Shaping the future

It is extraordinary that an industry like Hollywood, frequently known for its superficiality, is acknowledging an almost forgotten brand of beauty. Women who are proud of their thick sizes are the shining stars of this year's Golden Globe Awards and Academy Award nominations.\nExhibit A: America "The Beautiful" Ferrera in the ABC TV show "Ugly Betty." She plays Betty Suarez, the chubby and charismatic assistant to the editor of an influential fashion magazine. Think "The Devil Wears Prada" with a Latina twist. But unlike Anne Hathaway's character, Betty doesn't need a high fashion makeover to be appreciated. And during her warm acceptance speech for best actress in a TV musical or comedy, Ferrera spoke of the importance of accepting one's own body. Subsequently, every woman in the crowd was teary-eyed.\nExhibit B: Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls." She recently won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in addition to taking home the Screen Actors Guild honors for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role. Now she's in the running for an Oscar in the best-supporting-actress category. Her co-star Beyoncé is shaking in her boots. Too bad, B! \nAnd on a side note, Jennifer's success after her rejection from "American Idol" kind of makes me question Simon Cowell's judgment even more. Sure, it's easy to dismiss an off-key wannabe. But to eliminate Jennifer Hudson and say Bob Dylan's music "bores" him "to tears"? Seriously? \nExhibit C: Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine." If she wins the Oscar over Hudson, she will tie with Tatum O'Neal for being the youngest person to ever win an Academy Award. At 10 years old, Breslin plays 7-year-old Olive Hoover who is destined to win a beauty pageant she doesn't quite seem to fit in. Her character in the film just wouldn't be the same without that little round belly, which is best shown during her pageant performance (or should I say striptease?) of the late Rick James' "Superfreak."\nIn the meantime, pencil-thin models are being banned on the runway.\nYes, it's true. The first ban of skinny models was during Madrid's fashion week in 2006, when the Italian government and fashion chiefs formed an alliance to only hire models who can prove they are healthy. Then, following the death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston to anorexia, Brazil said it will no longer hire underweight and underage models.\nWhile it is a remarkable measure to monitor the health of models to prevent illness, it should also be noted that many women are naturally thin. If agencies are turning away models simply because they are thin, it is equally discriminatory as disallowing pleasantly plump women from the catwalk.\nThe real goal here should be to not produce a backlash of all thin people and only praise those who are of a sizeable figure, but to encourage every woman to be proud of her own natural weight and shape.