and transparent, she clearly stated her conditions: “I do not want to be a fat joke and I won’t do any scenes depicting binge eating in a comical way.” Somehow the production company didn’t hear her. The script demanded she break a scale by stepping on it, as well as provide comic relief by overeating. Without ever shooting a scene, Jonassen chose to fly back to LA. The experience, though difficult, crystallized her path. She explained,

“I realized then, having that experience, that it’s more important to portray being fat as something different than what it’s been. I have since turned down roles by HBO and Fox. There were projects where I could have been easily cast but they were always demeaning, always ugly.”

Her award-winning monologue in Girlie Show (2000), created by Lori Lamb and Susan Greenhill, was far from ugly. Her monologue, Manifesto 275, not only described her weight at the time, but more importantly, how she makes no apologies for it. Recent projects include a recreation of a Twilight Zone episode, directed by Jim Pasternak in which she portrays a classic 1930s Hollywood leading lady, and an upcoming guest segment on the web-based series, Squatters. One current undertaking she is particularly proud of is the documentary Fat, due for release later this year: “It was an amazing experience. The director Julian Dahl and the producer Linnea Dahl are very supportive. It’s going to be a powerful, powerful film. It shows very different, idiosyncratic stories of different perspectives of what it’s like to be fat or feel fat. Fat is so stigmatized in our society that it’s time to reclaim it.”

Her role in Fat not only includes a nude scene, but also documents the first time she performed with her dance troupe R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance) – in a full-body gold spandex suit. (To get an idea of the troupe’s caliber, some of the dancers have worked with Madonna and Rihanna.) In September 2008, Jonassen began her dance career at “38 years old and three hundred and forty some-odd pounds.” She explained how the creator and choreographer of R.A.I.D., Ramie Becker, aims “to have everyone incorporated into dance. She wants different shapes and sizes, and ages and levels of dance because she sees there is a real stigma in the dance world. She wants to expand that world so that everyone is included.” Jonassen recounted how coming to the decision to wear the spandex suit challenged her. “I really deliberated for weeks. Will people think it’s offensive? Or will it be, she’s fat and it’s funny?” Ultimately, she is grateful for the inner transformation it triggered. In fact, she asserts that everyone should slide into a gold spandex body suit at least once. In her opinion, “you can’t hate yourself in it.” Today, Jonassen celebrates her body.

In her debut article for PLUS Model Magazine, she wrote,

“I am a plus-size actress who is trying to change the way larger women are thought of and portrayed on film and onstage, as well as the world that they live in.”

Determined to realize her goal, she’s decided to create her own opportunities. In conjunction with Becker, she is developing “a one-woman burlesque show a la Mae West” to be performed in LA later this year. She also envisions creating a series of one-woman shows that could incorporate other themes – trapeze or maybe even rock climbing – all in the name of bashing stereotypes. And she’s not stopping there. She is also co-authoring a script that features her ideal role: “A leading lady with no mention of weight.” Based on her accomplishments, courage, and unwavering resolve, Jonassen’s vision for both herself and Hollywood is well within reach.

Discover more about Jennifer Jonassen at her website, her Facebook page or at PLUS Model magazine.

Lagerfeld Sets Aside Fat Phobia for Renn

Carrie Fisher Joins the Ongoing Star War Against Fat

Why Being Fat Is–and Isn’t–All That

Size and Sardine Packed Southwest Airlines

NYTimes Writer Barely Apologizes for her Discriminatory Remarks Against Fat People

Weight Stigma: Breaking it Down with Advocate and Activist Marilyn Wann

Filed Under: Body Bandits, Size & Weight Tagged With: fat, hollywood, Jennifer Jonassen, PLUS Model Magazine, R.A.I.D, size, sizeism

Music’s New Bold and Bountiful

June 26, 2009 By Sharon 5 Comments

Beth Ditto rocks her curves on two magazine covers

By Sharon Haywood

Ditto rocks her curves for not one, but two magazine covers.

