Fat and successful? The horrors!!

30th June 2009

Fat and successful? The horrors!!

posted in Fat Bias, Personal, Pop Culture |

Quick — name a famous fat celebrity who isn’t famous just for being fat. Who comes to mind? Oprah? Queen Latifah? Rosie O’Donnell? Beth Ditto? Now, name a famous thin celebrity. Too many to list? Exactly.

Try telling that to Michael McMahon, a so-called “obesity expert” who’s accusing the meager numbers of fat celebrities of proving that it’s possible to be, get this… fat AND successful. Oh, the horrors! Reports the British Daily Mail:

Chubby celebrities are stoking the obesity crisis by proving it is possible to be fat and famous, doctors have warned.

Professor McMahon, of the Nuffield Health private healthcare chain, said: ‘The increasing profile of larger celebrities means that being overweight is now perceived as being ‘normal’ in the eyes of the public.

‘We talk about the dangers of skinny media images but the problem actually swings both ways.’*

Oh, really? Maybe British culture is some kind of industrial anomaly and the media there is just busting at the seams with accomplished fat celebs, but here in the U.S., there are few fat folk in television and film with virtually none of them in leading roles and many pigeonholed into stereotypical portrayals of gluttony and sloth. The accomplishments of even the most successful fat celebs are also often overshadowed by media scrutiny of their weights and bodies. Beth Ditto, for example, has become quite the successful tour de force, but the focus of any media piece on her is usually on her weight, not on her music or talents itself.

So, is there really a fat hijacking of the media? Will the entire advertising industry buckle under the weight (no pun intended) of allowing fat people representation and a modicum of self-esteem? Not likely. Let’s review the numbers. According to one recent study of fat stigmatization in television and film:

More recently, Greenberg and colleagues examined 56 different television series from 1999 to 2000 (29). They found that thin women were over-represented (5% of women in American culture are underweight, although a third of television characters are underweight), while 24% of male characters and 13% of female characters were overweight or obese. Heavier characters were more likely to be in minor roles, were less likely to be involved in romantic relationships, had fewer positive interactions than thin characters, and were often the objects of humor

…Herbozo and colleagues (30) found that obesity was equated with negative traits (evil, unattractive, unfriendly, cruel) in 64% of the most popular children’s videos. In 72% of the videos, characters with thin bodies had desirable traits, such as kindness or happiness.

Associating fatness with negative traits certainly exacts its own social toll, but the deliberate exclusion of any group of people can be just as harmful. It’s long been argued that the color-barrier to television and film perpetuates racial bias and promotes physo-social feelings of exclusion amongst minorities. Excluding fat people from media representations or portraying them in demeaning representations only serves to breed similar kinds of cultural prejudice and personal dissatisfaction. Fat people exist and they have much more to offer the world than the butt of sizeist jokes. Just where would the world be today without the contributions of Alfred Hitchcock, Rosemary Clooney, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Luciano Pavarotti, Marlon Brando, Lou Costello, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Divine, and perhaps the most famous fattie of them all, Santa Claus?

I don’t know what people object to most — the fact that fat people can be fat and successful, or that they exist at all.

* I’m sure that the fact that Nuffield Health and McMahon both have thriving bariatric surgery practices has absolutely nothing to do with McMahon’s comments. Nope, no self-serving interests there.

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1 On June 30th, 2009, Alyssa (The 39 year-old) said:

As the folks at ShapelyProse might say, it’s probably because they’re pissed at fat people who continue to be fat at them.
Biased people will come up with many convenient excuses to remain biased. Fat is “unhealthy,” and they’re just “concerned” for your health! Homosexuality is a “sin,” and they’re just “concerned” for your soul!
The reality is they hate what they fear, and want to get rid of it and the people who continue being fat, or gay, or what have you, at them.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 4:47 pm

2 On June 30th, 2009, vesta44 said:

McMahon is an obesity expert simply because he does laparoscopic WLS and of course he doesn’t like the fact that fat celebrities exist. If people begin to accept that bodies come in all shapes and sizes, then he’s going to lose a lot of income. Maude forbid that should happen, we should all hate our bodies and go to him so he can butcher our insides so our outsides conform to his “ideal”, which certainly isn’t a diversity of body sizes/shapes. He wants us all to fit one cookie-cutter mold, and he’ll happily cut us apart and sew us back together, regardless of whether it actually works or not, regardless of complications, just so we can try to meet that mold (and if we don’t, then it’s not the fault of the surgery, it’s our fault for not following the “rules”).

