Query

So the other night I got home and ended up watching the tail end of America's Got Talent. It was the episode where the fat girls sing and dance. OK, that's great. They can sing (very well). They can dance sorta. They have great stage presence. And they are fat. They were fun to watch. I'm glad they went on to the next round.

However, I almost found the judges attitude patronising. The subtext seemed to be "Wow, you are fat and you aren't ashamed to be seen in public". I mean they didn't say that. They went way over the top in the other direction saying how gorgeous they were (a little like talk show hosts do with older actresses). It's just that by the time the last gushing comment (something about being a role model) was done, I was sick of hearing how it was amazing that they were fat! and could sing! I felt they focused waaaaay too much on the way they looked and how fantastic (insert head pat here) it was that they were on stage. Being fat isn't a talent. The singing was great and they had great stage presence and they were fun to watch. That was their talent.

Also, no one breathed the word fat (except maybe the girls performing?) . It was larger, burlequse, statuesque, womanly, hourglass, plus sized, bigger etc...

Now I may have been watching this with the skewed attitude. I was switching back and forth between Shaq's big challenge (with horrifying statistics on childhood obesity) and America's Got Talent so I was getting differing well spun views.

So what did everyone else think of the performers?

If they were skinny and did the same performance

a) would they have made it to the next round?
b) should they have made it to the next round?