Mo'Nique's "Fat Chance' on Oxygen
 

Full Figured Beauty Contest

http://oxygen.com/specials/fatchance/

Idea - Love it. Name - Hated it.
 

I love the idea! I watch America's Next Top Model religiously and I hate how they treat the so-called plus-sized models (who 1/2 the time are not that big).

But... does it have to be called "Fat Chance"? It still has a tone of ridicule in it.

Did anyone else watch it?
 

I liked:
The message she was trying to send.
The winner had a beautiful voice.

I disliked:

The name of the award - Ms. F.A.T. Creating an acronym out of fat doesn't curve the derrogatory meaning. That's like trying to create an acronym for the N word - I still would not want to be called that.:rolleyes:

The reward - who wants JMS??? Ashley Stewart or Lane Bryant - now that's what I'm talking about.

The guy that plays Professor Oglvie. Puhlease. That is so played out. I didn't like how his character treated Mo'Nique's character anyway.

I thought the show would center more around full-figured women who were happy with themselves. Ms. Quinn was the only one that I truly saw that in and she lost. So many of those women were emotional wrecks that it was ridiculous. True confidence doesn't care what "skinny" america thinks. I wanted to see a real competition - not a pity party.

Also - the slamming of "skinny" women. But - it's shallow if a thin person does it to an overweight person....(and for the record - I am not thin).

I think it also would have been better if it focused more on changing the idea that women like Ms. Quinn are fat. She was a little heavy - but certainly not "fat".

Ok.

[/tangent]

Re: Did anyone else watch it?
 

I fell asleep but will catch it tonight. :)
I thought it was more along the lines of ANTM and not a beauty pageant. This will be interesting.

Re: Did anyone else watch it?
 

I thought she was absolutely stunning.She did seem to be the one with the most confidence. I can't believe she is 44.

I'm watching. The Top 10 are not all that fat. There were some who auditioned who were huge. The women that made the top 10 don't look any bigger than an 18 or a 20. Mo'Nique, give me a size 28 woman.

16s and 18s are just thick to me.

ETA: Okay now that I have had a chance to see them one at a time, I see some bigger women.

I generally like the idea of this.
What I suspect that Mo's trying to do is break down the wider society's idea of beauty, which runs to the stick insect.

I've been on too many fashion/beauty boards where some of the folks insinuate that a size 10 is obese. :rolleyes: Sorry, a size 10 is below the average for American women. I think for all women, the average is 14, and for Black women, it's 16 or 18. I know -- I fall into that range.

For AfAms, we've always been able to celebrate the beauty of the Angie Stones, Queen Latifahs and the MoNiques, as well as the Soror Jadas, Halle Berrys, Beyonces, etc.

I think you are absolutely correct. I'm with CT4 - 16/18 - that's thick - not fat. And esp. after seeing that thread on the photo retouching - we need to change that idea.

I enjoyed the show, I even shed some tears after hearing some of the women's stories. I kinda knew Joanna was gonna win. Sharon was "too old" to be the 1st winner but she definitely had a beautiful way about her.

I really enjoyed the show. I thought it was going to be like American Idol where they show the people who tried out to be Ms. F.A.T. and would narrow down to the finalists through the weeks. I also cried hearing some of the ladies' stories...they really inspired a skinny, evil woman like myself.:p

I thought Sharon was going to win until Joanna gave her emotional answer in the end. I hope this becomes a stepping stone in Joanna's pursuit of a music career. Maybe she can be Effie in the Dreamgirls movie!:D

DING DING DING!!! She really could be Effie because she could sing. I knew that once they heard her sing, she was going to win even though I had read Tickled Pink's spoiler, lol. ;)

I am sure someone watching will get Joanna a singing deal. Somebody, surely because she is very pretty.

Re: Did anyone else watch it?
 

RIGHT!!!! JMS is so ugly to me!! Even their underwear is not all that cute!!! I would have like to seen a shopping spree from Avenue as a prize. I love Avenue!! They have the best clothes, underwear, lingerie, and shoes! Even though their outfits tend to run on the expensive side, the coupons that they send me every month makes it worth it. :D

The premise of the show (celebrating women and their size) was a great idea. However, the execution left a little to be desired.
The women appeared to be extremely stiff when it came to walking the runway (maybe I'm biased but the sistas WORKED IT!).

Some of the clothing was HORRIBLE. The blue curtain they put on the one blond haired woman was atrocious! However, this was all balanced by the amazing aura that Sharon gave off. She was class personified and she had her STRUT down! :)

CT4 & Dvyne: What is your definition of "fat" and what is your definition of "thick"?

