Melissa McCarthy, having been cast in three blockbuster films void of sex or dieting — topics that, according to Hollywood, consume the weekends and psyche of women abundant — is well on her way to breaking down the stigmas of female body expectation and accepted female film roles. Most recently, she was featured on the cover of Elle magazine, a publication founded on high fashion.
Ah, and then there came the controversy.
Rather than being featured in the clothing most of Elle’s leading ladies are known for, McCarthy is seen donning a rich, gorgeous charcoal pea coat, reported by The Huffington Post as having been designed by Mariana Rinaldi. Exposed skin is minimal, as the reader can only see McCarthy’s face, neck and shins.
Under normal circumstances, a reduction in exposed skin for a fashion magazine might elicit celebration. The focus of the cover would be returning to the magazine’s roots — fashion — and would suggest a cessation of profit based on women’s physiques.
Judging by the reactions of the Web, this hardly seems the case. Yahoo! Shine reports Elle’s most recent cover ladies (with the exception of McCarthy) as having sported a cutout black cocktail dress, a Calvin Klein swimsuit and a knit bra and wool shorts.
Slate wrote that McCarthy was dressed in a Rinaldi so huge “she could hide her ‘Mike and Molly’ co-star Billy Gardel underneath.”
It’s not as if McCarthy is a stranger to controversy. For her breakthrough performance in Paul Feig’s “Bridesmaids,” film critic Rex Reed called the actress “tractor-sized,” a “female hippo” and a “screeching, humongous creep.”
McCarthy, a recently established comedian most notably known for her performance in Bridesmaids, has served the public as a proponent of diversifying the roles women are typically afforded in comedies.
After all, it’s a steep request for us to remember the last flick before “Bridesmaids” that featured a grown woman gutturally moaning as she took a bowel movement in a sink.
There was also that one scene where she introduced the challenge of hiding an iPod nano in — Ah, I digress.
If you haven’t seen Bridesmaids, I must encourage you to cancel any impending plans you have for the next two hours and brace yourself for a killer abdominal workout.
Her meteoric rise to fame made way for many incredible professional opportunities — i.e. “Identity Thief,” “The Heat” — as well as a slew of criticism around her plus-size figure.
This isn’t exactly a foreign debate; Hollywood has always been known for perpetuating archaic gender roles. Typically speaking, women aren’t cast in too many movies if they don’t wind up in the sheets with the leading man. These women also don’t look like they’ve had any semblance of a complex carb in the past decade, which is precisely what makes McCarthy such a necessary, refreshing change in the industry.
The controversy surrounding the Elle cover is well-intended, yes, but it might also be unnecessary.
A rep for McCarthy reported to Good Morning America that McCarthy “loved the cover” and that the actress even picked out the coat that’s been targeted in the criticism.
McCarthy, in yet another act of feminist reform, might have felt modesty and true fashion sans exposed skin might be a refreshing change for the readership of Elle. After all, it’s tough to think of a woman who’s done so much to try and de-sexualize women in Hollywood to condone profiting off of being sexualized.
Following the outcry, Elle magazine released the following statement: “On all of our shoots, our stylists work with the stars to choose pieces they feel good in, and this is no different: Melissa loved this look and is gorgeous on our cover. We are thrilled to honor her as one of our Women in Hollywood this year.”
The objection against McCarthy’s figure supposedly being shamed was certainly well-intended, though, and shows that her efforts in expanding the roles of women are bearing substantial fruits — both in substance and appearance. Pro-McCarthy criticisms from Yahoo!, Slate and countless others on Twitter and Facebook serve as clear proof of that.
It’s also pretty awesome to see somebody forego exposure in the name of art and look absolutely gorgeous while doing it. Melissa McCarthy, it’s clear you can do no wrong.
Senior staff columnist Cara Smith is a communications junior and may be reached at [email protected]
