For many years, the beauty and film industries have played a significant role in creating stereotypes of what an attractive or acceptable body type should entail. Body positivity was never a topic that was commonly addressed on public platforms. Both men and women were (and are) targets of body-shaming if they don’t look “healthy” or possess the “ideal body” type. But times are changing as the industry slowly addresses body positivity in its narratives. Characters who were mocked or marginalized based on their body type are now being shown in a more positive light.
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Although numerous industries have taken the necessary steps in the right direction, they still have a long way to go. Movies and television shows such asLittle Miss Sunshine,Hairspray, andMy Mad Fat Diarypromote self-empowerment while highlighting body positivity issues.
‘Thunder Force’ (2021)
Lydia Berman (Melissa McCarthy) and Emily Stanton (Octavia Spencer) were inseparable childhood friends, but a minor incident caused a strain in their relationship and led them to their separate ways. Years later, they reconnect at their high school reunion, where Lydia accidentally injects herself with a serum that Emily, a scientist, had been working on to save the world from Miscreants (supervillains roaming the Earth). Together, they become superheroes who save the world from the Miscreants.
Many superhero movies or television shows have categorized what a superhero should be or look like, that they have to look a certain way or be in good shape to save the world,Thunder Forcedisregards that idea. The film shows that twofuller-figured female superheroes are more than capable of saving the world.
‘Shrill’ (2019-2021)
Shrillis a comedy series that follows the life of Annie Easton (Aidy Bryant), an intelligent journalist atThe Thorn. Despite frequently being told that her overweight figure will limit and stop her from achieving what she wants, she chooses not to listen to them and instead uses her optimism to aspire to do well.
The show is a fresh take on how society is cruel to those who are not attractive because they don’t fit the “normal and acceptable” weight and who are told that their body shape limits how well they will perform in life. But instead of letting these hateful comments get to her, she realizes she is just as good as anyone else and chooses to focus on her goals.
‘Dumplin’’ (2018)
Though Willowdean “Will” Dickson (Danielle Macdonald) is the teenage daughter of the former beauty queen Rosie Dickson (Jennifer Aniston), she is primarily raised by her Aunt Lucy (Hillary Begley). Will, who frequently feels judged and beaten down by her weight, is suddenly all alone when Aunt Lucy dies unexpectedly. Matters are made worse when it is apparent that her mother, Rosie, struggles to connect with her.
After being suspended for standing up for another girl at school who was bullied for her weight, Rosie tells Will that aunt Lucy should have taken better care of her health. Later, when Rosie and Will find out that Aunt Lucy once signed up for the Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant (an annual event she remains a planner for) when she was much younger, Will enters the pageant as a protest. Despite the fact that pageants are competitions only designed for girls or women of a “certain size,” the competition helped Will gain confidence in accepting herself and embody the various but equally beautiful figures of women.
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‘Patti Cake$’ (2017)
Patricia “Dumbo” Dobrowski (Danielle Macdonald) is told that her weight won’t get her far in life. The New Jersey-born and raised woman spends her days caring for her ill but loving grandmother (Cathy Moriarty) and alcoholic mother (Bridgett Everett) while working odd jobs. Her dream of being a rap superstar has always seemed farfetched because she is told by many that she is either too fat or too white and that women don’t make good rappers.
Despite all the hardships and criticism, she faces in life, Patricia “Dumbo” or Patti Cake$ (her rapper stage name) doesn’t let anything come in the way of her dreams as a successful female rapper. Patricia Dombrowski tells women they can achieve anything, even if others tell them otherwise.
Set in the mid-1990s in the British county of Lincolnshire,My Mad Fat Diaryfollows a 16-year-old Rae Earl (Sharon Rooney), a girl who struggles with body image and has just left a psychiatric hospital due to her mental health. Rae struggles to reconnect with her popular best friend Chloe (Jodie Comer) and her friends (the gang), who are unaware of her mental health problems and that she had spent the past few months at a psychiatric hospital, not France, as she had told everyone. The series unfolds anhonest depiction of mental health and body image issuesand the coping mechanisms behind these struggles.
