Hot Felons and “Fat, Ugly” Girls
By Have you heard about Jeremy Meeks, the “hot felon?” Well, meet Jeremy Meeks: he’s a felon and he’s undeniably hot. And apparently, even in this day and age, that makes him more worthy your of time, attention and adulation. Hey, he’s hot–who cares if there are non-hot people rotting away in prison?
What do you “hot felon”-lovers know about this guy, Jeremy Meeks, anyway? He could be a murderer. For all you know, he could watch “Two and Half Men” unironically. For all you know, he can often be overheard saying “That Ben Shapiro guy? He’s on to something.” You don’t know. But you’ve glommed on to him because he’s hot. Mind you, I wouldn’t care if you glommed on to him for a different reason…like because maybe you have concerns about our criminal justice system and the way it treats men of color. But that’s not the reason you glommed on. You glommed on because he has dreamy blue eyes. Gross.
Which brings me to real reason for this post: Melissa McEwan has written an incredibly poignant entry about being called “fat” and “ugly” damn near all her life. And about how she’s internalized that. More importantly, she’s written an entry about how anyone, no matter how “fat” or “ugly” s/he is, deserves to be visible and deserves to be treated with the same kindness you’d show a hot felon.