Just When 'Glee' Goes Fat Positive...

...They screw it up.  If you watched Tuesday night's episode of 'Glee', then you got to know Lauren Zizes better.  She kicks ass!  She's confident.  She's on the wrestling team.  She dresses cool, and she doesn't just jump into a relationship with someone.  She expects to be treated like a lady.  She wants to be wooed.

I'm watching the show, and I'm thinking, "This is great.  They're going to do a fat positive thing.  It's going to be awesome to see a positive fat teenage female character on television.  Maybe she'll be able to do what Kurt did for gay kids in America".  She's playing hard to get with Puck.  Puck's crushing hard on this girl.  Then Puck sings Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls':



She was insulted.  I know that if I sang that for my wife, she would be on me like white on rice.  At that point, the show, and the Lauren's character went downhill.  Number one, throughout the episode, Puck is continually telling her things like, "I usually don't go for girls like you", or "You're not my type".  The worst backhanded compliment of them all was something along the lines of, "You have to realize that I'm not into you because of what you look like, but because you're a cool person.  Like me."  I found that more of an insult than a compliment.  I think she's cute.

Secondly, and perhaps worst of all, the way they have her character written, she's always being tempted and wooed with food.  One of the jokes last night was she gave Puck his box of chocolates back because they sucked.  The box was empty.  When he asked why, she said "because I had to make sure every one of them sucked".  For fuck's sake, when he asked her out on Valentine's Day, he got down on one knee and proposed with a Ring Pop.  Really?  Food jokes for the fat chick?   I thought this show was better than that.

I've been fat all of my life.  I still am.  Even though I am over 6' 4" tall, I still weigh over 300 lbs.  Over the years, I have been able to accept the fact that I am fat and appreciate my body.  It wasn't until well into adulthood when that happened.  I am 35 now, and there are still times I look in the mirror and think, "My god, man.  Look at yourself.  You're so fat and ugly.  How could anyone ever find you attractive?"  Anyone reading this can tell you, life as a fat kid can be hell.  Personally, I was picked on and beat up more because I was fat, than because of my religion or my sexuality.

Overweight teenagers, especially teenage females, need someone on TV to look up to.  Someone empowered.  Someone confident about herself.  Someone fat positive.  Ryan Murphy, stop making fat jokes. You wouldn't subject Kurt or Blaine to gay jokes.  Don't humiliate Lauren either.  Young women need someone to look up to.  You introduced Kurt Hummel to America as a role model for our generation.  Give us Lauren Zizes.