Curvy Girls Brought It

Photo taken from Nuvo TV

So I'm honestly done with reality television. No really...I want some truly scripted TV. But there is always a piece of me that feeds into my reality TV guilty pleasure. I hope the TV gods are not feeding us big gurls what we want and then dump us once they have our undivided attention, because I'm loving all the big gurl reality love!

The Curvy Girls special preview aired last night on NUVO TV, a station I had no idea existed, but it will be set on my favorites list. I know some people don't have this station, but if you have AT&T UVerse you should...SCORE!

The show followed plus size models Rosie, Denise, Lorna and Victoria as they put their best foot forward working in the strenuous and superficial world of modeling.

Okay so I'm a little bias on my cast favorite...I LOVE ROSIE MERCADO!! Such a beautiful humble woman. I had no idea she had three little ones. I'm so happy to see her success and hope she does well in the modeling industry. I wish there was room in the modeling world for a larger woman especially with her proportions. As a hip heavy chica myself, I understand the plight of finding clothes that fit my child bearing hips and would love to see more women on the scene that has that issue. Ms. Rosie is trying to lose weight to get more modeling gigs and we are behind you lady...every bit!

So there was a part where Rosie had a semi blind date with a person she had been chatting with online. Soon as he came into frame, he just seemed smarmy to me. The guy ended up wooing Rosie on their date, but failed to follow through after with communication and phone calls. I hate men...especially men that say I've never dated a plus size girl before. That means you have a problem with it buddy cause if you didn't her size would have never been an issue. Boo Hiss to you sir...

Denise is the face of every plus size retail store on the market. You've seen her EVERYWHERE. I really don't relate to her character at all and since I don't know her personally, just what I've seen on TV, she seems a bit haughty. I do hope that she works out a schedule with her baby daddy so he can see his daughter. I also didn't understand why he showed up at her apartment looking for her while she was in NY. Did you not tell him you were in NY? What if something happened and no one knew where you were? That seemed kinda weird. I hope my instincts are wrong about her because she is truly a beautiful woman, but from the show last night, she sucks a little. But editing is horrible on these shows...

Victoria, another model, has issues with her "botched" ta-ta job was getting on my nerves about her boobs. She had implants done, but the doctor added a little bit too much. So she was unhappy with the result. Victoria wanted to get her secrets reduced. But honestly, her breast looked natural. They looked awesome to me. Eventually she did get the reduction, hopefully the new girls are to her liking...so she can quit being ta-ta obsessed! If she talked about breast ONE MORE time, I was going to go through the TV and choke her.

Lorna is a curvy model looking for work, so she leaves NY and heads for LA to find her mark on the industry. She leaves her boyfriend behind in NY, but tries to get him to come live in LA. Lorna feels long distance relationships doesn't work. I feel her on that! LDR are hard especially if the parties are not willing to work on it and there is always the whole out of sight out of mind saying. I just hope they had that discussion of work when their relationship was still young. As a model, you do live that fast paced life and that may mean moving where the jobs are. I just hope she didn't lose a good thing. I wish her the best and hope to see her face more.

The one thing I loathe was when the girls got together for a luncheon and another model approached Denise out in public calling her and the other ladies out of their name and making a scene. I HATE THAT!! I hate when women, especially black and brown women, act an ass out in public toward each other. You are not going to like everybody and not everyone will like you...that's life. If you have issues with a person, bring that up with that person PRIVATELY. Not on a public street, in a busy restaurant, in front of that person's friends. I mean ol gurl was loud too. The owner escorted her out. I hate that. It makes it rough for Black and Latina girls who don't act in that manner rise above the stereotype. Don't feed into the hype people.

In all, I really enjoyed Curvy Girls and I hope they bring it back for a full season. Like Big Sexy, it is refreshing to see women on television that look like me and share the same feelings and insecurities. In the meantime, I will just wait until someone offers me a show. But you probably wouldn't want to see me and my friends drink wine by the gallon...or would you?

Janelle

Big Sexy: The New Sex in the City

Yesterday was the season premier of Big Sexy, a new reality TV show featuring five plus size women in the fashion biz living in the Big Apple. Let me first say, I'm really proud of The Learning Channel (TLC) for picking up this show. There is not another show like this on television that promotes beautiful women of all sizes. So kudos!!

TLC's Big Sexy

My favorite person on the show...well persons...are Tiffany and Heather. Heather, a bra and swimsuit designer, because she seems laid back and low key. Though she has some walls that she constructed due to something that's happened in her past. You know how I can tell...she didn't go to the club with the rest of the castmates. She's been through the shunning, the giggles, the hate and doesn't put herself in that situation.

Tiffany, a plus size model, because it's like looking in the mirror. When her ex told her she was a stalker...hahaha...I've done some crazy foolishness like that. But Tiffany's ex said it best..."If your size is a problem for you, then your size is a problem for them." That statement rung bells in my head, and it's so true.

