 | My daughter is 9 and my daughter tells, “Yo mama’s so fat” jokes… I am torn. As a comedian, this is fantastic, particularly with lines like, “Yo mama’s so fat, Dora can’t even explore her”; I mean, come on, gold, right? But as a mother, and a woman who rolls her eyes at the ridiculous depiction of what a woman is “supposed” to look like, according to the media, this is a bit of a dilemma. I believe comedy has a place in all areas and let’s face it, fat mama jokes have been entertaining forever. I remember standing in a crowd of Jamaicans, back in high school, and watched one of these battles; everyone was crying because they were so hysterical. In the end the “loser” laughed the hardest, and in a gentlemanly fashion, shook the other teenager’s hand in defeat, praising his witty comebacks. The debate of what should be censored in comedy is raging and I stand firm with the crowd that believes intelligent, well crafted jokes, particularly those designed in parody or satyr (which is aimed to correct unwanted behaviour) is just dandy. I don’t want to raise overly sensitive kids but I also don’t want to raise kids that are insensitive. My girls are probably destined to have body issue problems as I diet and exercise my little heart out in front of them and, let’s face it, the plastic surgery this past summer is still confusing them. I mean, “why would mom want to get rid of her big squishy tummy?” Does my role as a comedian outweigh my role as a mother? I was one before the other and dang it, my kids are funny, so I’ve done something right there. I don’t want to be caught up in a politically correct world where we can no longer laugh at ourselves and the differences and similarities between us all. I would like to think that my kids are learning to be witty, that humour defuses situations, that people would much rather be around you because of your fun personality, not by what you look like. More importantly, when I heard her first joke and made an uncomfortable face she assured me, “Mom, don’t worry, it’s just a joke, we aren’t talking about real moms”. I think this girl has her head on her shoulders. Now my concern should probably be turned to my four year old who, on the first day of school watched a little girl hit and bully her way through the day, and she came up with this, “Wouldn’t it be great if the evil girl in the purple dress didn’t come inside from recess and the doors locked and then she died?” I turned in shock to my nine year old at which time, she and I burst out laughing. “Sweetie, what you just said is kind of evil,” I said. “No,” she explained, “Then she would die and come back to life as a good girl.” Um, okay, maybe I should take a look at the shows they’re watching…. - See more at: http://thelocalbizmagazine.ca/2014/09/your-mamas-so-fat/#sthash.ObtECvYQ.dpuf |
|
0 Comments
 I am a shallow person.
Yes, it’s true; Stephanie Herrera is a sad example of what society’s concepts of the “ideal woman” churns out day after day. I got a boob job. Not just a boob job, but a whole “Mommy Makeover” which includes a tummy tuck and liposuction. After 4 kids, I felt I needed it and I was amazed, as I began cautiously telling people what I was doing, how I was met with zero resistance. I would be first bombarded with, “But why? You look so great for having four kids?” and I’d say, “But I don’t want to look like I had four kids at all”. Then they would ask a lot of questions, tell me they think it’s great and if the person in front of me was a woman, she would end with, “You have to show me when you’re done. I’ve always wanted to do the same thing.” My “taboo” surgery was so normalized, well, other than my husband, who is still shaking his head at the amount of money I’ve spent on something he could care less about. I may be shallow, but my husband certainly is not. He is just starting to see the approval this kind of drastic surgery as he is letting his friends know what I’ve done and has been getting off the phone with comments like, “Gee, I think he’s jealous.” Damn skippy! I can’t be the only one that thinks this was a wise move. Even at my one-week check-up, I strolled in (bent over with a walker, mind you) and the surgeon’s waiting room was packed with new and present clients. I chatted with people who had just gone through the same procedure and some who were weeks ahead of us and we eyed them in awe of the final results (when the swelling and fluid subsides). I even met one woman who kind of wrinkled her nose at me when I mention my breast augmentation; she insisted it’s surgery, I will have to do again in 10 years. Finally! Someone I could defend myself to, this would be the debate I’ve been waiting for, but then I found out that she was getting “toe augmentation” and when I asked what in the world that was, she replied, “I’m going to have beautiful feet.” And my husband thought I was crazy! So, “judging a book by its cover”, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, are all ideas that people like Free to Be You and Me and Shallow Hal meant to overcome, how about the Dove beauty campaign? It’s all a wonderful idealistic world, where women with a bit of weight and droopy boobs are still considered “hot”, but right now, in my profession as an actor, I see time and time again my acting competition as women with flat stomachs and perky boobs… perhaps I’m on par with them now. And what is this doing to my kids you may ask? When I showed them my squishy stomach was gone they frowned and said, “We liked your pillow”. Suddenly I wasn’t so special to them anymore. At least my kids and husband are trying to keep me grounded; I hope they will continue to rub off on me, but until then….I’m already looking into a nose job! - See more at: http://thelocalbizmagazine.ca/2014/08/judging-a-book-by-its-cover/#sthash.CLs1EL9S.dpuf |
AuthorStephanie Herrera Archives
August 2017
|
RSS Feed
