Questions Of Body Image Are Not Easily Answered When The World Is Watching.
When you look into the mirror what do you see? Does your magnificent character outshine any physical imperfections? Are you holding up for your age? Of course there is the most delicate self-examination of all, are you fat?
This “F” word is particularly loaded, because I think our definition of fat has changed over the years; mostly as many of us have gotten fatter. If you were to hook me up to a polygraph machine and ask me if I thought I was out and out fat; I would say that I wasn’t. Sure, I can stand to lose a few pounds; who couldn’t. But am I among the morbidly obese? I don’t think so.
All of this has come to a head recently, or perhaps belly is a better location, as one of my colleagues innocently expressed the opinion that indeed I am fat. Not a big deal; except she made the observation as our live morning TV news show was being broadcast all over Southern California; and then of course the clip went viral; and now more than a half-million folks have seen this “fat” clip on line, all around the world.
As much as I may hunger for the occasional donut, the vast global media apparatus must really hunger for content as the “TV Anchor Called “Fat” On The Air” story has now spread all around the world. Frankly, I thought the Daily Mail did a much better job than The Mirror in terms of coverage; and the New York Daily News may have had the most comprehensive piece of all. AOL, as expected, required vistors to watch a 30 second commercial to look at a 38 second clip.
So where does all this leave me, along with this body that I am housed in. One of my friends suggested that perhaps I am among a huge number of Americas who suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Before you have to get all Web MD on this topic, BDD basically is either an inability to really see what is in the mirror; and/or to obsess on the imperfections that you do see. In the spirit of complete candor, I probably lean towards the inability to truly take in all that the mirror reveals.
One other thing that this non-troversey has caused me to think about; is the lucky position I am in. In 2014, Morning News TV personalities are expected to be upbeat, even jolly. The same expectations are there for the on-air woman as well; with one major exception. The world won’t end if I am both jolly and maybe a touch jiggly, but heaven help us, if one of my female colleagues is truly heavy. There are woman on air who, like me, could stand to lose a few pounds, but that is a very rare circumstance; and in the entire 20-plus years I have worked on the air, none of my bosses have every said anything to me about my weight. I know that virtually every woman I have worked with has not been able to avoid those same conversations.
So for me, maybe I will grab one less Chips-Ahoy the next time the plate is passed; and if all of this continues to open up a discussion about the more open acceptance of various shapes and sizes on the air so much the better.
In the meantime, my colleague and friend Ginger, who made the on-air observation about my weight and I were able to “hug it out.” And, she was able to put both of her arms all the way around me.
