User blog:Weavillain/Leni, Chaz, and Insulting Implications

"L is For Love" has given us a lot to talk about for pretty obvious reasons. But I'm here to bring up a line of discussion that's been touched upon several times by the fandom, and well...it kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think about it.

Obviously, I'm here to talk about Leni and Chaz. For those who don't know by now, "L is For Love" gave us a glimpse of each Loud sibling's crush. Besides Luna's, probably the most prominent and talked about has to be Chaz, an overweight high schooler that works at the Royal Woods Mall. Now, from what I've seen, a lot of people praise the decision to have Leni's crush be someone who's overweight, thus bucking "acceptable" norms and standards of conventional attraction for something more unique.

Had the appraisal stopped there, I would've had no problem with what the fandom's majority has spoken out about Leni x Chaz. I can appreciate how diverse they made the cast of "suitors" for the Louds to have, and yeah, I'm pleased that they didn't go in a "typical" direction. I wouldn't have hated it if they had Leni's crush be some run-of-the-mill dreamboat, but compared to Chaz, I'll take Chaz ten times out of ten.

But like I said, for some people, it doesn't stop there. As I've touched on before, The Loud House is a show without deep lore, and there are several loose ends and interpretations that can be spun in any direction that fans wish. And just like with those other instances, we get it here with Leni. See, in either an attempt to imbue Leni with more virtue, or to increase the significance of Leni's attraction, one innocuous-looking assertion comes into play here.

What would that be, exactly? That Leni's crush is so great because it proves that Leni sees past looks.

I don't know about you, but...I really don't like the way that sounds. It gives the implication that being overweight is an obstacle to be overcome instead of a fact that can be embraced with love. What's wrong with Leni finding fat people attractive? Is it really necessary to build Leni up just to tear others down?

Now, maybe you think I'm being overly dramatic here, but if you're telling me that being fat is something that should be passed over because of its "objective" ugliness, I'm going to take exception with you. And really, even though that line of thinking doesn't say that exactly, it still implies it by portraying being overweight as a hindrance that's impossible to find attractive or endearing...

Unless, of course, a saint among men (or women, in this case) finds it in their pure heart and soul to be gracious enough to look past such an "ugly" outer shell.

So yeah, I really don't care for the notion that Leni's crush is so great because it proves she's such a wonderful person for "looking past looks". Not only does it make Leni come off as obnoxiously pious, but it leaves the impression that being fat is a quality that's always undesirable, and that it can't be possible for someone to embrace both the physical and the....well, spiritual, for a lack of a better term, in an overweight individual.

Personally, I'd like to believe that Leni appreciates Chaz as a whole, but I suppose that doesn't give her enough "saint" points if there's no struggle to overcome.