Tyra Banks Goes Undercover As Obese Woman

[underpants]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/people_tyra_banks

LOS ANGELES - Tyra Banks has gone undercover as a 350-pound woman. Banks wore the fat suit to experience what it's like to be obese.



"It seemed like the last form of open discrimination that's OK, and I decided to put on a 350-pound suit myself and live that life for a day and see what happens," the 31-year-old former supermodel told AP Radio in a recent interview. "And it was one of the most heartbreaking days of my life."

Banks said she was shocked at the reaction.



Banks, who had a sonogram on her show in September to prove that her breasts are real, is also planning a Nov. 18 segment on pursuing "a beautiful booty."

?

[LynneSin]

1. I adore Tyra Banks because she was never a skinny model

She has a great attitude about life and works the body that god gave her! Now she is a role model for young girls!

[Shell Beau]

2. Most people who have donned a "fat" suit say the

same. That it is heartbreaking and the difference in how they get treated is tremendous. :cry: Of course she is also a beautiful model who probably gets treated a little better than the average Joe, so I am sure the shock was big.

[gauguin57]

3. Don a fat suit, say how heartbreaking it is, then "pursue a beauty-booty"?

What the eff, Tyra? Pretend to have an ephiphany about how fat people are treated in this society because society's twisted values and unattainable standards -- and then do a show about pursuing a beautiful booty?

Come on! Are you LISTENING to yourself?

[Shell Beau]

4. I don't see the point. Tyra has always been

very open about the truth of beauty. She had a book that showed her w/o makeup (and she was hard to recognize) and that makeup, airbrushing can make anyone look perfect. She always talks about being self conscious about her own body and how even models feel insecure. I don't really get where you are going.

[Samurai_Writer]

5. Check out the special features on the Shallow Hall DVD

They have two 'making of' features, and Gweneth Paltrow had this to say about the first time she put on the fat suit and went out in public as a fat woman:

Gwyneth: I put on the full body suit and makeup in the hotel room, and then went down to the lobby.

Makeup Artist: It was sort of like Gwyneth didn't exist.

Gwyneth: I went down to the bar... no one would make eye contact with me, no one would look in my direction. I asked people questions, and people were dismissive. It was a very sad and startling experience.

Gwyneth: I think people think it's the polite thing to do not to look if someone is really, really overweight, but it's incredibly isolating. And lonely and wierd. It was a very profound experience -- I felt so alone, it was like no one was connecting with me. Nobody would look in my direction, nobody would make eye contact or smile.

----------------------------------------------------------
These words really rang true with me, as a larger woman living in a city obsessed with physical fitness. I feel invisible here most of the time, when I am out in public.