Weight Bias In The Media Analysis
David Croteau and William Hoynes (2014) authors of Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences (2014) challenged their readers when they asked this thought provoking question: “how do media representations of the social world compare to the external ‘real’ world?” It is a fact that creators of media content have often reproduced the inequalities that exist in society based on race, gender, and social orientation. It is also fair to say that these creators have also been reproducing the inequalities based on weight. The purpose of this essay is to examine the portrayal of obesity in mainstream media and discuss whether or not it reflects the realities that make up the social world.
Obesity has been an ongoing epidemic in the United States. …show more content…
Heuer, MPH (n.d.) attempts to document “weight bias in the media”. In a study that analyzed prime time television and movies, they found that obese female characters are constantly being teased and mocked by the male characters. They were also shown as overindulging in unhealthy foods and deemed too unattractive to be involved in any romantic relationships. To illustrate this, Heuer (n.d.) uses the popular sitcom ‘Friends’ as a prominent example of these female stereotypes. When the particular character of Monica is ‘thin’ she is attractive and lovable, but when she is dressed in a fat suit, she becomes “Fat Monica” and is portrayed as gross, insecure, and will eat whatever you put in front of her (Heuer, …show more content…
According to sociology professor Samantha Kwan (2009), it's because of the rise and use of the BMI that the media has been greatly overstating the rise of the condition (Kwan, 2009). Through her research, Kwan’s main goal is to get audiences to understand that the American perception of ‘obesity’ has competing cultural meanings about what is considered a ‘fat body’. Kwan went on to state that: “fat does not, in itself, signify unhealthy and unattractive. These are cultural constructions. We as a society say what it means to be fat, and right now cultural discourses say it’s ugly and unhealthy to be fat” (Kwan,
Obesity has been an ongoing epidemic in the United States. …show more content…
Heuer, MPH (n.d.) attempts to document “weight bias in the media”. In a study that analyzed prime time television and movies, they found that obese female characters are constantly being teased and mocked by the male characters. They were also shown as overindulging in unhealthy foods and deemed too unattractive to be involved in any romantic relationships. To illustrate this, Heuer (n.d.) uses the popular sitcom ‘Friends’ as a prominent example of these female stereotypes. When the particular character of Monica is ‘thin’ she is attractive and lovable, but when she is dressed in a fat suit, she becomes “Fat Monica” and is portrayed as gross, insecure, and will eat whatever you put in front of her (Heuer, …show more content…
According to sociology professor Samantha Kwan (2009), it's because of the rise and use of the BMI that the media has been greatly overstating the rise of the condition (Kwan, 2009). Through her research, Kwan’s main goal is to get audiences to understand that the American perception of ‘obesity’ has competing cultural meanings about what is considered a ‘fat body’. Kwan went on to state that: “fat does not, in itself, signify unhealthy and unattractive. These are cultural constructions. We as a society say what it means to be fat, and right now cultural discourses say it’s ugly and unhealthy to be fat” (Kwan,