
I've talked at length about one of the reasons we see so much hatred when it comes to fat bodies. In short it comes down to something I decided to call "body currency." This means: we are promised value, success, and happiness if we achieve our "perfect body." When someone says: "I'm valuable, successful and happy!" and doesn't have, doesn't want to work towards, or doesn't care about this standard... we often feel like they are cheating the system; that they're cutting in line. You can (and probably should!) read more about this concept here.
Another reason we find ourselves “in hate” with fat people
has to do a lot with how they are represented (or, rather, NOT represented) in the
media. When fat bodies do appear (significantly less often than slender bodies
do) in television shows, movies, political comics, literature, and
animation, they are consciously presented in highly curated ways, all of which
are meant to initiate knee-jerk reactions. They give us a limited way of
processing fat people and none of the presentations are particularly positive. This is why we often have (what feels like) "natural" negative reactions to these larger bodies.
Lindsey Averill, co-producer of Fattitude: A Body Positive Documentary, has
done extensive research regarding the problematic portrayal of fat figures in
pop culture. She shared her findings in an interview with Refinery 29: “There
are 10 to 15 archetypes for fat characters. But, they tend to be problematic,
meaning outside the normal sphere of culture. Fat characters don’t have average
experiences or stories. They don’t have their own stories at all. They’re the
subplot.”10 These canned archetypes are not actual people, like Melissa
McCarthy (for example), but rather characters Melissa McCarthy plays. The fat
archetype can range from the Best Friend, to the Hypersexual or the Asexual (as
Averill mentions), to the Slovenly Roommate and beyond, but there are three
very general fat person tropes that I personally find to be very present and
harmful: the Stupid Fat Person, the Funny Fat Person, and the Evil Fat Person.
Allow me to illustrate:
The
Stupid Fat Person:

One of my favorite examples of this character is perfectly
demonstrated through the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. There is a thin person
and a fat person . . . and when it comes down to intelligence, guess
who’s the idiot? You guessed it! Costello. Other examples of stupid fat characters
include Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants, Peter Griffin from Family Guy,
Curly from The Three Stooges, Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory, Dudley from Harry Potter, Eric Cartman from South Park, and Homer
Simpson of The Simpsons. Nodding your head yet?
The Funny Fat Person:

Oh, how we love to laugh at fat people. Thousands of memes have
been created just for this form of entertainment. Comedians often play off of
this archetype, something found in even the earliest comics. A perfect example
of the funny fat archetype can be found in another classic duo: Laurel and
Hardy. One thin, one fat. The fat guy often becomes the main butt of the jokes.
Other fat and funny characters include Fat Bastard from Austin Powers, Chunk
from The Goonies, Harold from Hey Arnold, Peter and Meg from Family Guy (many
MANY fat characters appear in multiple categories), Mikey from Recess, Eric
Cartman from South Park, Homer Simpson of The Simpsons, and Miss Piggy from The
Muppet Show.
The Evil Fat Person:


And last but certainly not least is our evil fat villain. Some of
these characters provoke moral outrage, some laughs, and others sheer disgust.
It’s always easy to hate the nefarious fat person: Ursula from The Little
Mermaid, Penguin from Batman, Slug from Marvel Comics, the Queen of Hearts from
Alice in Wonderland, Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Big Dan
Teague from O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Eric Cartman from South Park (the
trifecta!), countless mob bosses (pictured here: Al Capone. Characters we create often follow suit and are larger- think Tony Soprano), fat cats, and of course, the most gluttonous
of them all, Jabba the Hut.
It’s important to note that not all stupid, funny, and evil
characters are fat; many are thin or fall somewhere in between. What is
problematic is when we see fat characters, they fall into these negative
stereotypes more often than not. Thanks to these common and prevailing tropes,
we are repulsed/ humored/angered by fat people because our reality has no other
frame of reference in which to sort them out. For the most part they are not
positively represented in the media, so when we see fat people happy, in love,
feeling worthy, achieving success, or engaging in any positive activity
. . . our brains break. A FAT PERSON WHO ISN’T MISERABLE OR TRYING TO
BECOME UN-FAT? We don’t know how to process this information. We don’t
understand. The unfamiliarity is uncomfortable. We feel confused
. . . and this often leads to mockery, anger, and yes, hate.
A simple way to start to change the way "fatties" are
represented is to take the narrative into our own hands and show the world
what’s actually real. We can take our own unscripted images and share them all
over the Internet—a tactic similar to “culture jamming,” and an effective
technique for countering fucked-up societal standards. BUT, if we want to do
something a little simpler, we can just live a visible and unapologetic life
cram-packed with fulfillment, happiness, and joy. All of these things challenge
the warped versions of fat that our world sees and offer those around us a new
paradigm in which to process larger bodies.
It’s really that straightforward, and eventually we’ll get
there. I’m hoping the rest of the world will join us soon.
(This is an excerpt from "Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls" which,
if you haven't picked up yet, well... you probably should.)
------
Like this blog? Then you'll probably love my book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls. TNOWTFG " is a manifesto and call to arms for people of all sizes and ages." Learn more here.
if you haven't picked up yet, well... you probably should.)
Want to hear me speak? I'd love to visit your campus or come to your event! You can find more info here or you can just email me at themilitantbaker at gmail.com. Cheers!
No comments