ABC News took on reality television's recent focus on exploiting larger women like the show Samhita recently reviewed, "More to Love" and decided to talk to her about it some more! Here are some thoughts Samhita gave the author:
To Feministing editor Mukhopadhyay, that perpetuates the impression that these women are to be pitied and fetishized for their size."On one level, it's good to have more images of larger women on TV because that act alone changes the way we look at people," she said. "But so many of them have low self-esteem, they're self-loathing, they talk about how no one loves them. It becomes this sort of spectacle. You really do wonder if all the stereotypes you've heard of fat people are true. On that level I do think it's exploitive."
Damn straight. Check out the whole piece.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: On "fatsploitation" .
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/15603
I liked the article, but I wish there had been more commentary on how the majority of these reality television shows with fat people are about weight loss, usually in a disturbingly unrealistic Horatio Alger style--furthering the expectations that 1)everybody should be thin/nobody should be fat and that 2)everybody can be thin/nobody has to be fat.
And 3) all fat people are focused on one aspect of their health: their weight.
It's not about mental health, it's not about eating right, it's not about sexual health, it's not about emotional health, it's not about exercising more: it's about losing weight.
"You are not fit until you can fit into X size jeans: I don't care if you can run twenty miles more than a woman who wears size X. You're still not fit."
I guess three's a subset of fat people being defined exclusively by their body size to the exclusion of all other characteristics. (Though I think this interpretation is touched on by the article.)
Anecdotally: A friend who went to a therapist for PTSD treatment instead received a lecture on being too fat. Not kidding.
Looking at the video on the prior post, all those women are georgous, period, end of sentence.
Yes, there might be "more to love" compared to the usual "reality" TV shows but the size of those women on More to Love is prefectly fine.
It sure would have been nice to see this titled something different, not focusing on that they have "more to love", and still have the same women on it.
As commenter above stated, shows featuring "fat" people are based on weight loss, and "More to Love" is focusing on one more aspect of fat stereotyping - that fat women only want love and they have the damnedest time finding it.
Never mind that the average woman in America "is a size 14", so all the thin people we see on TV represent a shrinking percentage of the population.
Never mind then, that these women actually represent the Average American and the show should be titled appropriately: "An Average Love Affair" or something. Size 10's and up have just as much success in love as size 10's and unders, so I don't know why they're focusing on these ladies' desire to "find someone to just love me".
It's like after exhausting every dating show idea over the years, they were like "Oh, fat people! A new dimension on dating".
Disgusting.
To be fair (and because it's a pet peeve), the statistic saying that the "average" woman is a size 14 is misleading. The mean size of women in the US is a size 14-ish, but the median is somewhere around a size 8. Still much bigger than the girls we see on ANTM and the like. It all depends on how you define average.
/rant
YO! I think you are missing the point. Whatever the average size of women is, that is of no concern. 14 or 14ish is totally irrelevant. The fact is that the size of average female is not 0 or 2.
I just love categorizing women into number groups because women are things not people.
On a scale of 1-10, my argument is off the charts!
They did say that it was a "pet peeve" and not the main crux of your argument.
I really don't understand the obsession with fatness in the US. I grew up in Europe, and I think people here in America are so offended by fat people that the mere mention of it drives people crazy.
I will admit my prejudice that I don't think I would ever date a fat person. At the same time, I am also prejudiced against people who smoke; and I wouldn't date them either.
We are not surprised that smoking is harmful to our health, so why is the choice to be fat (or the choice to ignore one's health) any better and a protected issue?
Bear in mind that being overweight is not the same as being unfit. Smoking actively destroys health, whereas carrying extra weight around doesn't necessarily.
It's a fine line to draw, between wanting someone to be healthy because, to you, they LOOK unhealthy (and considering "you" rarely refers to someone with a medical degree, this isn't always the best assessment, although it is true that a close friend will know someone's eating and exercise habits better than a doctor, usually) and shaming them into feeling as though they have done something wrong by continuing to be fat and worse, shaming them into an eating disorder. We're really good at shame and guilt here in America, so unfortunately the balance is tipped much more strongly to that side of the line, which is why people tend to push back more strongly that way.
