Tyra's Bodyville

Did any of you catch this Tyra show a week or so ago (rhyming!)? It was fascinating! The two-episode production was called Tyra's Bodyville and 10 women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, different sizes and shapes were brought together for a pretty radical and jaw-dropping body image social experiment. All the lasies, from very thin to plus-sized, were outfitted in nude-colored body suits and asked to stand in front of a mirror and, as honestly as possible, explain what they saw. The women were raw and put their hearts on the line, and the show literally had me crying at certain parts.

Some of the women were happy with themselves "from the neck up," while others felt just OK with what they had. A couple were pleased with their figures; however, most expressed some degree of shame. Some snippets I caught:

"Sometimes I get dressed in the dark so I don't have to see it" - "it" being her body.

"My ex-boyfriend told me my body was damaged goods.' (Can I kill him please?)

"I can't get enough of my body."

"I feel good, I feel confident, I feel like a supermodel. [But] I'm Trinidadian and people say, 'She needs to gain weight. She's a bag of bones.'"

"When I look in the mirror, I see fat. I have six different sets of love handles. [In school] kids...would call me things like whale and baby beluga. When I was in school my classmates wouldn't let me sit with them because they said whales weren't allowed.".

Oh. This is making me sadder and sadder just writing the comments down.

After this exercise, the women were put together and given 10 cards about the size of an open notebook. Each one bore a different weight-related descriptor: Thick. Coach potato. Needs to eat. Athletic. Bangin' body. Fat slob. Etcetera. The ladies then had the unenviable task of, one by one, lining each other up and debating the particulars of her body, in order to assign a certain label to her. Each woman then had no choice but to wear it around her neck, like the metaphorical albatross that body-related labels so are.

Now, of course, we all do this to some extent every day. We judge other people based on their looks, no matter how hard we strive to be loving and kind and fair. It's human nature. But to see it played out in this forum, where the women HAD to make a decision - their bodysuit-clad bodies set against the stark blackness of an empty theater - was heartbreaking. One woman had to get Fat Slob and to see these women - most of whom I truly believe are compassionate individuals and were struggling with the task at hand - to see them cast glances at each other, calling out physical "flaws" or ascribe personality traits based on looks...it was a real eye-opener. I was quite proud of them, as this could not have been easy. Ironically, a thin European woman wound up getting the Fat slob label primarly because she was pretty harsh in judging the others, so they stuck it to her by giving her the least desirable sign. Someone later, on stage with Tyra, made a funny comment that it was fitting the she (the thin one) got the most horrific label because she was ugly on the inside.

This reminds me of a quote I saw recently, I think from an actress, that said something like, "I don't want to be remembered simply by my epitaph reading 'She was thin.'" Right on. There is So. Much. More.

What a unique and educational experiment. I wish they could show this kind of thing in schools to little kids.

Did any of you catch it?

Comments

I didn't catch that show! But I really wish I had. Looks like I'll have to hunt it down online...

Aw, man I would've loved to watch that show it sounds like it was a really good one. It really pains me to hear women rip apart their bodies. We're given one vessel in life and we should cherish it and love it, not look at it in disgust or sadness. Of course I'm guilty of doing the latter but hopefully this show will help some women look at their bodies differently and in a better light than they once did.

Just yesterday a friend in my pilates class said "Nothing I accomplish, nothing I do, is worth anything as long as I'm at this weight." Which is sad on so many levels but most of all because she has accomplished so much! Incidentally, her weight is completely normal. Thanks for the poignant post, Leslie! This reminds me of what I loved about reading LR Diaries - exposing the parts of us that are so vulnerable, the parts that we think no one would love. I might have to change my opinion of Tyra;)

I did see the show, while I was on the eliptical machine at the gym. I thought that it was a great show. What caught my attention the most was later in the show when they had to assign others with the occupation they thought they would have. When it came assigning the last two occupations, a CEO and a bus driver, there were only two women left, a black woman and an Asian woman. They chose the Asian woman as the CEO and the black woman as the bus driver. Their explanation for this was because of the black woman's size (she was a plus-size beauty queen) and color, she stereotypically fit the bus driver label more. I wish I had been able to see the whole thing, but my time was up on the machine before the end of the show.

Whoa - I didn't see that part about assigning occupations. (I caught a rerun). That is so messed up I can't even believe it. Stereotyping is out of control.

I saw part of it, but it kind of upset me and I turned it off. It was that thin, mean girl that got me the most, when she was talking about another girl and she said "She really let herself go, I don't know why she's allowed herself to get this big." It was just so typical.
I saw a stage full of beautiful women (even if it did remind me of a school for mimes, with those bodysuits).

