One morning after Homorobics, we went out to breakfast at the Vita and the topic of Seth Rogan and Jack Black came up, where NJG pointed out how these guys are famous purely because of male privilege, like, they're fat and unconventional looking, some might say ugly, and totally sloppy and slovenly, and there's no way a woman could ever get away with that no matter how funny/talented/smart she was. They're pretty much the poster children for men who benefit from sexism in America. Ok and that doesn't mean that they're not funny; I guess they're just both.
So I couldn't help but click on the following Myspace video of Artist on Artist where Kevin Smith and Seth Rogan talk about "how hot chicks love fluffy men" after which my head exploded. Is it too far a leap for these men to realize that no one's making movies where a fat girl gets a hot guy? That their very existence is oppressive? Just a little shout out to womanhood every so often would be nice boys. sheesh...
Artist on Artist: Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen
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2 comments:
Straight up, Vitamin! For dudes, mediocrity is totes okay, but for women, you have to be brilliant and hot - fat chicks don't get any airtime, but if they do, they have to be gorgeous. They cannot in any way be mediocre. I really like Seth Rogan, but really? Why do the schlumps get all the "hot" girls, while the fat or less than stereotypically beautiful or just plain mediocre girls don't even exist? I mean, we can be bitches, but we can't be "fluffy"? If someone remade Pineapple Express with female leads, it would so not fly. I know this has been said, but maybe we should really start making our own films. Yeah, don't think just because I'm in a country with a 10-hour time difference I won't be keeping up with some F-Club blogging action!
[This comment is also in response to a commenter on lisa's myspace blog on the same topic, so some of it may seem out of context...roll with it and check out what i'm responding to if you're interested.]
I hate to be a hater, AND, I feel that I must say that although Beth Ditto is a hot, fat shining light at the end of a very skinny tunnel (and I love non-apologetic fatties who rock their bodies -- she's an inspiration), sizeism is alive and well. The type of mainstream, dominant culture crowd who loves Seth Rogan, et. al., generally do not think Beth Ditto is hot. If you ever make the mistake of reading comments under photos of Beth being her hot, sweaty, naked ruler of a fashion icon rock star feminist self, you see a pretty brutal world, where a fair amount of people think it's okay to say cruel and even violent things about a fat woman who dares to own her body and her sexuality. True, in certain groups (and those circles, thankfully, are widening), Beth symbolizes all kinds of strength and hottness and possibility. But not in blockbuster movie theaters. And chubby little girls all over America are probably more familiar with Super Bad than The Gossip.
Having said all of the above, I also have to admit that I think Seth Rogan and Jack Black can be pretty fucking hilarious, and though Knocked Up and Super Bad are fraught with knife wounds to my feminist heart, I still laugh and appreciate some things about them. Especially Super Bad, which portrays a fairly tender and loving friendship between two teenage boys. The fact that they can make me laugh, however, does not absolve them of their male privilege or of the offensive shit in their movies. So I guess many things can be true at once. Seth Rogan and Kevin Smith (he is a totally UNfunny chode, if you ask me) did not invent sexism, and the fact that it permeates American culture is not their fault. But they still benefit from it. And they're not really concerned with how they benefit, as far as I can tell.
Beth Ditto offers a different narrative about femininity, power and beauty. At the same time, the dominant media narrative does not leave space for big bodied women to love themselves, their bodies, and their sex lives. I think it's always important to point to women who breaks rules and still succeed, because feminism is about redefining spaces so there is room for more people -- even ones with fat asses. It's also important to hold people accountable for their assholery, and not believe that the struggle is over.
Also, not all fat people are warm and funny. That's a stereotype. I mean, I happen to be a pretty warm and funny person, but I'm certainly not always those things. Sometimes I'm a self-righteous boss. Fat people may tend to develop coping strategies, and/or may be resilient and compassionate because existing in the margins offers us awesome ways of surviving. But we all survive in different ways.
Anyway, I like this discussion - clearly. I'm a long winded fat girl, ya'll. And I wouldn't want to be any other way.
ps - even though I laugh at Seth Rogan, he can kiss my fat, cellulitey ass. and I still like him!
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