Nice work, Samhita!
I've been watching this program (yeah, I'm bored) and have been really disappointed. The problem I have is with the "bachelor." His commentary is always 1. he likes full-figured women and 2. He will give these women a chance to enjoy what they haven't got to experience because of their size--for example, a first date, a prom, sitting by the pool in a swimsuit, etc.
Yes, this is a huge stereotype. Many women above a size 14 go on dates, to pools, to proms etc. The world would stop spinning if every woman who is overweight stopped participating in life. Yes,I'm sure some women have bee discriminated against because of their weight BUT the majority of women aren't siz 2 or 4 and somehow mange to have a social life. So, to a large extent, this show is promoting a stereotype.
Also, the programs promotes the idea that large men are confident, atheletic, and socially acceptable. The bachelor seems comfortable in his skin but the women are portrayed as victims. and only the man, through his acceptance of her body, can redeem her. Again, a stereotype.
I would prefer that all the reality shows incorporate women that are bigger than size 2. We see men of all sizes (think about naked Richard Hatch on Survivor--only thin after a diet of rice and fish did he slim down).
What bothers me more than the issue of acceptance vs exploitation is the fact that the premise of 'More to Love' suggests that average or overweight women should only be with average or overweight men. Clearly no skinny guy would *ever* want to be with a bigger-than-size-4 woman or vice versa. Also, the underlying suggestion is that most women cannot compete with the skinny set for affection; they have to be restricted to their own category to have a chance. Exposure is one thing, but isolation and categorization are quite another.
That's it! You articulated what I've been bothered by and couldn't fully express. If these women are truly beautiful and deserving of love as much as the rest, put them on the The Bachelor, then, instead of sloughing them off to their own show. And on the bachelor of MTL himself, yep - does indeed suggest that large ladies can't be with men that aren't simiarly large themselves.
Also, I can understand a bachelor expressing a preference for certain physical traits, and being attracted to those contestants with them. He likes bigger women, so the show features bigger women. But as Samhita said, there's a definite fetishization just by having a show featuring people grouped together by a single quality. I think it's safe to say people would be (rightfully) horribly offended if the following like-modeled shows were aired: "The Bachelor and His Blondes," "The Biggest Honker," "Amputee Love," or "Little Love: Midget and Dwarf Edition!" Fetishization of these types would likely immediately launch a backlash of, "Are you kidding me?!" But for some reason, too many people have bought into the fat-people-are-pathetic stereotype that they see this show ONLY as a way to "give those poor girls a chance." It IS great to see women that aren't stick thin on the air, but not if they're going to be treated as spectacles and not HUMAN BEINGS!
Oh my goodness, where to begin on this one?
I never fully understand dating show premises wherein someone searching for a committed relationship makes out with thirty potential partners one right after another kinda undermines the whole point, doesn't it?
What is up with the bachelor guy in this show? Why is he so desirable? I just don't get it. I suspect that most straight men in their twenties would tell a random woman whatever she's so attractive in hopes of sealin the deal.
Another thing is that the emphasis is continually: the contestants are pretty precisely because their "curves" are IN THE "RIGHT" areas!! I just loathe this statement. As if these are beautiful women even though they're fat because their fat is located within their TITS AND ASS! Which is to say, objects upon objects.
I saw the episode this week and I wanted to note that when the gal Heather wins the princess date surprise and the marvelous brunette thin hostess leads Heather into a room lined with prom/bridesmaid dresses, the hostess slowly enunciates in stripper/babytalk to the winner, "You can pick any one you want." I was floored! I guess skinny hostess lady believes the stereotype: FAT+WOMAN=borderline retarded, slow, stupid, lazy et c.
