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Lack of Positive Representation of Diverse Body Types in the Media Leads to Feelings of Insecurity, Otherization and Inferiority in Young Women

As media consumers, we likely notice what is directly in front of us more than what is missing. What we see, we take as gospel, unintentionally or not. In today’s changing world, thankfully, there is much more discussion regarding the repercussions of the lack of diversity and representation in media for members of marginalized communities such as people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and other factors. It is finally being addressed that having an all-white cast in a sitcom is an inaccurate representation of the actual ratio of white people to people of color in our country, or ten romantic comedies released in a year with only one featuring an LGBTQ+ character, and this lack of representation leads to alienation and otherization of those minority groups. However, in the year of 2019, there is still little discussion and little progress surrounding the topic of body image in film and television.

The average American woman wears a size 16. In most clothing stores, this is considered plus-sized. While it’s not possible to measure what every woman must look like simply by their dress size, it’s safe to assume that the average American woman at a size 16 does not have a completely flat stomach, completely toned arms and legs or a thigh gap. However, the vast majority of actresses in films look this way. They are manufactured images of what a woman ideally should look like, and although it can always be argued that film and television will always show the ideal, romanticized images of life, what is the harm of not showing a more realistic image, or a more realistic woman?

Marymount Manhattan student Tracey Brooks was not a stick figure growing up, but like most young women, she always felt the pressure to become one. “I genuinely thought I was obese, when in reality I was maybe only a little overweight for my height and age,” Brooks says in regards to the way she perceived her body and weight based on assumptions she drew through what she saw in the media. “Seeing skinny, beautiful girls everywhere I looked on TV and films made me feel like my body was wrong.”

For many young American girls, seeing only one body type represented in the media can lead to feelings of insecurity and inferiority. Never seeing someone that looks like yourself can send the subconscious message that you do not belong or that you are outside of what is considered acceptable or considered the norm. “As a young girl, I always wanted to be as pretty and skinny as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, or Jamie Lynn Spears. I thought that the boys in my school would only like me if I looked the way that they did,” says Brooks. She claims that growing up, she never saw a girl or a woman on TV that looked like her, and that fact has not changed since her childhood. “I don't actually recall seeing someone that looked like me. I typically watched Disney or Nickelodeon shows (Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Zoey 101, etc) and all of the main characters on these shows were absolutely tiny. After transitioning to more ‘adult’ television shows such as Friends and How I Met Your Mother,  all of those main characters were super skinny as well.”

Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez were the reigning teen queens of the late 2000′s. They all had the same body type. (PHOTO: K MAZUR/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES.)

It would be inaccurate to say that there are never larger-sized women in the media, but a lack of positive representation is just as detrimental as a lack of representation in general. Many of the curvier or plus-sized women in television and film have had their weight made the subject of negative discussion or even the butt of a joke. Brooks says that the “Fat Monica” joke on Friends has stuck with her throughout these years. “The main thing I can think of in this instance is the whole Fat Monica on the TV show Friends. The whole series of the show, Fat Monica is talked about but one scene in particular always stood out. In a video of Monica and Rachel's prom, Monica was ‘fat’ and everyone laughed at her appearance. Then Monica says, ‘Oh shut up, the camera adds ten pounds.’ and Chandler replies, ‘How many cameras are actually on you?’ Which makes her weight the butt of the joke, as it always was when Fat Monica was ever brought up in the series.”

Monica from Friends (PHOTO: WARNER BROS)

There was never a positive resolution to Monica’s shame and past insecurity about how she used to look. No character ever refuted her self-deprecating comments about her past appearance or told her that she was still beautiful or valuable or important before, despite how she looked. Monica’s past regarding her weight and size was only ever used as a punchline. What may seem like an innocent recurring joke in the media to some can feel like an unspoken truth to others, a message coming through your television screen that says your body is a joke, you are a joke, and you will be one until you lose weight like Monica did.

There has been a handful of diverse body types in film and television in the past decade, but the vast majority of female actors are still very thin. Brooks points out that the films that do star average-sized women are usually comedies, rather than intense dramas or romances. “Most shows or films want to cast the skinny, beautiful star that everyone knows because they know people will want to watch that. They know that skinny sells. However, there are a few films that show the average woman as the star, such as films with Rebel Wilson or Amy Schumer, but they are almost always a comedy about how miserable the woman is and how she decides to change herself in the film. So in most cases, even if there is an average looking woman, they are never viewed as average. They're viewed as big or the ‘funny one.’”

Brooks is optimistic that things are changing slowly, at least. There are a handful of famous plus-sized actresses now, and films such as Netflix’s Dumplin’ feature a positive portrayal of a woman outside the “ideal body type” of being thin. “I think it is getting better. People are beginning to talk about it more, forcing more of a change in the industry. I don't think it’s anywhere close to what it should be, but they are taking steps in the right direction in most scenarios,” states Brooks.

Netflix’s new film Dumplin’ features a young plus-sized protagonist that does not lose weight as a resolution to her insecurity. (PHOTO: NETFLIX)

When asked what kind of woman she would like to see in film/television and what kind of woman she could relate to, Brooks replied: “I would love to see someone who has thighs that rub together at the top. Someone without a perfectly flat stomach, or perfectly toned arms.” When put that way, it seems like a simple request. Most American women look this way. So, the question we have to keep asking the media is, why don’t the women in television/film?