I love you.

Sorry if my comment about size was hurtful to anyone. I don't judge the quality of a person by their size, but it's quite newsworthy of late that obesity has become epidemic in America ... and is far more common in certain areas of the nation than in others. Hence my flippant remark comparing Kansas to California. It was merely a quip. My apologies for any insensitity.


In any event, though I don't judge a person by their appearance .... I consider Disneyland cast members to be just that - - and am in favor of requiring them to have an appearance appropriate to their role - - and frankly a weight and size appropriate to a role model.

Jenny, if I didn't already love you I would have some serious fighting words. Not for your opinion, just for this line. (Although I do disagree with the opinion as well.) From this pregnant two of the three last years fat and trying hard to lose it person: OUCH!

As far as whom they should hire, I would much rather encounter a friendly, outgoing CM who happens to be overweight than a thin mediocre one. I would hope they would be sued if they discriminated for any reason. Would you also like for them not to hire disabled people? Many of them aren't text book attractive.

OMG! You all talk as if all of the current tour guide are skinny or shapely (note- they are NOT the same thing). Certainly there are not obese tour guide that I've seen, but there are tour guide in all shapes and sizes. I believe they are chosen, in part, for their knowledge base.

See, that's a sticking point there. How much is Disney a show? Should all movie companies be sued for discrimiation for hiring only attractive people to play the roles?

For better or for worse, a portion of the role of tour guide is asthetic. As a whole, the company shouldn't discriminate. But if a specific job would be most profitable to the company if it's filled by someone fitting the, perhaps unfair, American perception of attractiveness, why shouldn't they do that?

Of course, perhaps they've found that no longer to be the case, that people are just as likely to take the tour whether the CM is "attractive" or not. In that case, I stand by my previous lament that the solution is to cover EVERYONE in a gunny sack. Ideally, it'd be possible to tailor each CM's outfit, no matter their physique, to flatter them most. Honestly, when you start making these "one shape fits all" costumes, people who may not be stick thin but otherwise would be highly attractive with the right clothing are going to come out looking like fat people trying to hide it.

amen to that. gotta love those dangerous curves. :snap:

:evil:

Every industry out there is selling an image of some kind. And likely most, if not all, already engage in some (unofficial) biased hiring practices. (Like when I was skinny and pretty and wasn't hired because I couldn't possibly be smart enough to operate a computer.)

If those practices were explicitly condoned as appropriate for upholding the specific image, I'd be left with the career choices of sideshow freak or bell-ringer.

I'm sure many people in this world would prefer that I were confined to those types of roles. Most of those people don't realize how many of them would be forced to join me.

Wow, those were the two career choices my high school guidance counselor said I had!! :D

Hee-hee, you said "insensi-titty."