More to Love is confusing for many reasons (as opposed to Dance Your Ass Off, which doesn't even pretend to be earnest). I couldn't even watch the second episode. If 2/3 of Americans are truly overweight or obese (maybe I have lived in NYC too long because I didn't realize things had become so dire) why are fat people on TV a novelty? Are we that disconnected from what we see on the streets vs. what's tolerable on screen and in print? How can a minority mocking the, yes, rapidly expanding majority be construed as anything except elitism? Maybe fat people don't think they're fat and are able to distance themselves.
Also, if the majority of Americans are lardasses, then why are most of the women on this dating reality show bawling about not being able to get dates? Someone is procreating with the 66.7% of Americans with unacceptable BMIs and producing roly-poly babies to perpetuate the cycle. These ladies have nothing to be sad about. Or maybe it's a case of the 300-pound "no fat chicks" dudes.
The issue I take with More to Love, is more with the dating show genre and has nothing to do with body fat. I guess it's possible than a man might make a connection with one in say, twenty women. But who's to say that one man, in this case a dull meat-and-potatoes schlub—seriously, he said steak and potatoes were his favorite foods—would appeal to twenty different women? And yet, they all get starry-eyed and hear wedding bells chiming the second they step out of the limo and are introduced. The Fatchelor is no different than The Bachelor in that regard. Women are desperate and do whatever it takes to get a ring on their finger before they are 30 (don't worry—three of the five 30+ gals were eliminated in the first episode and will all die miserable and alone) especially when put on camera for some reason.
If only one good thing comes of this show, it's that I got to see Topanga from Boy Meets World mentioned in comments as the type of normal-weight female role model we don't get to see anymore. Oh, '90s nostalgia. D.J. Tanner always struck me as hovering on the brink of fatness, now that I think about it. Not in a grand D'Onofrio way (I think he's gone over the brink) just in an unacceptable for females of all ages on TV way.
Related…
Weight as a cultural identifier
sherri: Interesting. For myself, I’ve never paid heed to the like attracts like thing. At least not physically. I choose friends based on common interests and men that tend to be on the slim-to-skinny side. I suppose the up side to like choosing like would be the ability to participate in clothing swaps–a very serious issue I was complaining about at my birthday party. I’m guessing most women I know are in the size 6-8 range, lots of mediums, not so many larges (or smalls).
People would lose their shit if the women on More to Love were competing for a “normal” weight dude. Commenters are currently going wild over the latest teen sex with his teacher story (not the “tapping that ass” model kid) because the woman is fat and it’s unfathomable that a hormonal youngster would do the deed.