Fatsplotation…what do YOU think?
In case you haven’t noticed, fat people are all the rage right now! How do I know this? Because we are the feature of talk show discussion panels and new TV series. (Plus all the stuff in the news about how we’re ruining the world - but I’ll save that for another post).
In the realm of talk shows, there’s “Dr. Phil’s : The fat Debate “ and ABC “Nightline Face-Off: Is It OK to Be Fat?” And then, on TV, there’s Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime. Plus the upcoming Mike and Molly on CBS and Huge on ABC Family.
On one hand, I like that we’re visible. That the issue of fat acceptance are being talked about. On the other hand, I worry about the exploitation part of this whole whopla. At times, I worry we’re feeding into a kind of freak show mentality. Just giving them an excuse to stare.
Is all this attention helping our cause or is our misery their entertainment? Or is it both? What do you think?
Is it good? Is it bad? And where’s the line between the two?
I dunno - if you stare at something “freaky” long enough, it starts to look “normal” - so maybe that’s a good thing…
noceleryplease - We did kinda progress from reality tv weightloss shows to actual dramas. So maybe that’s hopeful.
Personally, Dr Phil can kiss my fat ass, he’s about as exploitative as they come when it comes to any issue there is facing anyone. And anyone who gives Screaming MeMe Roth the time of day to spout her rabid fat-hate insanity isn’t going to get my vote of confidence either (at least, not when they say it’s in the interest of “fairness” - Screaming MeMe wouldn’t know fairness if it walked up and bit her on the boob).
I’m ambivalent about TV series with fat people in them. TV has never treated fat people with the respect we deserve and I’m not holding my breath, waiting to see it happen with these new series (Huge, Mike & Molly, and Drop Dead Diva). It’s too easy for them to fall back on stereotypes - after all, how interesting would a show about fat people really be if it showed your life, or mine, as we live it everyday? The drama in my life has nothing to do with the fact that I’m fat and everything to do with the fact that my extended family on my husband’s side are a bunch of idiots/asshats. But would people tune in to see that kind of drama? Probably not. They want to be able to laugh at the fat person breaking a chair, say I-told-you-so about the fat person sitting on hir ass all day stuffing hir face with junk food.
If we could get TV shows that showed fat people in the same light as Hollywood gorgeous stars, without out all the hoopla of “Hey, we’re enlightened here, it’s a show with fat people, and guess what, they’re real people!”, then I might be a bit more optimistic. As it is, I’m still an optimistic pessimist (or pessimistic optimist) - hope for the best, expect the worst, and then nothing surprises me.
Is the attention helping our cause? Cautiously, I say probably yes. After all, it is bringing us more attention, and more attention means more fat people who didn’t know FA even existed will now know about it. Whether that will convince them to look into it, join, learn, grow, etc is another story altogether. But, as I said when I started blogging, if even one person is changed by what we do, then it’s all good.
If our misery is their (the haters’) entertainment, then I feel sorry for them. It has to be a pretty sad life one is living when zie is entertained by another’s misery.
vesta44 -
It’s definitely a complex issue. Back in the day really I liked Rosanne (1988-1997). Because the main characters just happened to be fat. Although, the premise did sit on the fat people are poor stereotype.
Ideally, I’d like fat people to be a part of the social consciousness the way my own fat was for me in my teens and my early twenties. I just didn’t think about it that much. So I totally agree that it would be so awesome to have a tv show where the main character was fat…but the show ISN’T about his/her weight.
In more recent TV, Gilmore Girls (2001-2007) had supporting characters that were fat but we never really saw them diet and their weight was never an issue. For all it’s kitschiness, I loved that show.
I tend towards the hopeful side, so maybe if we just wait out the current fat panic, things will even out in the long run. Go back to the days of Rosanne and Gilmore Girls. Here’s hoping.
British TV used to do this sort of thing really well (real people living real lives) but even they have succumbed to ‘beautiful people’ bs.
Definitely true. I love the BBC!
Peace,
Shannon
While I question the motives of the whole hoopla at the moment, one thing I think is important to acknowledge is that fat people are gaining visibility. Every time one of these programmes airs, or an article gets published, and there are happy, successful, articulate, funny, intelligent, kind, wonderful fat people out there to be seen, it’s a win.
It’s not the whole win, but it’s a win just the same.
sleepydumpling -
You hit the nose on why I come out on the fence about this. Visibility is GREAT. You can’t make a change in the worlds perception if they can’t see you.
I suppose, like most things, it’s a process. We’ll just keep fighting and and hope that hoopla fades away in the long run.
I think overall visibility and exposure is a good thing, even if it seems exploitative now. Eventually fat will just be seen as normal. Like, if there’s a cast of characters on some show, one may be black, one Asian, one fat… It’s all good.
Luxe -
“Eventually fat will just be seen as normal.”
That’s my wish. And I truly hope that your prediction is right.
I think this is what would be considered the “exploratory” phase of the media’s interest in Fat Acceptance. Blaxploitation fulfilled the same role. They try to “capture” what they think fat people are thinking about. They’ll get it wrong mostly, but they’ll get some stuff that rings true. Over time, they’ll eventually lose interest and we’ll fade into the background again and we’ll start to see token fatties on the big screen. That’s when we’ve arrived!
Peace,
Shannon
atchka -
“They try to ‘capture’ what they think fat people are thinking about. ”
I just wish they’d get a clue on my thoughts, which run the lines of “If you could just get over the part where you think my fat is a disease, then I could go back to NOT thinking about my fat and we’d both be happy!”
I remember my own ‘awe’ when watching Roseanne back in the day. I was always pleasantly surprised to see a married couple who fought, loved and exchanged ideas and roles between them just like (most) real couples do, and yet not once did anyone resort to calling anyone “fattie” or “Blimp” or any other derogatory name based on their size. Their fatness was never really an issue with them, or between their friends or family.
I felt the same way watching the re-make of Hairspray.
Through it all I kept waiting (both consciously and subconsciously) for the “fat joke” to
slip in there. For the name calling to happen… But it never did.
It was just about an outgoing, pretty girl, who wanted to dance on a teen dance show, and believed with all her heart that people were equal - even black people- and wanted them dancing too. She just happened to be fat, and so was her mom. Fat and Fabulously wonderful, warm people; who had friends, loved ones who loved them back and full lives…
The current and up and coming reality shows and/or sitcoms with fat people as the main character and/or supporting cast?
They always seem to have that not-so-well-hidden agenda; you can lose weight, you should lose weight, you need to lose weight. Everything in (your already happy) life will be even brighter and happier…if you lose weight. And it’s for your own good, too.
That turns me right off.
Fab@54 -
“Their fatness was never really an issue with them, or between their friends or family.”
I think looks inform people’s impressions when they first meet or if they have hidden bigotry…but when someone is a part of your life and you really care about them, I think how we see each other get’s lost in how we feel. I don’t see a fat man when I look at my husband, I see the man that cares for me and appreciates me and makes me feel safe.
And I totally agree about some of the new flatspoltation is objectionable becasue of the “not-so-well-hidden agenda.”