Is it True?

Is It True? is the name of a show on the Discovery Channel, hosted by Chuck Nice- that comedian whose face you recognize but who's name you never remember. The show centers around debunking or confirming videos and pictures on the internet, or, that's the premise as far as I've seen.

One episode dealt with world records for wearing shirts. So they filmed as a former record holder went for the gold again (he didn't make it). But, supposedly inspired by the shirt wearing videos, Mr. Nice and his scientist buddy decided to do something similar: to achieve the world record for the highest number of boxer shorts worn at one time. So they started piling them onto Mr. Nice with his narration. Up until this point, I was okay with the show. It was entertaining but not the most fun or interesting. Just entertaining.

Mr. Nice started commenting on the weight (11 extra pounds) and tightness of the boxers and that the elastic waist bands were making it hard to breathe. Then he said something like "Now I know why extremely overweight people find it hard to move and get out of breath so easily."

Did anyone else facepalm? I did. Having something pushing in on your guts is nothing like being fat. Having something on you is not comparable to being naturally fat. A more appropriate comparison would have been "Now I know why women often fainted when corsets were in fashion." That makes sense! Sense, Discovery Channel! That's all I want!

I want to know what gives a (sans-boxers) 180 pound man the right to say "this is how very overweight people feel." Especially when he's just putting on pair after pair of boxers (he ended up wearing 50-some-odd pairs). How does that even come close to being naturally fat? You put a man in an extraordinary position and then tell him to compare it to a normal way of being? Ridiculous.

The only thing that he might be saying that I may be over-looking is that having the elastic bands of the boxers pressing in to him is comparable to large people having access to ill-fitting clothes or wearing clothes that are too tight. However, I somehow doubt this is the case as he mentioned nothing about what fat people wear.

This is a prime example about how fat people can not, no matter where they go or what they do, escape judgment for being fat. I would expect a comment like that if I were watching a show on health or a show on weight or even a show on bodies! But he's just putting on boxer shorts! It has nothing whatsoever to do with the OMGURGONNADIE obesity epidemic. The discrimination and reminders that we are bad bad bad bad bad fatties and that we're gonna die won't even be contained by sense. It's really a shame.

Big Smiles!
-LexieDi