Despite experiencing many ups and downs through her mental illness, Rae has a longing desire for life, lust, and love. Her arduous journey of self-acceptance through her sessions with therapist Kester Gill (Ian Hart), her friendship with Chloe and the gang, and finding love with the striking Finn Nelson (Nico Mirallegro) comes slowly but surely.
‘Hairspray’ (1988, 2007)
There are twoHairspraymovies: the original one in 1988 and the 2007 remake. Teenager Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake/Nikki Blonsky) has a passion for dancing. Among the dancers onThe Corny Collins Show, a teen dance television show that Tracy frequently watches, are Amber von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick/Brittany Snow) and her boyfriend, Link Larkin (Michael St. Gerard/Zac Efron), who attend the same school as Tracy.
Despite being mocked for her weight, Tracy’s hard work and confidence earn her a spot as a dancer on the show. Soon, Tracy steals the spotlight away from Amber and threatens Amber’s chances of winning the annual “Miss Teenage Hairspray” pageant. As Tracy rises to fame, she uses it to promote self-confidence among women and racial integration within the show.
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‘Little Miss Sunshine’ (2006)
When a young Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin) learns she is qualified for the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant in California, her dysfunctional family decides to support her and tackle an 800-mile journey on their old, yellow Volkswagen van. Little did they know that the journey would become the most eventful road trip they have ever had. After facing a few setbacks along the way and racing against the clock, the Hoover family arrives at the pageant hotel.
Upon arrival, Olive and her family quickly realize that she stands out among the rest of the contestants; she is not as slim nor as “well-dressed” as the others. Her father, Richard (Greg Kinnear), and his stepson Dwayne (Paul Dano), initially attempt to talk Olive out of performing, for she is sure to be humiliated. Still, her mother, Sheryl (Toni Collette), insists they should “let Olive be Olive.” What makes Olive and the characters ofLittle Miss Sunshineso special is how unapologetically themselves they are and that they don’t conform to what society expects them to be.
‘Last Holiday’ (2006)
Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) works as a salesperson in the cookware department at Kragen’s Department store in New Orleans. She is an active Baptist choir singer who aspires to be a professional cook. An unwanted incident and a CT scan led to a shocking discovery: she has a terminal neurological disorder called Lampington’s disease and only has a few weeks to live. Upon learning this, Georgia decides to quit her job, liquidate her assets, and spend her money on a luxurious spa vacation to the Czech Republic.
There, she enjoys buying designer clothing, enjoying the hotel’s spa facilities, and eating meals cooked by the renowned Chef Didier (Gérard Depardieu).Last Holidayencourages you to love yourselves and live life to the fullest, even if that means not being of a “certain weight” and that others might have an opinion or two about your life choices.
‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ (2005)
Bridget (Blake Lively), Carmen (America Ferrera), Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), and Lena (Alexis Bledel) are four best friends who have spent many summers together. But this summer is different as they have decided to spend it apart: Bridget is at a soccer camp in Baja California, Carmen is with her father in South Carolina, Lena goes to Santorini, Greece, and Tibby stays at home. Before going off on their own adventure, the girls go on a shopping trip where they find a magical pair of jeans that fits them all perfectly despite being different sizes. Throughout their adventures, the jeans would remind them of their friendship and a shared acceptance of their bodies.
Carmen, the curviest of her friends, is proud of having a fuller figure despite what others say about her. When her soon-to-be stepmother criticizes her weight because a dress doesn’t fit her, she responds, “We can just tell everybody that Carmen’s Puerto Rican, and it never occurred to you that she might be built differently. Or that, unlike you and your daughter, she has anass.”
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‘Real Women Have Curves’ (2002)
A Mexican-American girl Ana Garcia (America Ferrera), who lives in Los Angeles, is on her way to womanhood. While Ana dreams of going to college, her mother, Carmen (Lupe Contriver), holds her back by insisting she works at their family-owned textile factory to support the family economy. Not only that, but Ana must also tolerate her mother’s constant fat-shaming comments towards her while being reminded that it is something she does not do out of judgment but out of love.
Despite the hateful comments, Ana learns to love and accept her body.Real Women Have Curvesaddresses the stereotypes and negative undertones around body types that are, unfortunately, more than often sparked by the people closest to us.