Leslie, a fashion stylist and retail associate at ReDress, is the most confident of the group. She gets it. I'm jealous of her confidence. She's come to terms with herself, her flaws and her beauty. Leslie's embraced it and encourages others to do so. She's the mother of the group...the foundation... the rock.

Audrey gets a WHOOP WHOOP cause she's from Indiana and relocated to NYC to pursue her dream in fashion. The MUA and now model is gorgeous at her 6 foot 3 frame. Jay (who watched it with me last night) was like WOW, she's taller than me. I am happy her mother came to watch her in the fashion show, though I'm not convinced she enjoyed it as much as she said she did. Her face was stone cold as Audrey walked down the runway; almost disapproving. But...you know how things get edited. Yeah...we'll chalk that up to editing.

And last but not least there's Nikki, plus size model. The married but separated model finds love in the arms of an old classmate who is also married but separated. I want to see how that turns out. Escandalo!!

Sooo let me tell you though...when ol gurl (Nikki) pulled out that snack at New York Fashion Week...I was appalled. There is a time and place for everything. I cringed when she pulled out the cookies, crackers, whatever it was...and Leslie wanting to eat a whole chicken. That scene was so stereotypical of a plus size girl...always hungry and got food in her mouth. It makes it seem like she just took it out of her bra and started munching! Time and place chicas...time and place.

BBW...I hate that term. It reminds me of porn. So when the group went to the BBW party...I was mesmerized at the "Thunderthighs" competition. When of of the contestants, Erika (the black woman with the pleather fitting dress not one of the featured women) started popping her booty/fat...my eyes grew 10 times. She needs her own show! LOL

But in all seriousness, the show is a great behind the scenes look at a typical plus size woman; her fears, her outward confidence but inward fight to be strong in a world where big is bad. It focuses on relationships between a plus size woman, family, friends, lovers and haters.

Is it a must see...well I will definitely watch it...but a must see...Meh. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it for yourself. It's on Tuesdays on TLC at 10pm 9 central time.

What do you think of Big Sexy?

Janelle

Could You Be The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

I think beautiful women simply have a unique way about themselves. Their good attributes, kindness, authenticity, sense of humor, artistic talent, intelligence, confidence without conceit, respectfulness and humility stand above everything else. It's just something about their attitude. What is my point while writing this blog? I want everyone to realize that beauty comes from within because no matter how beautiful and how fashion you are, if you don’t have inner beauty, you have nothing my friends.

I chose four women here on the Island that have all of these qualities so you can see that Puerto Rican women can be beautiful inside and out.

Mariana Vicente

Mariana Vicente is our Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2010. She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Mariana decided to pose topless with the intention of promoting El Yunque internationally and getting people to vote for this national forest becoming one of the seven world natural wonders. She knew this would cause a little bit of a stir, but she did it because it was for such a great cause, and it was very tastefully done. I saw the pictures and they were beautiful.

Dayanara Torres

Dayanara Torres is our 1993 Miss Universe. She caught my eye because of her humble beginnings and how tight she is with her family. Every time she is interviewed she is so charming and so down to earth. During and after her reign as Miss Universe, she became an ambassador for UNICEF, traveling through Asia and Latin America in support of the organization. She was married to Marc Anthony. Her greatest accomplishment is being a great mother to her children!

Ana Garcia

Ana García is a beautiful aspiring plus size model from Puerto Rico. Her inner beauty reflects her outer beauty as she always has a kind word for everyone she meets, never judging anyone and accepting everyone as they are. What I most admire about her is her perseverance, her passion for what she believes in, she accepts she will never be a size zero and she is happy with this. She is proud to be plus on an Island where there are many issues about plus size women, especially in the modeling world. She has inspired other plus size ladies all over the Island to reach out for their dreams.

Tirzha Alcaide

Tirzha Alcaide is a woman whom I find fascinating. She is the designer of Matahari Jewelry and is in charge of The Shop in PRHFW. Furthermore, she is reality show contestant, works for charities and yet she is always so accessible to everyone. Her sense of humor and smile light up a room. You would think that a woman with all her accomplishments would be conceited and she is not like that at all. Talking to her is like a breath of fresh air.

So you see, if you cultivate your inner beauty, like these women have, your outer beauty will shine like a star. MY POINT EXACTLY!!!!

Blessings to all,

Marta

You're Going to Vegas!

It's summertime, so I don't watch a lot of TV. There's only two shows in my summer roster, True Blood (which is starting soon) and So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD).

I come from a family that LOVES dancing. My sister is a dance teacher (she teaches hip hop, jazz, contemporary and lyrical) here in Indianapolis. My five-year-old niece takes dance classes and has competed in competitions all across the state. I've been known to cut a rug or two when I go out. When SYTYCD is on, everyone in my inner circle is glued to the TV, talking, texting and sometimes crying to each other. 

I was SO ecstatic last night when dancer Natalia Mallory got through to the Vegas round. To have a plus size woman be praised for dancing in mainstream is WONDERFUL! I know plenty of chunky dancers that belongs on the show. Hopefully now they will step up since this courageous girl has broken the mold.

Congratulations Natalia! I hope you go far!