I agree that it was more like ANTM than a pageant. I think 2 of the contestants were confident and happy with themselves: the sister from NY with the low cut and the Latina that wore the black dress in the beginning. The rest of them were people who would never get recognized for beauty because of their lack of self esteem. I think the goal of the show, regarding them, was to boost their confidence and self image.

As far as sizes, I think that most of them were truly plus sized. They all had hips, thighs, tummy. That is more than someone who is just thick, but is toned and tight. They had rolls and required girdles. So, I think they were all adequate. I would have been disappointed to see people who were a size 16 or 18, but had flat tummies and hourglass shapes. That's not reality.

^^
I think that's exactly correct. IMO, weight issues, as I posted before, are much more of a conundrum for white women than they are for us or Latinas, in many cases. Look at Kirstie Alley :rolleyes: and all her folderol.

On the other hand, we've seen Soror Star lose what looks like half her body weight, and Oprah wrestle with her weight, so I suppose that not all of us are perfectly content. :confused:

I wondered if I was the only one that saw that blue outfit. Her arms were pinned down to her sides - she needed a more flattering outfit because she really was beautiful.

I'm not really comfortable with calling anyone fat - I think that word is hateful and derrogatory. I think - 16 -20 is thick, but as long as you're healthy - hey. Monique says in Baby Boy that she's an 18 I believe, but she looks bigger than that to me. But - she looks good because she has some muscle tone and she seems healthy. So, after 20 I think it's a little on the bigger side, but you have to be sure that you are healthy. Again - disclaimer* I'm not thin - so I'm not criticizing anyone.

Thank you ladies for the great re-cap. I'on have the Oxygen channel (damn Comcast) so I can't see it.
They did a special on Mo'Nique's FAT Chance and how with folks like her, plus size stores are doing GREAT nation wide. Stores like Lane Bryant, Ashley S. and Torrid (which I LOVE).

Dvyne--I truly believe someone took a curtain and made a top for that woman. It was an ill-fitting travesty!

One definition for fat that I found: "Abounding in desirable elements." Mo'nique should roll with that.

When I think of "thick" the word draws up images of a woman who has "big" breasts, a big butt and thighs. More along the lines of a "Tocarra" from America's Next Top Model. When I think of "fat" I envision a woman who is shaped more like Mo'Nique.

It is quite intersting that Mo'Nique will become almost rabid in her efforts to uplift women who are more statuesque at the expense of women who are not.

It's always "skinny b!tches" this and "skinny b!tches" that.
Stop comparing yourself to other women. It is counterproductive. If you do this all the time you will never be truly happy and confident within yourself.

AMEN!!!! I am a small person (5'3" with a small frame) and have always been so. I remember the day I moved from children's clothes to petite junior's clothes at a size 0. Do you know how hard it is to find sizes 0 and 2? I didn't care. I was so excited but I wished that I could fill out clothing like my more curvacous (sp?) friends. "Skinny" people get harrassed too. There were always "helpful" people coming to talk to me about eating disorders and such. I never had an eating disorder. I am just little with a high metabolism. One day, I realized that if "people" had a problem with my weight/appearance then that was their problem and not mine. My life is filled with more important things then to worry about others.

Trying to watch Bridezilla so I missed some of the show
 

I thought the same thing!

Did the lady (with head only, no hair) win?

^^^
No, Joanna, the girl who could sing, won.

I don't believe that Monique is a size 18 unless she is very short. She just has too much tummy for that. I think she's about a size 22, at least.

I know Monique is trying to help big girls with her ranting about skinny people and empowerment of using the word fat. However, I don't think fat has a positive connotation and I would never be comfortable using that word to describe someone. I definitely wouldn't want to be 'Miss FAT' no matter what it stood for. What if someone had a Black beauty pageant called 'Ms. National Intelligent, Generous, Gifted, and Exceptionally Remarkable woman', but they used the acronym instead? It's still not a nice word and we can think of other ways to empower ourselves.

Just my huble opinion.

I agree I dont know ANY female who would want to be called Miss. FAT unless she was of Asian decent and that was her natural name.

Dang a show for thick or fat?
 

Well, now thick is good and hey fat may be in depending on the beholder. I personally don't like my thick thighs one bit and to have them called FAT....lol :rolleyes: and act like that's a good thing....UMMMM I don't think so...but who am I..?

