Of Cabbages and Kings

*Girly ranty post. Reader discretion advised*

I'm pretty sure everyone knows about Andrea Fonseka, the chubby beauty queen turned deal or no deal clone turned lame talent show host turned hopeless channel 5 drama actress.


I got it from my mama! Oh, wait no... I didn't! Psyche!

I don't doubt she's a talented person; plenty of charisma, possible IQ of 160 and enough charm to forge a truckload of amulets.

But there was something she said that really made me scratch my head in confusion:
What matters most to me now is that I've done it the right way - through hard work and perseverance.
-Andrea Fonseka, 2007 (andreafonseka.blogspot.com)

Uh... hard work and perseverance?

First of all, let's turn our attention to another fatty turned top model: Yoanna House.

Miss House was the winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 2. She was immensely overweight in her teen years and continued to struggle with her size throughout the series. Another contestent on the show, Camille, even accused her of being bullimic.

Despite the odds against her, she slimmed down to a comfortable 60kg (before you do a double take, she's 180 cm tall) by dieting, yoga and pilates. She was an inspiration to me in sec 3 when I watched it and she still is.



Have you ever seen such a strong versatile face in your life? I doubt it.

Coming back to Fonseka. How did she lose weight? Well, after the racuous uproar caused by the Malaysian press about them crowning her Miss Malaysia Universe 2004, Marie France Bodyline gave her a break and signed her up for some consultations. Funny how these programmes never work for everyday girls on the street; all of a sudden its the most effective thing since the wheel for a high profile beauty pageant winner.

Hard work? Excuse me. Hard work is slogging it out 4 hours a day at the gym. Hard work is watching what you eat when you eat. Hard work is dealing with muscle cramps, injuries and pushing your physical limits.

I don't think anyone's definition of "hard work" is getting free lipo from a slimming centre.

Having said that, kudos to the WWE Divas. I think all of them (with the exception of Chyna who retired eons ago) are absolutely gorgeous. Sure some of them have fake boobs, but they have abs that put men to shame.

What I'm trying to say is, if you're gonna sell out, at least have the nerve to be open about it. Don't sugar coat it with cliches about how hard work pays off and all that. We've heard it all before.

On a side note, it's also somewhat irresponsible to tell people that losing weight is possible, yadda yadda. While I think everyone ought to be fit and healthy, I don't think everyone should be skinny. Of course thinness is aesthetically pleasing to most people (including myself), but it's just plain gnarly to keep telling yourself that if you tried really, really hard, you could be the next Kate Moss or Giselle or whatever. It's like a Proton desperately wishing to be a Porshe -- no matter how hard it tries, it will always be a Proton. Models and generally people on screen are blessed with the genetic jackpot. They have high cheekbones, symmetrical faces, and that includes being shapely in all the right places. In this sense, the media does portray a reality different from the one we're living in.

So yes: love yourself, because no one else will do it for you.