Boycott The Bag

Sara Ramirez rocks

From today's Page 6:

SIZE doesn't matter any more to "Grey's Anatomy" star Sara Ramirez , who plays Dr. Callie Torres. "There's catered food everywhere you look - I gained 25 pounds in four months," the big-boned hottie tells January's Glamour. "Nobody ever said, 'You're getting a little heavy.' Instead, they wrote scenes for me to dance around half-naked in my underwear. I went to Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer, and said . . . 'Why me? . . . She just looked at me and said, 'Work it.' " Ramirez did, and is comfy as a size 12.

She's comfy....And we're all grateful! But why'd they have to call her "big-boned"?  She's actually "normal sized."  More importantly, however, where does she get her clothes.....

Kate Winslet Rocks

Kate Winslet is both talented and smart.  In an interview with  BBC's "Sunday AM" program, she had some strong words about the use of underweight models.  She finds the use of ultra-thin models and actresses very unsettling, and as a result, she does not let her 6 year old daughter look at magazines that feature such pictures.

“It’s only a matter of time before she becomes aware of it, and it frightens the life out of me,” Winslet said of her daughter, Mia.

Discussing impressionable preteens and teens, Winslet noted:

“They’re trying to figure out who they are, and they want to be loved, and what I resent is that there is an image of perfection that is getting thinner and thinner, and it’s truly upsetting to me.”

“I hope that in some small way I’m able to say, ‘I’m a normal person, I’m doing all right.’ I’ve got a lovely husband and children and I didn’t lose weight to find those things, and those things are what should be important.”

When will the fashion industry come to a similar conclusion?

 

Sara Ramirez - Curvy Sex Symbol

Unlike most of my friends, I avoid "Grey's Anatomy" when it airs.  The characters are annoying, the storylines improbable.  If I want to tune out with the tube, I'll watch some reality show.  And except for "The Flavor of Love" (it's too gross), I'll watch just about any reality show over "Grey's Anatomy."  Plotlines, cast changes, entire seasons of Meredith Grey's hand-wringing have passed me by. 

As a result, while flipping through the channels a month ago, I spotted a scene where a woman with a body similar to mine was dancing around in her underwear.  I paused because the scene was so unexpected.  To my amazement, it was a scene from "Grey's Anatomy."  The actress wasn't one of the incredibly thin leads, like Sandra Oh or Ellen Pompeo.  Instead, it was the size 12 Sara Ramirez.  Prior to this, I wasn't familiar with the actress and all her accomplishments (she got a Tony for her work in Spamalot!) but it was so startling to see a woman with a fairly conventional physique on prime time, that Ramirez got -- and held -- my attention. 

Last night, only days after concluding their "Ugly Vanessa" segments (where Vanessa Minnillo was turned into a size 12 and subjected to lots of "Ugly Betty" style humiliations), Entertainment Tonight profiled Sara Ramirez as a sex symbol with curves.  During the piece extolling Sara Ramirez's fuller figure and her willingness to buck Hollywood's impossible standards for physical perfection, I kept waiting for a reference to Vanessa's work.  Not surprisingly, there was no mention.

Is it too much to ask for a little editorial consistency?  Ugly is a size 12....Curvy sex symbol is a size 12.....Then again, Entertainment Tonight's ambivalence is a lot like our own.  We applaud those rare women who can embrace their bodies, while simultaneously worrying that our own bodies are inadequate.  We know that others may view anything bigger than thin as ugly -- and maybe we share this belief as well.  Here are some comments from a Grey's Anatomy Fan Blog in the wake of Sara Ramirez's underwear dance, that captures this perfectly.  Comments after the jump.

That said, I must confess, I really want to know where she shops.  Any insights would be appreciated!