I'm pretty sure you've heard by now about Maura Kelly, a Marie Claire blogger who blogged about discomfort while watching intimacy between overweight actors on TV, stating that she'd be "grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other." Maura was following up on this CNN article voicing many of the same criticisms.
Many critics of Maura's blog post were upset by the "hateful" nature of the comments and claimed that articles like this promote "weightism" (discrimination based on weight).
I began to think...
Do TV shows like this promote being overweight or are they just showing us a normal part of today's society?
Do obese actors give children (especially girls) a healthier alternative to the pin thin models we see in magazines?
Do you see "Weightism" as a form of discrimination in America today the same as racism or ageism?
Do obese actors give children (especially girls) a healthier alternative to the pin thin models we see in magazines?
Do you see "Weightism" as a form of discrimination in America today the same as racism or ageism?
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I think that the comments were a bit much. I think that is was offensive. I do not think that obese and overweight or underweight actress/actors give young people a positive image. I think that kids should see healthy images to gain self confidence. I do think that people are discriminating against people that are overweight. I think that employers sometimes think that the person might be lazy. I don't agree with discrimination of any form.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be comfortable watching anyone be intimate. Skinny or fat.
ReplyDeleteI think that show is hilarious! The whole premise is that these two people don't want to be fat and meet each other in an Over Eaters Anonymous meeting. I think it's nice to see the bigger girl get the guy because so many movies make the big girl to be every guys best friend. In my opinion, skinny or fat, everyone deserves to find love.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with "A Pretty Pastime" I would NOT be okay watching anyone be intimate--skinny or fat!
what do overweight people think? That's what I'd like to hear.
ReplyDeleteI'm not nearly as big as the actress in this show, but I have struggled with my weight since I was 14.
ReplyDeleteI have some friends that obsess over every single pound and struggle so hard to maintain the weight they were in high school.
I don't advocate being HUGELY overweight. But a few pounds isn't a death sentence nor is it going to really even change the way people interact with you on a daily basis. I try to remind my friends and the younger girls in my life that I have all the same things in life as a skinny person- a husband (who doesn't "suggest" I need to go to the gym 2 weeks after giving birth like my friend's husband), tons of friends, beautiful kids, etc.
I don't think any young people are going to look at the images of these two people and think "gosh I want to look like that!"- but I think that some young people might look at the show and say "hey,those people managed to find jobs in Hollywood of all places- maybe I can fulfill my dreams too".
I found this woman's comments very offensive and discrimitive. I think these actors are hillarious in everything i have seen them in and it should not matter what weight they are. We have every sort of person kissing on tv these days, blacks, whites, gays, lesbians, fat people and thin. I dont know why she chose to blog about the fat people. It is comments like these that give our kids self image issues. I notice someone above said seeing obese people are going to give kids a bad image but i do not agree with that at all. I do not think seeing a fat person is going to make someone overeat and gain weight but i do think if they have metabolism issues and can't lose weight as quickly they will not be as down on themselves if they see even the rich anf famous have weight issues and thats okay. Maybe they won't get an eating dissorder because the world is telling them they HAVE to be skinny. BTW this post is coming from an extremely overweight person who has an extremely hot athleticly built husband and 3 extremely beautiful kids. And those 3 kids i am teaching to love themselves no matter what and to love others no matter what they look like because God has made each of us an individual with our own colors, bodies and minds.
ReplyDeleteForgot to add, this really boils down to the actress, not the actor. Overweight men have been on plenty of shows for years- usually with a young, pretty, skinny wife. No one was freaking out over that.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read the original article, but I have been hearing the discussion about it. I don't watch that show. I think they're putting on shows featuring all kinds of different people in our society. People will watch what they like and TV capitalism will sort it out. I do think those super skinny models like the one you pictured above need to be banned from all media. That sends the wrong message entirely.
