Our Bodies, Ourselves

This week has been a postive bonanza for those of us who love idiosyncratic female comedians.  Theatermania scored a terrific and touching interview with Jane Lynch, which touches on, among other things, her earlier ambitions to act (and her parents' decision to discourage her), and New York published a warm and funny short profile of Sherri Shepherd (of The View and 30 Rock fame.  Whatever Shepherd's political views are, she's fantastic on 30 Rock, where she mines humor from intense control as a brilliant contrast to Tracy Morgan, who plays her hilarious and unhinged husband.).  There's a lot to love about both pieces, and both women.  But one thing that struck me particularly hard about both interviews was the ways in which Lynch and Shepherd have reckoned with the way their industry looks at their bodies.  Lynch, who is quite tall and skinny, says:

M: Is fashion something that personally interests you?

JL: Fashion is a very frustrating topic for me, because I'm hard to fit. My body is all over the place in terms of proportion. Believe it or not, I am so delicate in the neck and ear areas, that when I put on jewelry there, I look like I am weighted down. But I have a really good eye for color; I can see different shades of green; blue, even black. That's right, I can tell the difference between blue-black, brown-black, and gray-black, And I just love watching all those makeover shows on TV, like What Not to Wear.

TM: Fashion doesn't seem at all important to your character, Sue Sylvester, on Glee. All she wears are track suits. Was that your decision?

JL: It was [producer and head writer] Ryan Murphy's idea to put Sue in track suits all the time. I love it -- they're so easy to wear; it's like getting to pad around in your pajamas. However, most of them are custom-made for me; we can't buy off the rack because of my size.

And Shepherd says of her role on 30 Rock (also, you MUST read about what happened when she and Tracy Morgan ended up living in the same apartment building.  Oh my LORD.):

 “Tina [Fey] had seen me doing a bit on Ellen about breast-feeding,” says Shepherd. “She was pumping at the time, and liked it, and offered me the part of Tracy’s wife. The first episode I did was for Valentine’s Day, and they told me I’d be playing sex games with Tracy, and he’s going to rip my clothes off. And I said, ‘What!? You know I’m a big girl, right?’ I had about twelve White Castle burgers before the scene, I was so nervous, and when I finally met Tracy, I’m standing there in my corset and he goes, ‘All right! You’re a big girl, we’re going to have fun! I like big girls!’ ”

It's really good stuff.  But it's a reminder that the strict standards for female body image in entertainment excludes many kinds of women.  It's the rare tall woman, or very curvy woman, who makes it in despite those standards.  I'm thrilled for Lynch and Shepherd.  But I want them to be pioneers, rather than exceptions.