Contradiction in Terms

So, I recently blogged about a new dating show, More to Love, and thought I had moved on to bigger and better things, until I stumbled upon this over at 5 Resolutions. And my frustration came back full-force.

I had read some pretty stellar reviews about Drop Dead Diva in the few entertainment magazines I subscribe to. I was kind of curious about it, so when I saw the first few episodes were hanging out in my friend's On Demand queue, I thought I would check it out. I didn't even make it through the first half-hour of the show. Somewhere between the platter of donuts that Brooke Elliott's (Jane) character eyes lustily, and the Lane Bryant jokes, I fell off the grid.

I remember seeing Margaret Cho live a few years ago, and it was right after she had gone through a significant weight loss. She joked about the fact that she had lost the weight by eating a diet of mainly persimmons and exercising to the point of obsession. The climax occurred when she literally pooped herself while stuck in traffic on her way home from work in L.A. Cho hammed it up, made the facial expressions that helped bring her to fame, and we all had a great laugh and went home. I had since read all of Cho's interviews where she talks about body image and the hope for an eventual migration to body acceptance for all body types. And I bought it.

So, imagine my surprise when I check out Cho's latest project, and I am slapped in the face with stereotype upon stereotype. The fat chick can't resist a donut. Hmm, why is that familiar? Why does it seem like a regression to watch what appear to be confident, capable women, exploit some shortcoming that is not really based in truth?

I think Jane could still be effective without playing the victim to food. I wonder if perhaps exploring some of the real food issues that women face might actually be easier to relate to, however less, ahem, appetizing it might be. What I would ultimately like to see is a strong, sexy, confident, and yes, chubby woman who isn't a victim. A woman who usually has the whole wheat toast and apple for breakfast, but sometimes indulges in an eclair. A woman who is not thin, but not necessarily unhealthy.

Would that be so hard to swallow?