Within the media, viewers are often confronted by images of idealized beauty standards portrayed by performers selected and portrayed on screen.
Among the majority of performers that we see in major leading roles, particularly among women, the standard body type we often see is “thin.” This is despite the fact that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the BMI of the average woman in the U.S. is 26.5, which falls into the category of “overweight.”
People often say that size is just a number.
If that were the case, why is it that within the media, fictional representation that’s supposed to act as a mirrored reflection of our society barely represents the reality of our population’s range of body diversity?
Most of the time, when we see ensemble casts of main characters of a movie or TV show, the standard body type-cast seen frequently appears to be a limited size range, barely appearing above a U.S. size ten.
Oftentimes, when a plus-size figure does appear on screen, they are often body-shamed. They’re made the subject of ridicule and deemed romantically and sexually undesirable in comparison to their “thinner” counterparts. They’re sometimes also played by thin actors wearing “fat suits” as depicted in shows and movies such as Shallow Hall and Friends.
Though some may question the relevance of including body diversity on screen, studies have shown the toxic effects of weight discrimination on nearly every aspect of society, from positive media representation to decent pay.
In 2016, the National Center for Biotechnology Information had written a study on weight discrimination in the workplace, studying how individuals can be more negatively assessed based on their physical attributes than their professional ones.
The study examining the negative stereotypes associated with individuals considered overweight by potential or current employers essentially led to more job rejections as well as lower pay.
This concluded that:
- Obese people are less likely to be assessed positively on personnel suitability than normal weight people
- Obese people in active employment are more likely to be discriminated against than people in non-active employment
- Obese women are more likely to be discriminated against than obese men
Recently, Netflix released the film Dumplin’, a movie centered on a character named Willowdean (Dumplin’) Dixon, a self-described fat girl who enters a beauty contest in order to counter typical pageants’ thin beauty standards.
The movie already rejects a common number of negative tropes related to fat characters. Dumplin’ portrays an individual who embodies self-confidence and charisma. This individual isn’t relegated to the whole of “best-friend” or supporting character to a thin actor.
The character is played by a plus-size actress, as well as being based off the source material, the novel of same name written by Julia Murphy, a #OwnVoices author known for body positivity in her work.
For years, Hollywood has been called on its negligence to portray diversity on screen. It has consistently casted actors that portray a limited profile of our society, aka able-bodied, white, cisgender, etc.
There’s a wake of new body positivity movements rooted in the social concept that all human bodies, varying from disability to size, deserve respect and acceptance.
This movement is led by prominent activists/models, such as Ashley Graham and Tess Holliday. The need to cast attention towards increasing body diversity on screen is prominent now more than ever.
Katika vyombo vya habari, mara nyingi watazamaji hukabiliwa na picha za viwango vya uzuri vilivyochaguliwa na kuonyeshwa kwenye skrini. "Wakati wa maonyesho ya kuvutia, ""mwili wa kawaida"" ni ""mzito,"" ingawa kulingana na Vituo vya Udhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC), BMI ya mwanamke wa kawaida nchini Marekani ni 26.5, ambayo iko katika jamii ya ""uzito wa ziada.""" Kama hiyo ingekuwa kesi, kwa nini ndani ya vyombo vya habari, uwakilishi wa uwongo ambao unapaswa kutenda kama mwangaza wa jamii yetu haujakilisha ukweli wa idadi ya watu wetu ya utofauti wa mwili? Wakati mwingine, wakati tunaona ensemble casts ya wahusika kuu wa filamu au TV show, kawaida mwili aina-cast kuonekana mara nyingi inaonekana kuwa mdogo ukubwa mbalimbali, vigumu kuonekana juu ya ukubwa wa Marekani kumi. Mara nyingi, wakati mtu mwenye ukubwa mkubwa anapoonekana kwenye skrini, mara nyingi huona aibu kwa sababu ya mwili wake. Wao ni kufanywa mada ya dhihaka na kuchukuliwa kimapenzi na kingono undesirable katika kulinganisha na wenzao "thinner". Wao <unk>ni wakati mwingine pia alicheza na waigizaji nyembamba amevaa <unk>fat suti<unk> kama ilivyoonyeshwa katika maonyesho na filamu kama vile Shallow Hall na Marafiki. Ingawa baadhi ya watu wanaweza kutilia shaka umuhimu wa kujumuisha utofauti wa mwili kwenye skrini, masomo yameonyesha athari za sumu za ubaguzi wa uzito karibu kila kipengele cha jamii, kutoka kwa uwakilishi mzuri wa vyombo vya habari hadi mshahara mzuri. Katika utafiti wa 2016 wa Kituo cha Kitaifa cha Habari ya Bioteknolojia, utafiti wa ubaguzi wa uzito katika mahali pa kazi ulionyesha jinsi watu wanavyoweza kupimwa vibaya zaidi kulingana na sifa zao za mwili kuliko zile za kitaaluma. Utafiti uliochunguza mitazamo hasi inayohusiana na watu wanaoonwa kuwa na uzito wa ziada na waajiri wa sasa au wa sasa kimsingi ulisababisha kukataliwa kwa kazi zaidi na pia mshahara wa chini. "Watu wenye uzito wa juu wana uwezekano mdogo wa kupimwa kwa ufanisi wa wafanyakazi kuliko watu wenye uzito wa kawaida, watu wenye uzito wa juu katika kazi ya kazi wana uwezekano mkubwa wa kutengwa na watu wasio na kazi ya kazi, wanawake wenye uzito wa juu wana uwezekano mkubwa wa kutengwa na wanaume wenye uzito wa juu, ""Dumplin' Dixon"" inaelezea jinsi ya kuvutia." Filamu tayari inakataa idadi ya kawaida ya tropes hasi kuhusiana na wahusika mafuta. Dumplin<unk> anaonyesha mtu ambaye anaonyesha kujiamini na charisma. Mtu huyu hajahamishwa kwa jumla ya "rafiki bora" au tabia ya kusaidia kwa mwigizaji mwembamba. Mhusika huyo anaigiza mwigizaji wa ukubwa wa plus, na pia inategemea nyenzo ya chanzo, riwaya ya jina moja iliyoandikwa na Julia Murphy, mwandishi wa #OwnVoices anayejulikana kwa mwili wake. Kwa miaka mingi, Hollywood imekuwa ikikabiliwa na ukosefu wake wa uangalifu wa kuelezea utofauti kwenye skrini. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""mchezaji wa filamu"" ni mtu ambaye anaonekana kuwa na tabia ya kuonekana katika jamii, kama vile ""mtu mwenye uwezo wa mwili, mweupe, cisgender, na wengine.""" Kuna wimbi la harakati mpya za mwili chanya zilizo mizizi katika dhana ya kijamii kwamba miili yote ya binadamu, ikitofautiana kutoka kwa ulemavu hadi ukubwa, inastahili heshima na kukubalika. Harakati hii inaongozwa na wanaharakati mashuhuri / mifano, kama vile Ashley Graham na Tess Holliday. Uhitaji wa kuelekeza uangalifu kuelekea kuongezeka kwa utofauti wa mwili kwenye skrini ni muhimu sasa zaidi kuliko hapo awali.