Feb 07 2009
Rant–TV stereotypes on fat people
Okay, so I’m switching it up today and making a post not about the Milton project. Information on that project can be found here
this post has a link to the script in it.
Anyway onto my non-related post.
Warning: Rant time.
Why do the makers of television shows think that all fat people are desperate? Especially fat people in high school? I know that most high schoolers, being teenagers, tend towards angst and issues. The fat ones aren’t immune to this. However, they really aren’t any more angst or issue ridden than any other teenagers. Speaking from experience here.
It just really pisses me off the number of jokes that that seem to insinuate that a fat person will fall all over a guy just because he says ‘hi’ to her. That does not happen in real life…unless the girl has other issues. Or the guy is Mathieu Almaric, but that’s something else all together.
Just because someone is fat doesn’t mean they lack self esteem. It doesn’t mean they don’t have standards. And, no, they aren’t going to be “easy to get”, at least no more than any other girl. Sorry guys.
I’ve seen several episodes on various TV shows where the plot goes like this: Jock plays trick on fat girl by pretending to like her and then ridicules her.
First thing, not everyone likes you jocks. No, all girls don’t want to be with you. Some girls are turned on by goths, some by nerds, some by smart dudes, some by artsy guys, some by hippies, some by just-about-any-type-of-person-you-can-think-of. I really find it hard to believe a fat person would be interested in a jock to begin with. Jocks are obsessed with sports, hence why they are jocks. How many fat people do you know that like sports? Think about it.
I know, the rational for the plot line is that jocks are hot. People are attracted to each other on looks. However, they are also attracted to each other on personality. So, I’m sorry Mr. Jock, there are plenty of girls out there that don’t care you exist, no matter how hot you are.
Second thing, fat girls are no more obsessed with sex than anyone else. Do they get less attention than most girls? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean they are going to go to bed with some guy they don’t know just because he asked. It’s like the writers of these shows think it’s perfectly normal for a fat person to have no standards when it comes to males.
It seems every time I see a fat character on TV (with the exception of Meme) they are doing something stupid to get someone to sleep with them. Granted, it might be because you never see fat characters on TV. So, when you do see one, they are only fat to serve the plot. They can’t be just some normal character like most real fat people are.
Whatever the reason, this is the stupidest stereotype ever made. Anyone who believes it needs to be hit in the head with a sledgehammer.
Hiya, I am doing a paper on under representation of fat women. will you be able to give me a list of the shows which demean fat characters?
@zai
Hello. Well they were episodes on shows, not so much shows in their entirety. One was on Two and Half Men…which I guess is really to be expected noting the flavor of the main character of that show. Really the rant is not as founded as I thought at the time I was writing it.
There was also an episode on, I believe was, Cold Case. Pretty sure it was cold case. That was the episod in which the main character, whose depressed cause she’s really pudgey, gets down with some jock within like an hour of meeting him. He then demeans her later–his friends come in while their in the middle of sex and ring cow bells. It kind of portrayed her as a little desperate as to get with this guy who was obviously sketchy, with emphasis on her desperation being because she was a little fat.
Oh and there was a joke I remember in the movie Sideways, where the character Jack says he’s looking to get laid and hopes to get a fat chick because they are easy and usually happy just from him paying them any attention at all. Of course that really tells you more about Jack’s character than anything eles.