Playing obese

Lately, it's not so easy being super model Tyra Banks. Banks, the woman who has made a career out of strutting her stuff on the runway in little else than skimpy lingerie, is used to turning people's heads in admiration. But Nov. 4, heads turned for a completely different reason. This time, there was laughter, stares and blunt comments.\nTo experience what it is like to live as an obese person in a weight-obsessed culture, Banks went undercover as a 350-pound woman, donning a full-body "fat suit."\nHer reaction to the 15-hour stunt? \n"It was one of the most heartbreaking days of my life."\nFor an upcoming episode of her talk show, Banks not only went shopping in hip Los Angeles boutiques in the fat suit, but she also went on three blind dates. After asking one of her dates what his parents would think of her, he rudely replied, "They'll be like: 'What's wrong with you?'"\nIf only he knew the true identity of the woman behind the mask.\nWithin 10 seconds of walking down the street in her fat suit, Tyra said a trio of people laughed and pointed while looking her right in the eye. Tyra learned a lot about body image from this experience, mostly that being obese provides comic relief and is one of the last forms of open discrimination to still remain somewhat acceptable. One must wonder: Who, besides Banks herself, is benefiting from this fat suit makeover?\nFor the people walking the streets, Banks' shenanigan was quite amusing. Like she said, verbal abuse toward obese people seems to be OK. And it's often unintentionally encouraged by people like Banks who play dress up for a day.\nAfter directing the 2001 movie "Shallow Hal," in which Gwyneth Paltrow also dons a fat suit, the Farrelly brothers tried to justify their crude humor about obesity with a trite message: Instead of making fun of fat people, they are extolling the virtues of inner beauty. Are they celebrating a woman's inner beauty when Gwyneth's character breaks chairs in restaurants and empties the water out of a swimming pool when she dives in? \nThen there's Courteney Cox in her "Friends" flashbacks. The Fat Monica eats all day, has poor hygiene and dresses like your grandmother. Haha. And let's not forget about Eddie Murphy in "The Nutty Professor," Mike Myers as Fat Bastard and the latest addition to television, FX's "Starved," a rather unappetizing "comedy" series about body image.\nWhile Banks can remove her fat suit and return to a flawless supermodel figure, the rest of society does not have the same luxury. Like Banks, Cox, Paltrow, Murphy and Myers will return to their slender, svelte figures and go on to produce their next film while Americans also move on -- laughter, smirks and giggles all stashed aside for next time. \nInstead of simply posing as a fat person and then going back to everyday supermodel life, perhaps Banks should focus on "real" people going through these very "real" issues -- people who cannot merely wake up to the perfect figure. Only then will Banks learn that life in the fat lane isn't as simple as playing dress up for half a day.