Different STROKS for DIFFERNT FOLKS....LOL:eek:

I totally agree with you. No matter your size, the important thing is to have a self-confidence. Thin women are frequently the victims of harrassment, but for whatever reason, people think this is okay. In high school, my weight ranged from 95-98 pounds. At nearly 5'7'', I was extremely thin. Unfortunately, I was often teased and ridiculed and was on the receiving end of comments ranging from "Are you anorexic? Do you have AIDS? Do you have cancer?" The crazy part is that I could and still can eat about as much as a full grown man. As a teenager, it was very hurtful to be on the receiving end of that kind of foolishness. However, eventually I decided that II was okay with the way that I looked and I would no longer allow others to determine the way that I felt about myself. As women, I think we should focus on being healthy and happy rather than trying to live up to someone else's standards.

yea be happy being you and dont let society or anyone else for that matter put restraints on your life. Also live life how you choose to because you have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday and live with the chocies you have made.

I do appreciate what Monique and others like her are trying to do. Not everyone is going to be 'skinny', and I don't think that anyone should kill/sicken themselves to try to get there. I am 5'11'' and wear a 14, so while I'm not fat and am a long way from the size 2 or 4 that the top models can rock, and I'm cool w/that.

My issue w/her 'campaign' is the health piece. I'm not a doctor so I could be way off base, but I just can't fathom a 300+ lb. woman pushing a size 24 or better being healthy. I could be wrong, and these sistahs could be in peak physical condition w/o any negative repercussions from their added weight. However, it just seems so unlikely. If they are all healthy, then more power too you. Please do your thing. However, I don't know that I'm a fan of sacrificing a healthy lifestyle in exchange for strong self-esteem. It just seems like it'll come back to bite you in the end.

Marie

^^
I read an interesting article in the Washington City Paper a couple of years ago about black women and weight. It made an interesting point: if you want to appeal to us about weight loss, emphasize health, not appearance because basically, you can't tell a large AfAm woman that she doesn't look good.

Now I know I need to get moving with exercise again (because I'm not giving up my cocktails, LOL). I am "thick," but if I don't pick it up, that flesh will become loose.:o

I honestly think that weight has very little to do with health. There are plenty of thick women who are very healthy and plenty of smaller women who are not. To be healthy to me means they don't smoke, they eat a good combo of foods (not fast food and fried foods everyday), they are active, etc. There was a woman who lead aerobics classes at the gym I used to go to who was a BIG woman. She was probably right around 260 or above. She was very active, had classes everyday. She could move better than any of us in the class, but she was a big girl. So, it's very possible.

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"Fat Chance" to air July 15 (BV)
 

If anyone can pull off a full-figured beauty competition that turns out to be a network’s highest rated show, and come back for a second helping – it’s Mo’Nique. During an interview with Black Voices, Mo’Nique talked about her experiences launching ‘F.A.T. Chance.’ “No one’s ever questioned Tyra Banks,” she said. “That’s my girl, I am so proud of her, but no one has ever said, ‘Why do a show like this?’ Because that’s what’s considered beautiful.”

After more than 2,500 auditions nationwide, 10 plus-size beauties were selected to head to L.A. for “Beauty Boot Camp,” a series of mind/body/soul training exercises, and then go on to compete for the second title of “Miss F.A.T. (Fabulous And Thick.).” The full-figured beauty queen debuts her second 2-hour premier of ‘Mo’Nique's F.A.T. Chance’ July 15 at 8 p.m. on the Oxygen Network.

TTT for tomorrow: 8 p.m.! :)

I have to catch the repeats...movie night - watching Derailed with Jennifer Aniston...

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Unfortunately the show probably won't air over here but I have someone that is very involved with the show sending me a copy- Sharon Quinn (runner-up from last year). She is my sister and will be the den mother for the young ladies competing this season. Sharon has been modeling for years in the states and abroad and my family couldn't be more proud of her!

I knew that the young lady who won(don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it) was gonna win when she came out in her lingerie. She was WORKIN IT!!!!!

I'm watching it now....its great so far...can't wait to see who wins...

^^^Started watching it, but got bored--which I do with all beauty pageants. Someone PM me and tell me who won.

Yes, that was some outfit.;) I trying to find out who makes those outfits because I need that particular one. She gave me a total boost of confidence. I loved the show. Evie is a pretty girl also and so was the felon. Did anyone catch what she went to jail for?

I think she said it was for DUIs.

I think that last year's show was better. It seemed like it was a little more emotional than this year's.

I thought that the one who was the felon was going to win based on her answer in the last part, but since the winner won almost everything else, it wasn't too much of a surprise that she won. And she was rocking that lingerie!

Soror Mighty Quinn, your sister was the bomb last year! :)