This is my friend, Gia. She is a talented actress and should be judged on the merit of her acting abilities. But she can't. She has a problem. My friend Gia is way too fat.
A few weeks ago, while browsing through Facebook, I noticed that Gia had put up this untouched photo of herself. She wrote a long explanation of why exactly she was sharing this vulnerable picture.
Here are the details of her post: Basically, she, as an actress/model, living and working in Los Angeles, she was told by various people in the industry that she MUST lose at least 20 pounds if she wants to seriously make it as an actress.
RELATED: What It's Like For a Mom to Go to a Nude Beach
HOLD ON! There's good news, folks. So put the pitchforks down! She was also told that if she GAINS at least 20 pounds, she could make it as a fun/fat sidekick.
My friend Gia is ruining her career. She refuses to lose that 20 pounds, and apparently she has no interest in gaining 20 pounds. What the hell is she thinking?
Alright, take a moment and look at that picture again. I hope you're pissed off right now.
Yup… size 6. Or as we now call it, "The larger sizes."
Let me rewind to a personal moment (not involving Gia) that I will never forget. It happened about 12 years ago. My now-wife and I went to Georgia to visit my family. We were walking around one of the Malls in Atlanta. We moseyed on into Gap so my wife could find a pair of jeans.
Lara found the perfect pair of jeans, however, she couldn't seem to find her size. She waved down the salesperson and asked her if they had this pair of jeans in size 6.
Yup… size 6. (I'm not a girl, but I understand sizes as well as you do, I promise).
I'll never forget the reply of the sales associate. Without skipping a beat, she said, "Oh yes ma'am, the larger sizes are on that shelf right over there."
Yup… size 6. Or as we now call it, "The larger sizes."
My wife was horrified. I was horrified. The sales person slowly understood her mistake, but it was too late.
RELATED: Giving Up Coffee Has Made Me a Better Mom
And that brings me back to my fat friend Gia.
If we live in a world where people who are seriously in charge of the entertainment world insist that Gia needs to lose 20 pounds to be a serious actress—despite the fact that she is one helluva talented actress—then the young salespeople at Gap will never stop making anyone over a size 4 feel like an incredible fat ass.
I wish I had a solution. But I suppose I can take solace in the fact that as a man who has been overweight most my life, I'll always find that guys over 250 pounds on TV can—and will—always be married to size 2's. Thank God for Fred Flintstone.