“I’ve proven you don’t have to be some skinny girl to do well,” says Adele, an up-and-coming solo soul tinged pop artist. It’s not a statement heard commonly today in music.

Adele, a 21-year-old from England, is quickly becoming renowned for her impressive vocal range and soulful voice. The singer’s debut album released in early 2008 has topped the charts in the UK and North America. The 2008 BRIT Awards appointed her as the Critics’ Choice and in 2009, she captured two Grammy awards, Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. What’s even more is that in June of this year she co-headlines with her idol, the iconic Etta James.

Beth Ditto, originally from Arkansas, is the 28-year-old lead singer for the band Gossip. She’s captured headlines and wowed fans in the world of indie rock and punk for her incredible vocals, often likened to those of Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin. At the 2008 Glamour Awards, she won International Artist of the Year. The openly gay singer gained even more exposure in the US and abroad for penning and performing the hit single “Standing in the Way of Control,” which rails against the American government’s decision to ban same-sex marriage.

Adele and Ditto each boast substantial fan bases that continue to grow, but not only due to their outstanding talent: Their admirers appreciate them for their authenticity. Neither is interested in projecting a cookie-cutter image to the public. Adele states that, “I’m not going to start changing and becoming something I’m not.” Ditto echoes the same sentiment by saying,

“I spent so much of childhood trying to change, and I just got sick of it … I don’t want to look like Britney Spears.”

The voluptuous stars don’t apologize for their size. In fact, both are outspoken about their refusal to diet. Adele’s bio on her US website asserts, “My aim in life is never to be skinny.” Ditto takes it one step further explaining how she no longer uses the word “overweight” to describe herself because it “sets a standard for people to be.” Rather, she prefers the term “fat,” not for “insult or degradation” but as an honest description of who she is: “the truth is that I am fat and that’s okay.”

Ditto is not alone in her views. Actually, some think that her size is a lot more than okay. In February 2009, she donned the cover of the UK fashion magazine Love wearing nothing but dramatic eye make-up and black lipstick. And the publication didn’t stop there. Should you want a closer look at the glamorous singer (or to see exactly what her tattoos say), check out Love‘s website where you can magnify Ditto and all her beauty by simply rolling your mouse over her photo. This isn’t the first time she’s demonstrated her boldness by posing nude. Britain’s New Musical Express (NME) celebrated the singer by capturing her confidence and bare body on its June 2007 cover, which incidentally was nominated for the award of UK’s Best Magazine Cover.

But not all of the media is nearly as supportive of plus-sized talent as are Love and NME. Although Adele isn’t interested in undressing for the camera, she’s been recently showcased in Vogue‘s annual Shape Issue under the heading of “Curvy.” Apparently though, the photo taken by Annie Leibovitz contained too many curves for Vogue‘s liking. The publication photoshopped out much of Adele, resulting in an image that vaguely resembles the singer’s full figure. This blatant distortion of her body reflects mainstream media’s general uneasiness with talented folk who also happen to be fat. Evidence of this fact continues to be illustrated in interviews with the singers, who must repeatedly field questions about their weight.

Whether we like it or not, music in the 21^st century isn’t only about the sound. It’s also what we see, be it on television, in print, or live. The images that accompany today’s music, at least when it comes to female performers, fall within narrow parameters. But with singers like Adele and Ditto challenging these norms, with any luck we might be on the edge of a shift in the music industry–one that accepts talent in all shapes and sizes.

Margaret Cho on Drop Dead Diva and the Power of Reclaiming Beauty

Three Cheers for Kate!

‘Sex and the City’ and Body Image

Annoying Trend: Celebs Play Dumb About Body Image

Michael Jackson: Another Victim of the Fame Game

Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”: Racist or Revolutionary?

Body image gets animated: What The Simpsons and Family Guy say about beauty

Filed Under: Beauty Standards, Body Bandits, Size & Weight, Women Tagged With: Adele, Beth Ditto, Brit Awards, Britain?s New Musical Express, Celebrities, Glamour Awards, Grammy Awards, LGBT, Love Magazine, NME Magazine, size, Standing in the Way of Control, the band Gossip, voluptuous stars

Move Over Barbie, Now There’s Something Meatier

May 6, 2009 By pia 1 Comment

Real Woman Barbie, the Ditto Version

Vogue UK wrote this piece for their website on the new “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” Barbie doll version of musician Ditto.

