Potbellies

I remember, several years back, hearing that potbellies were in. And I heard it on an early incarnation of reality TV. I can’t remember the exact title, but I think it was on MTV and certainly featured a London flat filled with models. Anyhoo, this episode (the only one I ever caught) featured a model’s remark about the ‘potbelly trend’ being encouraging because, you know, that meant there would be fewer and fewer Anas, or so the twisted logic tends to go. Needless to say, it was all news to me. I remember that I looked down at my potbelly, felt a pang of self-hatred, and then got back to the business of eating Fritos, my preferred after-school snack. This has all been a roundabout way of arriving to my point: Do those American Apparel pics ever get a little too realistic for your tastes? I mean, potbellies are one thing. But rough butt is an entirely other.