The Tripod

Issue date: 3/4/02 Section: Arts

Media Credit: Kate Hutchinson Penelope Lombard and Marcy Etlinger are "Two Thin."

What runs through your head when you hear the words "eating disorder"? Chances are, you think "mental illness," or "skinny." Most likely you are not thinking of laughing.

But the comedienne duo "Two Thin" presents the subject of eating disorders in a sketch comedy format designed to make you laugh. Presenting a humorous look at a serious issue, Marcy Etlinger and Penelope Lombard performed in the Rittenberg Lounge last Wednesday, sponsored by the on-campus group RIBS (Redefining Ideal Beauty Standards). They began with a series of one-liners, which, in any other context would have been considered in bad taste, such as "you know you're an anorexic when you go out with your friends to watch them eat." To be honest, I felt uncomfortable at first, and from the quiet, nervous laughter in the room, I could tell I wasn't the only one wary of laughing at eating disorders.

Once the room warmed up, each comedienne began to tell her personal story of how she had developed and dealt with her eating disorder, but in the style of a stand-up comic routine. Penelope began with a description of her first bad encounter with eating. At a holiday fair, she saw a cookie-decorating table, and began to put mountains of frosting on her cookie. But once she realized how many people were staring at her, she couldn't eat the cookie, and she felt ashamed of what she had done. She said she never wanted anyone to see her like that again. This led her to develop a binge and purge routine. On a week long camping trip she decided to starve herself, trying to rid herself of her shame. Eventually, she went into therapy and learned to balance her life. She ended on a poignant note: "You cannot shame your way out of shame. You have to accept yourself for what you are."

Marcy's story began with her recounting seeing herself in a mirror at a young age, wearing a diaper, and thinking "my butt is huge!" By the age of five, her family had moved to LA and there, she said, there was a driving need to be thin. At the age of thirteen, after trying lots of different diets, she talked with a friend one day, who told her of a diet where she could eat anything she wanted, as long as she threw it up later. "I thought this was a brilliant idea!" Marcy said, but it only led to emotional problems. She began to shoplift, and was caught, and shortly after, she went into therapy, which helped to put her on the path to recovery. Once their stories were told, I began to feel more comfortable with the idea of humor and eating disorders. I wasn't laughing very hard at the jokes, but I was overcoming my reservations.

Continued...

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