Renegade Theatre Experiment™

POP CULTURE

Obsession with body image saps the soul
The idea that appearance is key to happiness damages a woman's quality of life
TONYA JAMESON

A close friend loves to tell people two stories about me.

One is about the first time she saw me in the Observer's cafeteria. She claims I pulled out a wallet attached to a chain to pay for my food. (It's not true. Wallet chains aren't my style.)

The second story involves her stopping by my apartment and seeing me in booty shorts. According to my friend, all she could see was my scrawny legs dangling from the shorts. She laughs for hours recounting that story and then asks if I still have the shorts.

Yup. I love my legs. But I've always been teased about them. I tell all haters, "I got my daddy's legs and my mommy's chest."

"The Body Chronicles," a new theater presentation about body image, made me think about other people's fixation with my body. (Granted, I instigate their comments by calling myself the "Temple of Tonya.") I realize most women aren't as narcissistic as I am, which is why "Body Chronicles" is so important. Millions of us are nipping away our individuality to look like living Barbie and Ken dolls.

The presentation, held at SouthEnd Performing Arts Center Tuesday through Sunday, seeks to help women learn to love their bodies. It consists of five short plays, two poems and a visual arts installation in the lobby. Each show honors area women who love themselves as they are. Some shows include discussions afterward.

Body image is a popular topic. "Body Chronicles" shows for Wednesday and Thursday are sold out. Other theater companies have examined body image recently.

In 2002, Renegade Theatre Experiment in San Jose, Calif., presented "Hear Me Roar: women's images of self," which featured two plays and an original dance piece. Last year, Eve Ensler, creator of the groundbreaking "The Vagina Monologues," performed a solo show called the "The Good Body," about society's fascination with physical perfection.

"Women are kind of tired of being told how they should be," said Donna Scott, producer of "Body Chronicles."

It's about time. Our culture's obsession with weight and cosmetically altering everything from our faces to our privates is ridiculous.

China held its first Miss Artificial Beauty pageant last month, and here in the U.S., tabloids have chronicled Pamela Anderson's on-again-off-again relationship with her breast implants and debated the authenticity of actress Angelina Jolie's lips. Programs such as "Extreme Makeover," "The Swan" and "Nip/Tuck" glorifies the preoccupation with cosmetic mutilation.

"Eating disorders and women having difficulty with their body image and how we take care of ourselves is at a crisis level," said Dr. Amy Combs, a clinical psychologist at Southeast Psychological Services in Charlotte.

Combs, who will be a "Body Chronicles" talk-back participant, isn't exaggerating. Here are some sobering facts:

• 5-10 million women and girls suffer from anorexia and/or bulimia in the U.S. (National Organization for Women)

• In 2003, 5,606 people 18 and under received Botox injections, compared to 2,607 in 2000 (American Society of Plastic Surgeons).

• 32,607 people received breast implants in 1992; 246,930 received implants in 2003 (ASPS).

• Breast implants for girls 18 and younger increased from 3,872 in 2002 to 11,326 in 2003 (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery).

I exercise and eat reasonably healthy to be fit, but I can't understand women and young girls cutting and pasting themselves together to fit a standard of beauty touted in movies, magazines and television.

The makeover obsession "supports the idea that if you change your external appearance that your life is going to improve," said Combs.

The future doesn't look bright. In the last month I read articles about the growing number of teenage girls receiving breast implants, radio stations giving away boob jobs and women getting cosmetic surgery to make their vaginas look prettier. (What exactly does an ugly one look like?)

We may as well stop wasting time surgically removing our individuality. One day, some science lab will clone Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton and video honey Ki Toy Johnson, and for a nominal fee a surgeon will implant your brain into the cloned bodies.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. An art exhibit and post-play discussions are among other events scheduled in connection with the some shows.

ADMISSION: $20; $65 for opening-night gala. All proceeds will benefit Girls on the Run International; http://www.girlsontherun.org/.