Like many women, I long to see more regular gals on television, so I have been tuned in to the new lifetime FEEL-GOOD show "drop dead diva" The main character was a model hot blonde who is reincarnated into a beautiful super smart lawyer size 16. It is charming and funny plus it has Marg Cho!
"What is up with the bachelor guy in this show? Why is he so desirable?"
Because he's on TV, and that's what matters.
Tabitha, I totally agree. That was one of my first thoughts actually when I read the article. Does no one wonder why these women are very attractive, and he is only average looking? Or maybe that goes back to the stereotype that since men are more visual they have to pick a women who is extremely attractive. Whereas women are willing to settle for someone who is not, because beautiful men have shitty personalities? Sorry I'm ranting. But I really do hate that. It's very irritating.
And within the context of this conversation, it's even worse. Just based on personal observation, I have seen plentyyyy of "thin" women with overweight, or larger men, but rarely ever the other way around. Especially here in Canada. And if I ever do get a compliment from a a guy it is prefaced with my size.. almost like a disclaimer, "You're the most beautiful big girl I've ever met."
Should that be taken as a compliment? I don't say that to men. You're the nicest/handsomest/cutest big guy I've ever met. WTF? They are who they are. I don't get why non-skinny women are always judged on their looks first, when men are sized up based on their personality, and accomplishments.
Samhita, your comments made the article! I was so happy to see the much-needed perspective in there from you.
Awesome job!
One thing that bugs me in discussions about fatness is when a few guys pop up and say, "Well, I think fat women are HOT." Because it reminds me of a former friend who was really into fat women and always told me I should gain weight because he really liked fat women. Dude, it's not about you.
I feel lots of mixed emotions when it comes to chubbychasers, the same way I do when I see people who prefer to date disabled people. It's different from other fetishes because of the power play involved, so I get very cynical about it. Not to mention that it's reducing people to one feature of their body and ignoring the fact that a person is a PERSON. I don't know. I guess I just can't get it out of my mind that a guy who fetishizes fat women or disabled women (and I use male-->female because this is what I see most commonly) is doing so because he perceives them as having lower self-respect and therefore they'll be more desperate and eager to please him. Which is not necessarily the case in other fetishes except where the "exotic" fetish goes into the whole "mail order bride" thing.
In general, I like reality TV (and I think it's pretty narrow-minded to sweepingly bash it all, which I see a lot), but I don't like this kind of show. And especially if it's of this nature ... it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even if they were just picking from a dating pool of a variety of sizes--I don't care who they chose in the end--it would sit a little better with me although the dating/marriage types of shows strike me as messing with people far more than is necessary.
Oh well. C'est la vie.
Ummm, although I think I understand your point, I don't think you mean that men who like a little thickness in the women he prefers is akin to men who go for differently abled...do you? In other words, I hope you are not saying that fuller figured ladies are handicapped? Are you? I sure hope that is not the case...
Another thing is that I don't know how I feel about the term "CHUBBYCHASER" >>>Sounds derogatory.
I know people have certain types that they are attracted to and everything, but as a general rule (hetero) men like women. Women tend to be softer. (Though, I am not positive on the average measurements...) I am confused as to how this is considered a fetish? Are all men fetishists?
There's a difference between a preference and a fetish, in that someone with a fetish (correct me if I'm wrong) is turned on by the actual characteristic and not a person with the characteristic. For example, a man might have a preference for fat women because they find those women attractive or they are fat themselves, whereas a person with a fat fetish is actually turned on by the idea of fatness, and of someone being fat. Does that make sense?
"Just based on personal observation, I have seen plentyyyy of "thin" women with overweight, or larger men, but rarely ever the other way around. Especially here in Canada."
I'm a fat girl in Canada with a thin boyfriend and you would NOT BELIEVE THE STARES.
*rolls eyes* That was supposed to be a reply to PatriarchySlayer.
Instead of a Special Dating Show for heavier ladies, how about ladies of all sizes (and men too) on ANY dating show. That's progressive, not giving larger people a special show and posting their weight when they are introduced. How is that progress??