WHAT does Beth Ditto have in common with Barbie? The answer: more than you think. In keeping with fashion’s recent preoccupation with dolls (Roksanda and Gareth Pugh designed outfits for Barbie and Ken, respectively), Ditto’s curves have been translated into pint-sized proportions to give a sneak peek of her collection for Evans, with hits stores in July.

Superdoll Collectables London created the one-off doll, which is set to make an appearance in the Rankin campaign imagery of the collection. So what can we expect from Ditto’s design team? A capsule range full of slouchy, rock-inspired clothes and accessories with enough sparkle to give Barbie a run for her money.

Julia Neel

Dolls: It Matters If You’re Black or White

Barbie’s Plummeting Neckline Causes Uproar

I’m Saving My Cheers Over New “Authentic” Black Barbie Line

Barbie’s Ankles Too Fat for Louboutin’s Stylelist Fashion Blog

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Joan Holloway Barbie Proves Plastic is Less Fantastic

Filed Under: Body Bandits Tagged With: Barbie, Beth Ditto, Celebrities, doll

Three Cheers for Kate!

January 30, 2009 By Sharon 6 Comments

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By Sharon Haywood

Kate Winslet has been attracting a lot of attention these days and not just because she snagged two Golden Globes for her roles in Revolutionary Road and The Reader. The 33-year-old actress boldly announced that she and her Revolutionary Road co-star Leonardo DiCaprio are proud to be Botox-free: “I’m so thrilled by our foreheads. They’re supposed to move.” She’s unlike some of her Hollywood peers, like Jenny McCarthy and Courtney Cox, who tried erasing their wrinkles via injections of the botulinum toxin only to be horrified to discover that paralyzed facial muscles are not conducive to realistic expressions. Winslet is not at odds with getting older. She readily accepts that as she ages, so does the rest of her, a rare stance to take in the world of film and television.

This isn’t the first time Winslet captured headlines regarding her image. Since her birth as an international star from the release of Titanic in 1997, the media focused the spotlight on her body, and set her apart from the majority of female celebrities, most of whom are thin and often, underweight. Often described as well-rounded or curvaceous, Winslet is in reality of average weight. Instead of crumbling under the pressure and becoming the latest spokeswoman for a weight-loss center, she speaks out against striving for perfection, attempting to dispel societal messages that true success and happiness can only be found in a size zero: “I’ve got a lovely husband and children, and I didn’t lose weight to find those things.”

Again and again, she refuses to conform to impossible standards of beauty. In 2003, an angry Winslet apologized to fans when editors at Britain’s GQ magazine essentially photo-shopped out what they thought was too much of Kate, thus distorting her body into something it wasn’t. While filming The Reader in 2008 she turned down the offer to have a body double stand in for her when the script called for nude scenes. She also refused to shed any pounds for the role. She wanted to depict a believable and credible character. What easier way to portray a woman who has had two children than to be herself, a mother of two in real life? Not only a role model for her fans, she prohibits fashion magazines in her home, conscious of sending her daughter healthy messages about her body.

No doubt, we’ll hear more from her. For the sake of today’s young girls and women, let’s hope her colleagues will follow her example and spark a trend of actresses who have no shame in showing the world who they really are: natural and confident, and beautiful because of it.

‘Sex and the City’ and Body Image

Annoying Trend: Celebs Play Dumb About Body Image

Michael Jackson: Another Victim of the Fame Game

Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”: Racist or Revolutionary?

Gabby Sidibe in Bazaar: Curvy in Couture

Body image gets animated: What The Simpsons and Family Guy say about beauty

Music’s New Bold and Bountiful

The Truth About Celebrity Weight Loss

Filed Under: Body Bandits Tagged With: Beauty, body image, Celebrities, Kate Winslet