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 4:58 pm

3 On June 30th, 2009, Rachel said:

Did you catch the “guidelines” referenced in the story about how people with BMIs of 40 and above should have lap band surgery even if they don’t have any (presumed to be) weight-related adverse health problems? For a 5-foot-3-inch woman, that means she’d be eligible to go under the knife at just 226-pounds, which is, as memory serves me, about a size 18. The article doesn’t make clear if these are national guidelines set forth by the British government or guidelines issued by Nuffield. In either case, I find them extremely disturbing.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 5:06 pm

4 On June 30th, 2009, spoonfork38 said:

Oh, Holy Cow.

Alyssa nailed it—I can’t add anything else but emphasizing epithets.

Except that this is the kind of whining I’ve come to expect from the losing side of a long debate . . . odd, isn’t it?

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

5 On June 30th, 2009, JupiterPluvius said:

I can think of a lot more fat MALE celebrities than fat female celebrities.

As Margaret Cho says, “They cancelled my show because I was ‘too fat’ and then replaced me with Drew Carey. Because he’s so slim!”

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 5:55 pm

6 On June 30th, 2009, Sally said:

I am just so glad you responded to this! Thankfully someone with an intelligent response to that article!

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 5:57 pm

7 On June 30th, 2009, Lucy said:

This is inane. Tons of drug-addicted people are successful too. Are they encouraging drug addiction at the world by doing both things at once?

Don’t even get me started on Scientology.

People need to stop looking at famous people to tell them what they should do. For reals.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

8 On June 30th, 2009, Melissa said:

Shouldn’t obesity experts have some experience with fat other than hating it and making other people hate it in order so they can make a living?

I’m getting so sick of hearing this stuff about OMG how dare people be fat and successful, or how dare you be fat and healthy get some surgery right now!
Which reminds me, I’m looking at many of celebrity deaths that has happened in the past few weeks and none of them were fat. Thin with cancer and thin with heart problems.
But it’s okay for them to be famous or successful because they lived their lives as thin people.
Ridiculous.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

9 On June 30th, 2009, Lynn (The Actors Diet) said:

Try “fat” and “Asian.” The pressures to look like a China doll are immense. Trust me, I know!!!

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

10 On June 30th, 2009, Regina T said:

I think Vesta says it best…especially this part: “and he’ll happily cut us apart and sew us back together, regardless of whether it actually works or not”. Follow the money, as the old saying goes. Vesta just rocks. I <3 her!

Also, I noticed your list of fat celebrities was mostly male, as Jupiter did. Being a fat female celebrity seems to put the media on the defensive—looking for a skeleton in the closet, so to speak. It’s not enough to just BE one…and female. This just gets my feminist hackles up in more ways than I can count. We all know non celebrities who deal with the same issue, so I won’t go on and on about it. I just wanted to state up front that this just sucks in so many ways.

I wish there was a media outlet with the balls to regularly put on the air average people. It could be called The Real People Network…with soaps, news, sitcoms, and dramas full of actors who look like everyone else. I’m just so tired of the false ideal that’s out there and am looking for true representations in life. I get most of my information from the internet these days…picking and choosing the stories I am interested in, and steer clear of most network television because it seems so untrue to me. Even the local news leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

11 On June 30th, 2009, JennyRose said:

Please don’t forget Dawn French. She is so talented. You must see the Vicar of Dibley.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

12 On June 30th, 2009, Charlotte said:

I can smell the bias in this article from a mile away. Of course he wants us to believe fat is bad! For him, every fat person that feels bad about themselves equals more money, more wealth. I bet he looks at a fat person and doesn’t even see a person, just dollar signs.

Weight Loss Surgery: thousands of dollars, and possible death and/or other health problems.
Accepting your body just the way it is, and taking pride in what it can do: Priceless.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 10:57 pm

13 On June 30th, 2009, Piffle said:

He’s not a celebrity, but I enjoy watching Law and Order: Criminal Intent and one of the lead characters is played by Vincint D’Onofrio and he’s quite plump and not played at all for laughs. He also gets to play the sensitive, contemplative; while his partner is a complete tough lady cop, short to his tall and thin to his fat. They work very well together, it’s fun to watch. He and his partner alternate shows with another pair, and I like the other pair too, partly because the woman is short haired and freckled within an inch of her life. Neither of that pair is plump, but I still like them too.

posted on June 30th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

14 On July 1st, 2009, DaniFae said:

Unbiased reporting fail.

