Singing sister-duo, Marie Marie (left) and actor, comedienne Claudette Pious. -Contributed
By Winston Wilson, Jr., Staff Reporter
ON AN entertainment landscape where image is largely everything, full-figured performers have put stereotype aside and are comfortable on stage. Whether pleasantly plump, or weight-challenged, the meat of the matter is that these performers refuse to be constrained by what is thought to be the politically correct image.
1999 winner of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's Festival Song contest and cabaret singer, Cheryl 'Chetenge' Clarke has been discriminated against because of her size.
"I am big, bold and beautiful...I love myself as I am. I do not let prejudice stop my progress," the singer/writer/producer and voice technician told The Gleaner.
"When it comes to cabaret shows and other stage appearances, it's all about style and profile. So people like me, who can't wear the latest styles made for the slim-figured, have to take a back seat. That used to bother me a lot, but now that I am in touch with my higher self it doesn't matter anymore," she said.
Chetenge said on the cabaret circuit, even when there are available slots, she is passed over because of her size and looks.
"I spent 15 years as a band singer. Then I could have been as big as a barrel, but now that I am a cabaret performer it has narrowed down to image and not performance anymore. But these producers and promoters need to know that talent comes in all shapes and sizes," she said.
She performs twice per month at Beaches Inn, Negril and her act is usually a high-energy one with a repertoire of soca and uptempo music. In fact, Chetenge said her audiences were usually amazed at how flexible and energetic she is on stage.
"I may be full-figured, but I can still swing my engine and wine down and touch my toes," she boasted. Adding that she was 11 lbs at birth and still growing!
But singer, drummer, pianist extraordinaire, Marjorie Whylie had a different story.
"I must have been born at the right time, because I've never had to face any prejudice where my size was concerned," she said.
The musical director for the National Dance Theatre Company told The Gleaner that despite being "fairly plump", she was a very vibrant and active person who loved physical activities, especially dancing.
"I love to dance at a fete, but not on stage. I guess my weight is a hamper then. But socially, when I dance, people siddung an watch," she said.
"There is nothing I like more than the beach. I love swimming, walking and yoga.
"I have adjusted my lifestyle and I am very comfortable. My weight has never been an obstacle in anything I wanted nothing has ever been denied me from I was weighty to being overweight," she said.
She revealed that in addition to her successful career in the arts, she has had long-standing romantic relationships and that the men with whom she has been have never found her to be inhibited by size.
"My size is my asset! It is a God-given gift and has never hampered me," actress/comedienne Claudette Pious declared.
The head of the organisation Children First said that her being so positive about her size has served as an inspiration for other "full-figured young people and ample-proportioned persons with self-esteem problems."
"I have done a lot of training about self-esteem, using myself as reference. I am this size and from a poor background and I have succeeded, others can too," she cited.
Of course, she has experienced discrimination because of her size.
"I remember when I was younger I did not get a job, because I was fat. The man sey dat I would bruck dung him chair," she recalled.
Describing herself as having been always "pleasantly plump", Claudette told The Gleaner that lately she got most of her acting roles because she was not of a "normal size".
"Most times playwrights write the roles around me. The last three roles I have played were written specifically for me", she boasted.
She said her special dressmaker, Hazel's House of Fashion knows exactly how to make her clothes to bring out her best.
"Some of dem (dressmakers) feel sey because me helluva dem fi dis chop up de cloth. I am wonderfully gorgeous and large," she affirmed.
Singing sister-duo, Marie Marie, weigh over 500 lbs between them. The duo has received rave reviews for their performances both locally and overseas. They recently won the Jammin' UK Contest, held in England, where local performers were pitted against their English counterparts.
"Size does not affect our performance, but some people have a problem with our weight and our look," said the older sister, Ann-Marie Barnett.
Her sister, Rosemarie, the bigger, more energetic and outgoing of the two, said she felt their size has been a hindrance to them achieving success.
"I have always been this size yet I am energetic and lively on stage. Despite our talent and potential we still have not achieved the success we deserve. Our size should not matter. We can sing very well -- that's what should matter," she said.
Two hotel entertainment managers, who wish not to be named, told The Gleaner that in choosing cabaret acts those with "too much flesh" are not usually considered.
"We have to think of what our guests want," one female entertainment manager said. "We have an image to maintain," she continued.
Shocking Vibes director, Clyde McKenzie, said although neither he nor his company had a bias where size was concerned, promotion was image driven, which could put certain artistes at a disadvantage.
"There is a shifted focus to a visual age and focus on the artiste. Certainly Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross might not have made it now despite having beautiful voices," he told The Gleaner.
"(But) It depends on how you carry your weight and how comfortable you are in your skin," he continued.
Psychiatrist Dr. Aggrey Irons, who is also an entertainer, said fat entertainers need to see beyond their size and recognise themselves for who they are.
"Look at Luciano Pavarotti and people like Fats Domino...think of anybody who sings really well, they are big people. Part of show business is about the conventional attitude towards sex and sexuality. That's why Bob Marley was Bob Marley. He was the sexiest of the Wailers, but not necessarily the most talented," Dr. Irons said.
