…couldn’t get thru the bathroom door….if you are close to my age, do you remember this playground chant.  Do you remember when little boys wore size huskies and little girls wore chubbys…I have always had a weight problem – that is to say  my growing up years found me about 10 lbs overweight – sometimes 15 lbs…I’ve always felt like I wore the fat girl sash – especially now that I’m in my 50’s, menopausal and heavier than I’ve ever been in my life….which leads me to the very painful series premier of Desperate Housewives…

In case you don’t watch, the housewives, it is a very “simple” show about the thin, beautiful women of Wisteria Lane and all of their “troubles”.  Flash to this season’s premier – 5 years elapsed since the season finale.  Eva Longoria who is married to blind Carlos finds herself matronly and overweight and the mother of a large hispanic child.  The bitch of the neighborhood, Edie, played by Nicollette Sheridan returns to the neighborhood and notices the changes in Gabby – played by Longoria…Gabby annouces that she has had two children and Sheridan’s character asks her if she had them for breakfast.  Enter Gabby’s large daughter – the 4 year old who looks much older due to her size – it struck a nerve in me.  I’m appalled by this storyline.  This youngster is obese…at one point, I wondered….they wouldn’t have this little girl gain all of this weight just to play the part, would they…and then I thought – what kind of a casting call did they put out….this is TV, but what the hell kind of body image and life changing inner dialogue is in store for this young child.  Gabby notices her child is not running around and playing like the other “normal” children so she invents a game where Gabby pulls away in the car each time the child goes for the door handle – thus forcing her to run…she goes home to tell Carlos that he shouldn’t be putting so much cheese on the brussel sprouts because the child has a weight problem yelling that she ate a sheet cake at the party…

   To be politically correct in this country, we would never poke fun at a black, brown, yellow, red or purple person, we would not make fun of someone with a physical handicap – I’m sure America would be appalled if they were portraying a mentally handicapped child of Gabbys as something to be ashamed about…why are we allowing children with a weight problem to be put out there for ridicule and snickers. This is wrong!!!!

Until next time…