Ugly Betty

Unemployment causes interesting side effects. Laziness is among them. I hate that, but it's true. And it's an awkward tension because I am not entirely unemployed. Instead, I'm waiting to be employed. I will soon be employed. But, the laziness is still omnipresent. So, I watch a lot more TV than I would normally like to admit. I have become a huge fan of Showtime's Weeds. I love Mary Louise Parker. I love the whole concept. It's insanely witty.

And last night, I added a new show to my repetoire. Meet Betty Suarez. She's the star of ABC's pilot episode of Ugly Betty. And Lordy I hope that they actually keep it on the air, instead of a two week flop like NBC's Book of Daniel -- a genius show that it seems most are not ready for. A minister with a gay son that still loves him? A minister who has his own set of problems? Not in America!

Likewise, Ugly Betty does not fall into the category of typical American stereotypes. She is not fashionable. She is not a twig that eats iceberg lettuce for lunch. She's real. And she's LATINA! I love that fact too. She's a young woman struggling to realize her own dreams. But, I wonder if ABC will be braver than NBC. I wonder if they will be brave enough to realize that young girls need to see the beauty within them. I wonder if they will have the courage to challenge modern conceptions of beauty. I wonder if thy will make a joke out of intelligent, strong women that do not fit into the images on the cover of Cosmo. I wonder if we will be brave enough to see the beauty in ourselves -- even if we have to see that on a TV screen.