Iconic

I saw the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest recently and just about squealed when scenes from the swampy bog, creaky house on stilts and all, were shown. Having grown up in Southern California, we went to Disneyland every couple of years and "Pirates of the Caribbean" was my favorite ride. I loved cruising through that swamp, and also the room where the two galleons were having the cannonball battle. The smell of that room was so distinct, as was the dark blue and cloudy "sky".

So, Disney has found a way to further capitalize on one of their most iconic rides. People like me will pay $10.50 to see the movie because the damn ride captured us as kids. (Orlando Bloom isn't quite reason enough to plunk down $10.50, believe me.)

At any rate, this got me thinking... who and what is iconic in the fat realm?

Two sprang to mind immediately. Cartman and his "I'm not fat, I'm big boned" is a no brainer. I'm not sure he gives fat people a good name, but at least it's a bold one.

The other one, nearer and dearer to my heart, is Divine playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. The image of Divine in Edna drag profile burned itself into my brain forever. Why? Because her clothes hang from the protruding bustline formed by that severely molded bra, and I saw myself. In 1989, I could make my best friend laugh her ass off simply by turning to profile, putting my hands on my hips, and waddling away while saying "Gosh darn that rock and roll music."

Let us not forget Tracy Turnblad, or Ricki Lake for that matter. Tracy proved that fat chicks can, and love to, dance. She landed the hot guy. She wore a large and lovely purple satin ballgown with a roach print on it, for gawd's sake. How can you not love that?

Ricki Lake, on the other hand, went the way of Oprah and had to lose weight before she felt good about herself. I will say in her defense that Jerry Springer stole the whole format from her, right down to the cheesy moralistic monologue at the end of each show, so at least she was a front-runner in something. Oprah is still struggling with her weight and self-esteem, which feels so very wasteful to me given that she's one of the most powerful and influential female voices in the US.

My Honey Bunny just named his favorite fat icon: Queen Latifa. He loves his Latifa. You know what I love about her? She's never made an issue out of her size or weight. I adored her as Mama Morton in Chicago. How can you not love that vast plateau of breasts during the "When You're Good to Mama" scene?

If we're talking boobs, we can't forget Aretha Franklin.

Hey, Monica Lewinsky... why not? (Thanks, HB)

Fat Albert.

Missy Elliot? (but she got the operation)

I could do a whole separate post on "what" is iconic in fat land. Geez, where do I even start on that one? TAB soda maybe.