Debbie says:

I just got back from watching the Oscars with a gaggle of teenage girls (and another adult). I could do a complex critique of gender and ethnicity politics (those critiques always run in my head). But I just wanted to say that the camera went frequently to Gabourey Sidibe (nominated for Best Actress), .

and also to Mo’Nique (who won the Best Supporting Actress award). Both women were in Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. It was such a joy to see stunningly beautiful and genuinely fat women, dressed to the nines, among the stars at the Academy Awards

The girls I was watching with were critiquing everyone’s dresses, but not anyone’s size. And aside from one relatively harmless crack about Sarah Jessica Parker weighing “a single pound,” no one on the stage was being rude either.

And then Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman ever to win a Best Director Oscar (for The Hurt Locker).

Sometimes, it doesn’t seem quite so bad out there.