Razzle-dazzle 'em...

Went to see Chicago last night with ex-roommate. Enjoyed it very much. All three leads surprised me with the quality of their singing and dancing, though Renee Zellweger seemed a little ... I'm not sure what, overly angular? Not quite confident? in her dancing. (And her costumes didn't help; they tended to make her shoulders look very bony and square.) But Catherine Zeta-Jones... wowza. That woman has some serious pipes, and danced like she meant it.

( Some specifics on the movie. Not really spoilers, but if you haven't seen it you might want to skip this. )

Afterwards, ex-roomie and I were talking about it, and I made the comment that it was great to see a larger woman (Queen Latifah as Mama; great performance!) being body-confident enough to wear a tight, sexy dress that left little to the imagination in the cleavage department. Ex-roomie made the comment, "Of course, it had to be a black woman."

Which got me thinking. And I'm not sure she's wrong. Is it more acceptable for a woman of color to be large? Or is it more acceptable, or more expected, for a large woman of color to have strength and confidence and attitude than it is for a large white woman? And if it is more acceptable, why? Is it racism? Is it a leftover from the days when it was widely believed that African Americans had less restraint over their libidos than whites? Or is it more positive, in that African American culture is more accepting of larger women? Setting aside issues of vocal styles and whatnot, could a larger white woman have done the same and be accepted?

I have no answer to any of the above. Just ruminating.