I imagine Ma Rainey's Black Bottom making the career of a middle aged fat Black woman

I imagine a fat Black woman who's been working and honing her craft in obscurity for decades being given the chance to really shine

Instead we got a thin woman (who's on her 2nd role theft afaik) donning a fat suit

The same thin woman then talks about gaining weight for the role

The same thin woman then conspicuously exercises to distance herself from Ma Rainey's fat body

That casting (I can't speak to the film itself) turned Ma Rainey into a costume and a caricature and a cautionary tale

It turned her into a fable

It robbed her of her importance, her humanity

She deserves so much better than that

Thank you to @blackfatqueer @DaShaunLH (and others) for talking about this amidst a climate of uncritical praise