Although the presence of “overweight” women in Hollywood has increased over the past few years, a majority of their appearances have been limited to comedic roles where “fat jokes” are rampant. This is considered ok because it is not an outside party, but rather the overweight woman who takes on the burden of humorously drawing attention to her weight. This enables the audience to be entertained guilt free and allows Hollywood to do what it does best. Make something that is not ok, ok after all.
Overweight women are portrayed as comedians anxiously waiting to make you laugh at their own expense. Characters who don such nicknames as, “Fat Amy” creates a message that the way to show confidence is not by standing up for yourself, but by putting yourself down. Overweight women are also conveyed as slobs who eat too much, swear too much, and have manners that are less than ladylike. This implies that overweight women lack a sense of femininity that only skinny women seem to possess. These misconceptions suggest that overweight women lack both the depth to engage in intellectual conversations and the capability to act respectably.
Just as much as there are stereotypes for success, there are also stereotypes for failure, and being an overweight woman has unfortunately been placed in the category of failure. These negative portrayals convince overweight women that the only way they can function or be accepted in society is to either limit themselves to the degrading constraints placed on them by the media, or lose weight.
When I see people like Fat Amy in movies, I always ask myself, "how would I feel knowing the only reason I got cast in this film is, because I am fat?" almost every comedy these days whether it be a movie or a TV series has the over weight women that makes jokes. It's becoming more and more prevalent.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It's truly degrading the types of roles they give larger women (and even men) in movies. People like Fat Amy could never be taken seriously because of how they are portrayed and in a way it puts an even more harmful label on those that are overweight.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, because this is so prevalent in the media, but in reality, I don't think I've ever met an over weight woman that has fit this single story.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting how people expect overweight women to be funny just because they are overweight. I can't say though that I haven't been guilty of this. It is hard for me to imagine "fat Amy" being in a dramatic romantic movie like the Notebook.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome topic! Although I hadn't thought of it before, I found myself agreeing with so many things from your post. It definitely is a prevalent stereotype. Although I believe it is often exaggerated, I think the message is definitely not a good one!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic that I haven't thought of before.
ReplyDeleteOverweight women are just like skinny women. They experience the same emotions, they live the same lives, they go to the same schools. Your size doesn't determine your personality.
ReplyDeleteI hate how the media obsesses over super skinny women or overweight women. Where are the average size women? I understand that it's good to love your body, but it's hard to when they don't represent what most women look like. And when they make all these shows about these overweight women they are never in the greatest light. They are rude, sloppy, and loud. They seem to make the point that overweight women have to act like Fat Amy in order to be successful. I haven't met anyone like her and I don't think it is something anyone should aspire to be. Yes she is funny and it is great she is accepting of who she is, but we also need to realize that they can take on different roles in life that do not depend on their size.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad as well to hear the single story of women that fit this group. It also makes me sad when the women involved in this group feed the fire, so to speak. We need some good examples of those who fit the mold of this group, but who speak up for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about this before, but it's interesting because it's true! The overweight women who are in the movies are almost always comedians who are making fun of their own weight. I agree with the statement above that these women are feeding the fire, making it seem ok to crack jokes, but in reality, it can be very hurtful because not all overweight women think its funny.
ReplyDelete