Dress Me Now - For Our Daughters

When the letters "G", "PG", "R" and "X" appear at your local multiplex, you've got a pretty good idea of how much drugs, sex and rock and roll you're letting yourself in for.

There is a ratings board -- made up of ordinary Americans -- that rates these films according to how sex, violence and adult situations are portrayed.

I'd like to propose that the film industry create a new ratings system to be governed by a "Body Board". This board will be made up of ordinary women who will rate films according to how the female form is portrayed.

This film is rated "R" for Realistic -- Take your mother, your daughter, your best friend and feel proud. Or …

This film is rated "I" for Implants and/or Injections - The women in this film have been surgically altered. No one whose IQ is higher than the stars' latest bust size will be admitted. Only adolescent males need apply.

It all began in the last millennium when actresses over 40 began to disappear from the screen. Most of the women we did see were hysterically miscast. My two favorite laugh-out-loud examples are Nicole Kidman as a 23year old brain surgeon. And Denise Richards, another twenty-something, as a nuclear physicist.

But I digress. My rant these days is aimed at two films that claim to come from Hollywood's new consciousness.

The first film that left me speechless was Shallow Hal. It's about a man who is hypnotized to see the inner beauty of an overweight young girl. The second film is Shrek. The moral of this one is -- you don't have to be beautiful to get the guy of your dreams. They both sound good. So why am I stamping my leopard pumps on this particular soapbox?

In Shallow Hal, the title character sees the inner beauty of an over weight girl. But how do Hal and his creators (who are men by the way), portray her inner beauty? It's tall, blonde and thin!!!! Who knew? Inside of every woman over 130 pounds, Gwyneth Paltrow is just bursting to come out! Hold on, girl, we're dieting as fast as we can!

And Shrek. Let's see. The leading lady here is so bi-polar. By day, she's a willowy redhead with heaving bosom and creamy skin. By night, she's still a redhead with heaving bosom but she packs on a few pounds and turns green. In this state, she is deemed hideous by everyone, including herself.

Call me anal (and many have) but the underlying message of this one is if you're a woman of color and you weigh more than a whippet, you're no beauty.

Well, as a woman of color who weighs a lot more than a whippet, I say, 'Oh, yes, I am!'

What is a "realistic portrayal of women" anyway? Here's a hint: A realistic role is one that shows us in any one of our many facets. It's where we're the hero, the hell-raiser or even the "hooker with a heart of gold" but we're not just there for the "jiggle".

Why do I write this to you, my daughters? What do I want you to get from this?
I want you to be inspired to go to the movies and watch with eyes wide open. Rate the movies yourself. Enjoy them but do not be altered by them.

Don't compare yourselves with the female images that flicker before you. That way lies madness. If you don't believe me, read the hundreds of articles and books written by and about those actresses whose images you see. Nowhere will you find their whole-hearted endorsement of the habits they developed to create those images.

Shakespeare said it. We are but stuff that dreams are made of. Build the body, as well as, the mind that comes from your special dream … not Hollywood's.

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