Oh! And one of my favorite cases of “fat” actress (Hollywood fat) Miracle Laurie in “Dollhouse.” She was a romantic interest, he weight was never mentioned, I was so happy.

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 8:04 am

15 On July 1st, 2009, Rachel said:

Also, I noticed your list of fat celebrities was mostly male, as Jupiter did.

With the exception of Santa Claus, I was trying to list just those famous fat folk who are dead. It is unfortunate that men have historically occupied the limelight and been recognized for their talents far more than women.

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 8:54 am

16 On July 1st, 2009, Literate Shrew said:

This article is appalling, of course, but I like the TV article that was linked in this post. That is some great information ammunition right there.

And can we all agree to no longer use the word “chubby” to refer to adults? Something about that just rubs me the wrong way. It’s so condescending. Babies and toddlers are “chubby;” can’t us grown ups at least have the dignity of “fat”?

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 12:00 pm

17 On July 1st, 2009, Alyssa (The 39 year-old) said:

LOVE Dawn French!!!!! (Her wedding in “The Vicar of Bibley” was priceless!)
I have a lot of Asian friends from my acting days. The things casting directors would say to them were just DISGUSTING!!!!! In any other industry those casting dirs would have been sued until they were bankrupt!

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 12:37 pm

18 On July 1st, 2009, Alyssa (The 39 year-old) said:

BTW, my husband is Filipino, and is an actor. In L.A. he was always told “You don’t look Asian enough.” WTF?!?!?! Um, he was BORN in Manila!!!!!!!

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 12:39 pm

19 On July 1st, 2009, Jackie said:

I remember an Alfred Hitchcock episode, where he made fun of the people who commented on his weight. He said he was going to exercise, but instead decided to be an exercise coach. Then he brought out a fake skeleton that was doing calesthenics, and said “Wow! Can you believe how slim Bob is, after just a few days of working out.”

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 1:26 pm

20 On July 1st, 2009, Rachel2 said:

OH MY GAWD!!!! Fat AND Successful?! Surely you jest.

I get tired of the fat people getting portrayed as bad. And, everything everybody else said, I second that!

Rachel, men generally have had the spotlight in our culture (and the many before it) for eons. It’s just not cool to have smart, attractive women. Or, smart, attractive, FAT women. WTF?! A contradiction in terms. I think that there is still very much a subconscious and subversive attitude to keep women out of the limelight in general. Unless they’re sticks. Or they starve themselves to the bone, where they are still ogled on as objects rather than valued for their talents.

Whenever I read (your posts) a post like this, it makes me feel better that SOMEBODY out there is thinking about this sort of thing… And helping to bring it out from under the rug. It’s a weighty matter that has been ignored for far too long (pun completely intended).

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 2:34 pm

21 On July 1st, 2009, JennyRose said:

Another reason for more male fat actors is that they are allowed to play interesting character roles. Women are limited to leading lady or to make the background attractive. There seem to be even fewer women charcter roles fat or otherwise. I would love it if someone could prove me wrong.

Come to think of it, the motion judeges on the law and order type shows look like real judges who would likely really be older and less dazzling. However, if the judge is integral to the part,he or she must be attractive.

posted on July 1st, 2009 at 5:15 pm

22 On July 11th, 2009, sgabto said:

No mention of Kathy Bates? Is she no longer ‘fat’ from a cultural standpoint, and if so, why is that?

I ask because I wonder if Bates has now reached a level of respect (in many ways, I think she is received by the masses similarly to how Meryl Streep is) that is the celebrity equivalent of the non-fat friends who no longer see you as fat. You know, the friends who will sit around and comment about how ‘gross’ all the fat people at the food court are, and when you point out that you’re just as big, they tell you “Oh no, you’re not fat, not like those gluttons!”

posted on July 11th, 2009 at 9:33 am

23 On August 5th, 2009, New fat TV shows a plus? » The-F-Word.org said:

[...] escape the stereotype — if they’re fat and successful, they’re accused of somehow cheerleading obesity to viewers just waiting for the go-ahead to abandon their treadmills and buy stock in [...]

posted on August 5th, 2009 at 2:35 pm