Why 'Fat' Movie Characters Made You Afraid to Gain Weight (Hear me out!!)

Hey everyone I’m Abbey Sharp welcome to Abbey’s Kitchen. In todays video, we will be talking about how popular media has shaped our society's perspective on gaining weight and society's fear and disgust with people who are "fat".

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1) The information in this video is for education and entertainment purposes only, so you should always speak to a health care provider about your unique health needs.
2) Please use this video (as with all of my review videos) as educational, not as unique recommendations.
3) Please be kind in the comments.
4) Trigger warning to those with disordered eating tendencies.
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With Science & Sass,
Xoxo Abbey

[joceeeeh]

I LOVE Devil Wears Prada, but I got traumatized when they were making fun of her for being a size 6 when I was also a size 6 like wtf. I absolutely love your videos Abbey, thank you for breaking the mold that we desperately needed.

[Miaow]

To be fair, Devil Wears Prada is showing how ridiculous and toxic the fashion world's fatphobia is.. I think it's even more insidious and harmful when characters are self-depricating about their own appearance as that sort of passes under the radar and it subconsciously affirms our own negative self-judgement

[toomuchpassion]

I view it as a huge badge of honor that I successfully made it through the 2000's and 2010's without once developing an eating disorder. And know that as a fat girl, this did not happen by accident. I had to actively fight against all the messages being thrown at me, some of them coming from my own mother, that being skinny was everything.

[DramaGeek]

I rewatched Ugly Betty recently. The show is critical of the beauty standards placed on women. In the context of the show, the scene you used is meant to demonstrate how Betty is being mistreated because her boss is being a jerk and trying to get her to quit. You aren't supposed to side with the people laughing at her. Throughout the course of the show, it's mostly the mean characters who comment on her size. Her family and friends are supportive of her and don't criticize her weight. Even when she starts to change her style to be taken more seriously, she never goes on a diet or talks about needing to lose weight. She just upgrades her clothes to a more professional wardrobe while still keeping her favorite colors and patterns. I really like Betty's arch through the series. I don't think a single scene is enough to say the show didn't age well.

[karenwatson]

I remember watching Bridget Jones and shocked how she was thought of as fat. It really affected me at the time and made me feel self conscious about my own weight. Some of the other examples you used also had resulted in same feeling. I appreciate you highlighting this issue.

[amberkeever]

Oh my gosh, as the fat friend/sister/girl (born 1985) this resonated so much. I was the only girl in our friend group not to get rated on the boy’s “hotness scale” via a sister of two of the boys because of my size. I believe it made me a better person, and when I got my hormones under control, shed a lot of weight, those same idiots all asked me out. I turned them down flatly as I was still the same person thin as I was chubby. I’m married to an amazing man who loves me as my body fluctuates, thank you PCOS and thyroid imbalance 😘 We’ve built a wonderful life and I’m thankful for the struggle because it made me realize I deserve so much more than people too stupid to see my heart can give me. Great video Abby 🫂

[jinglebats]

I hate how if someone falls in love with an overweight person in a movie (which very rarely happens) its always a story about them 'seeing past' their physical body and falling for their personality. Like nobody could ever find an overweight person physically attractive! 🙄 x

[chaaaargh]

thank you for speaking on this, you hit the nail on the head with every point. what sucks is that these tropey and stereotypical harmful portrayals are pretty prevalent in media today still, but the 90's and 2000's were on a completely different level of wrong 😭

[amandah]

I saw so many kids cartoons that used this trope growing up and it honestly really impacted me.

[diana]

I will never forget that scene when Samantha is attacked for her "gut". It's emblazoned in my memory. That's what my stomach looks like, and has always looked like, despite a low-cal high-protein diet and regular high-octane exercise. I have never shown my stomach outside my own house since I saw that, though I just now realized that I could draw a straight line to that scene. UGH.

[lisag]

Thank you so much for this video! I was fatshamed this summer 3 times, and I am a size 8. As a survivor of anorexia this got me spiralizing a bit but people like you get me back on track! Honestly thank you!

[leadpencils]

Similar to the skewed female body types labeled as fat, I'd also like to add in the very thin female body types that are protrayed as strong. Where are the broad backs, thick thighs and rippling shoulder/arm muscles on female characters that are supposed to be physically strong. Yes they are toned, but is it just coincidence that every female superhero is a "sleeper" body type? Or their power is due to some magical source of strength so that the actual actor can still be portrayed by some very thin actor? I celebrated when I saw Cara Dune in Mandalorian on screen. Finally a physically strong female character who actually looks like she could deadlift a tractor trailer and isn't there to just look hot.

[kellyreadingbooks]

I grew up as a heavier kid and still am considered obese and honestly I was terrified to watch movies like Matilda and kids tv or movies where the fat kid was portrayed as a bully or “gross”. I definitely internalized that growing up and it makes me sad to think how genuinely fearful I was as a child seeing this portrayed on tv.

[jorbearftw]

I’m LOVING the passion in this video because absolutely every point is so accurate. Thank you for the work you do, Abbey.

[sehersings]

I literally relate to this so much! Friends has always been a fav show of mine, but the way “ Fat Monica “ was portrayed had such a terrible impact on the way I viewed weight gain. I’ve been waiting for a video like this, so thank you Abbey!

[tgilbs]

This is a really interesting discussion point -- especially in reflecting how AWFUL female celebrities were treated by the "media" any time their bodies changed. A lot of body dysmorphia was spawned when people were calling Kate Winslet in Titanic fat (another example to add to the truly exhausting list!) I can't get over people literally starving themselves to try and fit into a size 2 for the sake of being able to say they're a size 2. I visited the set for Friends as a teenager and got to see, in person, the size of the couch and how the set was shaped -- it is a forced perspective set, so what looks like a normal 3-person couch on tv is actually closer in size to a 2-person love seat! I saw Stockard Channing's clothes and Courtney Cox's clothes and I was absolutely shocked at how tiny these women were. I also think when young actresses carry fat in their faces, it makes people think they are bigger on tv. And so the trend is to be as angular as possible to look as thin as possible. I think I escaped some of the body dysmorphia because I just had people, my entire life, tell me how tiny I was. People would ask me what I did to stay so "tiny" and I would just shrug and be like, genetics???? This is just how my body is???? We all come in different shapes and sizes and that is normal!

[doggo-mom]

I had never realized how big of an effect media's portrayal of bigger bodies had on my self-esteem. My journey with my weight has been a struggle because I get stuck in mindsets that I am disgusting or unworthy because I am fat. But now that you mention it, I likely adopted media portrayals as my own views of myself. It's scary how much media can affect us without us even noticing.

[craftyluna]

If you want a good (not exactly positive, but empathetic and REAL) portrayal of a fat main character, I highly recommend My Mad Fat Diary. It's a British show set in the 90s about a teen girl who is fat, and has mental health struggles, but is also smart, talented, sensitive, creative, and hilarious.

[haz.fellie]

I watch your videos while I do cardio to remind me of why I work out in the best way. Not to be skinny, but to be the best version of me!

[alexandria]

Maddie Zahm wrote a song called “Fat Funny Friend” about the way society treats large bodies and it touches on a lot of these points but also makes folks like me in larger bodies feel less alone. It’s worth a listen :)