ReplyDeleteI am very overweight like the woman in the picture. It is not a choice! I have been overweight since I was a very small child. Years of trying to loose that weight later, I am comfortable with who I am. We are not ment to be cookie cutters of each other. I am VERY offended by society's belief that it is O.K. to make fun of "fat" people. We would never laugh at a person who is disfigured in any other way would we? Or someone unattractive or very very thin? Why is it O.K. to laugh at the obese? It is hurtful! It is simply wrong. I have learned that people think I'm lazy (I'm not) or a slob(I'm not). People who would never let their children make fun of a disabled person, don't bat an eye when their children mock an overweight one. We MUST teach our kids to be kind to everyone. Don't "fat" people deserve to love and be loved? Don't we deserve to be treated with dignity just as every other human being? I have 3 beautiful, healthy, athletic children who love me unconditionaly and a husband who thinks I am beautiful. My children are kind and compassionate because they have seen the way others are treated. They seek out the "different" kids and make them their friends. Maybe it's not about self image as much as about teaching our children that everyone is valuable and we all have a place in this world. It is not O.K. to laugh at anyone. Ever.
ReplyDeleteJuliecache - For an overweight person's perspective you can ready my post I'm Fat and I'm Fabulous or you can check out the Blogger Body Calendar website for links to several posts that wrote about the topic.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, there is definitely weight discrimination. If you were overweight you wouldn't even have to ask.
I had a friend in school who was big. Her parents were big. Her grandparents were big. They were an active family, involved in everything from music to swimming and soccer, and nobody overate or ate badly. They were just big people. Does that mean that they didn't have a right to exist? Or did they owe a minimum amount of weight loss, or a constant and visible effort to lose weight, to the world as rent for being here?
ReplyDeleteI wish that nobody's weight, whatever the number, was a matter of public concern. I wish that being the size you are didn't give your coworkers the right to comment on what you're having or not having for lunch. I wish that someone yelling at a stranger on the street that she should go back to the barn, or that she must have left her (curvy parts) at home, resulted in someone other than her being upset. And I wish that "healthy" and "skinny" were not treated as synonymous terms when they aren't, never have been, and never will be.
I think children should learn that people come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors, wardrobe styles, etc, and that people can't be classified as good or bad based on how they look. Or, rather, they should never be taught otherwise.
I would never dream of being mean to somebody based on their weight or appearance. And acting like people who are fat should not kiss each other, or like it's disgusting when it does happen, is not a very kind approach. That being said, I do admire people who make an effort to keep themselves healthy and in shape. It shows a certain amount of self-respect and discipline. A person has the right to live their life as they please, but I think it's important to take good care of your body, no matter what your body type is.
ReplyDeleteI have never been thin, like the above model...thank God...but I have never been fat either...until now.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I had surgery, radioactive iodine, radiation, and numerous meds. However, I am now overweight. I am not obese, but my body knows it is carrying some extra baggage.
I probably could run it off, but with NO thyroid...my body doesn't want to do the things it did once upon a time. I am only 37, but feel 55 at times.
The problem I have with this whole issue is that most doctors will tell you, "You are who you are"...weight is genetic. The only way to fix it is to make LIFE choices.
Society discriminates against fat people and we're ignoring the problem if we say it does not.
About the show, not a fan of it, but I like the 2 people on it. They seem funny!
I don't know the show, I don't know the actors. But I respect them for what they do: Entertain, No matter if thy are skinny or big.
ReplyDeleteWe have a show here in Germany, where normal people get help, who don't look like the average people you see on TV.
They are fat, their bellies are big and their butts are hanging, they have teeth everywhere but not in a row, their ears stand far away from their heads or the nose is too big.
These peolpe do get surgery help. And a beauty make up. And are then told: Now you will be loved, will be successful and everybody will listen to you!
But hey: It's just the outside what changed.
What does that mean to children? If I'm not as perfectly shaped as a supermodel noone will recognize or love me?
What I want to say: No matter what you look like, people should judge about what you do, not what your body is.
I can loose wheight, but a studid, discriminating person can't change his or her mind.
I was that big and now I am not. I know how hateful people feel free to be to a fat person. I am the fat girl who got the guy and the dream job! I lost the weight for my health and not because of what people think. And really, you would rather have that hatefull bag of bones be a role model to your kids? or one of those pro athletes who is arrested every other week for assault or drugs? I think Mike and Molly is hilarious and it doesn't bother me to see them kissing. I don't want to see ANYONE getting intimate on prime time. Got that Hollywood? To the modelin the picture- put some pants on, skeletor, that's just as nasty as somebody's naked muffin top in Wal-mart!!!
ReplyDelete^So it's okay to be nasty to skinny people but not fat people? Hmmm.
ReplyDelete