I saw it too but but missed the part where tyra made that comment. if she said that then i think its worse than anything else. the comments abount your body are something than can be changed if it bothers you, whereas to call somebody ugly on the inside is horrendous, who the hell is she to judge??? she who hosts another show where she constantly juges people based on both appearance and personality
also again i disagree with most commenters, I also would not have allotted ceo to the fat lady, I as a lot of people ascribe vast obesity to laziness (in the most part) and i think that carries over to the rest of your life, i think if you dont care enough to take care of your body then its likey you are not the type of person to put the effort required into getting to ceo level. i use myself as my reference as when i was fat it was 100% due to laziness. most people who are suceesful are successful in every area of their lives.

I saw it too but but missed the part where tyra made that comment. if she said that then i think its worse than anything else. the comments abount your body are something than can be changed if it bothers you, whereas to call somebody ugly on the inside is horrendous, who the hell is she to judge??? she who hosts another show where she constantly juges people based on both appearance and personality
also again i disagree with most commenters, I also would not have allotted ceo to the fat lady, I as a lot of people ascribe vast obesity to laziness (in the most part) and i think that carries over to the rest of your life, i think if you dont care enough to take care of your body then its likey you are not the type of person to put the effort required into getting to ceo level. i use myself as my reference as when i was fat it was 100% due to laziness. most people who are suceesful are successful in every area of their lives.

OC - It wasnt Tyra who made the "ugly on the inside" comment - it was the group of 10 women who came to the concensus and one of them made the comment. Just want to clear that up!
Leslie

OC - I've known lots of skinny people that are lazy (you should meet my ex-boyfriend. Really.) Maybe your weight issues were due to laziness but not everyone's are. There's a lot of genetic variation out there. Be gentle with yourself and others, okay?

thanks leslie I was hating tyra for saying that. I re-read and see taht I misread it alst time.
charlotte, Yes I agree with you that there are the rare few who are skinny & lazy. suprisingly I have actually come to a point in my life where I am almost glad i am not ntaurally slim, because if I was i would eat french fries at every meal and end up having a heart attack. but i honestly dont belive for one second that any kind of genetic variation leads to obesity, thats environmental & the choices we make. unless you are taking about actual genetic defects like prader willi syndrome or kleinfelters etc which is a different discussion entirely. joe schmo can't attribute obesity to genetics. i think when families are overweight its more likely to be learned behaviour.

lol @ being skinny and lazy being a rare combo. Wow @ being thin indicating virtue and a high work ethic. That's wild Cassie...

Yes being skinny & lazy is a rare combo raspberry!!! as most of us have to get up and move in order to keep the weight off. Thats a simple fact. Its not so "wild" if you stop to think about it. Being thin does not at all indicate high virtue any more than having nice hair would. If you had read my comment you'd see that I said that most people who are successful are so in all areas of their lives,I meant including appearance. I mean that it is again a "rare" case of an overweight CEO. simply because i think driven people are driven in all areas of their lives and are high energy. I cant really imagine somebody who would work so hard to get to a position like CEO but put no effort into looking after their health. Can you??????

I just wanted to point out this story on CEOs and weight in America: http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2007-02-18-ceos-weight-usat_x.htm

I thought this quote was especially ironic: "My mother taught me if I didn't eat everything on my plate, a child in China would be dying," says Tim Zagat, CEO of the company that publishes the restaurant guide and who weighs 240 at 6-foot-2, down from a high of 275.

didnt catch it, but i can totally relate. I hate seeing fat people, and I'm fat myself!

Good Job Leslie in finding an article regarding wht i described as a rare case!! Doesnt prove anything. I never said It was impossible, just rare. I still think its rare. most of those examples were men, I think most comments here are presumed to be female oriented.

Actually, I posted that article because I thought it was interesting that all of these CEOs were actively trying to LOSE weight - many of them succeeding. The CEO of Carnival lost 45 lbs through Pritikin; the founder of Outback Steakhouse lost 32 lbs with a live-in trainer; Real estate developer Ray Wooldridge shed 35 lbs through home exercise equipment and visits to weight loss centers; Linda Burzynski, CEO of Liberty Fitness, hired a trainer to help her lose 40 lbs before starting her job. So in a way, it kind of supports your theory that one needs to be thin to succeed...or at least to be socially accepted. Doesn't it? In fact, the concluding sentence of the article states, "Personal trainers are OK as a kick-start, Gordon says, but in the long run, it's all about self-discipline" - which is what you've been arguing. I do agree that in many cases, hardcore Type A people tend to strive to achieve in all aspects of life; however, I don't agree with the overweight = lazy idea.

100% accurate.