In my 20 years of teaching high school, it has been my experience that the majority of girls
hate the bodies they were born with.
Fat girls, skinny girls, smart girls, talented girls and girls of different backgrounds all talk obsessively about their weight,
complain constantly about their size, tease each other and mock themselves.
Girls who should be focusing on the wonderful life ahead of them, instead obsess about becoming as skinny as the stars who define our cultural ideal of “pretty”.
Tragically, many of my students develop harmful, destructive relationships to food.
And some of my students have suffered from such severe eating disorders that they never recover.
I am not a doctor, a therapist, a researcher or a nutritionist.
Many others can debate the causes of our culture’s size obsession far better than I can.
Many others can push for changes in ways that I cannot.
Many others offer all kinds of suggestions and solutions that are outside my expertise.
I am simply an artist who cares deeply about these issues.
So I was surprised to have been invited by the Actionist Network®
“a community of professionals committed to creating a nation of confident women and girls”,
to participate in a discussion of the new ABC show “Huge”.
I’ve only seen the trailer and visited the show website, which describes the show:
“Funny, heartbreaking and provocative, Huge follows the lives of seven teens and the staff at a weight-loss camp, as they look beneath the surface to discover their true selves and the truth about each other.
“
I know that it is based on a book (that I have not read) by the same name, written by Sasha Paley. I’ve read a few interviews and other blog posts, and can only offer a brief opinion:
I’m loving the fact that the lead character, played by Nikki Blonsky, seems to be sassy, funny and confident.
I’m happy that all of the characters are plus-sized, rather than just a single token sidekick. (Considering that plus-size is the majority, doesn’t it seem odd that nearly every show on TV has zero large characters?)
I like the idea of discovering one’s “true self”.
I’m thrilled that it is a drama that can explore character development and plot, not another weight loss competition, or reality show (remember last summer’s More to Love?)
I believe that difficult messages are sometimes
best delivered in fun packages.
(Have you seen some of my artwork?)
Teens, especially, are not likely to read or interact with the more serious approaches taken by doctors, researchers or therapists (or teachers!)
So I’m hoping that the highly emotional topics of body image, size acceptance and eating disorders will be presented in a way that can positively impact a least a few of the millions of kids who are not thin (or those who sadly think they will never be “thin enough”!)
I’m hoping that some stereotypes about plus-size kids will be broken.
And I’m hoping that the TV camp doesn’t just focus on weight loss, but introduces the concept of being healthy and fit at all sizes.
A girl you know probably has body issues (no matter what her size!)
but may also have a hard time talking about them.
This show might be a starting point for discussions about size, self-worth, social pressures…
Jess Weiner, the founder of the Actionist Network® has put together a conversation guide to share with girls.
You can get the conversation guide here.
BTW, a truly smart analysis of this show’s potential, and potential pitfalls, can be found over at Shaping Youth, a forum about marketing and media’s influence on kids.
What do you think about the idea behind this show? Will you watch it?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elizabeth Patch, VoiceinRecovery. VoiceinRecovery said: “@elizabethpatch: @jessweiner #HugeActionist my impressions of Huge http://elizabethpatch.com/2010/06/body-image-for-teens-huge.html” [...]
This was very worthwhile. Thanks for the post! Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest! xxx
Interesting idea. I just might watch the show. When I was a teenager, I was slender but flat-chested and I hated that. Now I am a few pounds (10 or so) over my “correct” weight, and I am still coming to terms with that! Body acceptance: a lifelong challenge.
Just wanted to stop and leave a comment: I really enjoy your writing and art. You have a fresh way of thinking and seeing. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I thought you may be interested in my husband’s art. Feel free to stop by our blog and check out the art project. It’s really been an interesting journey helping people see their beauty and encouraging people to look deeper.
Thanks again! I’ve bookmarked your blog!
I have some very mixed feelings about this show.
I loved seeing a multicultural cast of plus-size kids of all sizes, even if they are isolated on their own show. Our culture has treated anyone over a certain, very small, size as invisible for decades, except for the occasional character actor or plus-size model. I know it’s a start, but to be truly groundbreaking, why not have plus-teens & adults in situations other than dealing with weight loss or eating disorder problems? I’m hoping that later episodes will explore some of the usual plots found in “thin” shows. Kids, especially, need to know that people of all sizes are essentially the same, and do not spend all of their time either dieting or overeating.
During the commercial breaks, it was very obvious how ALL of the other ABC Family shows did not feature any size diversity. The usual mixed messages of young, thin pretty women indulging in delicious candy bars, and wearing special workout shoes to “get in shape” seemed very poorly matched to this “groundbreaking” show.
Some stereotypes about fat people were reinforced, such as the scenes of hoarding junk food, secret eating, and defiantly shooting whipped cream into your mouth. This is clearly disordered eating, but not all larger people eat that way, or to that extreme! The lead character Wil (the adorable Nikki Blonsky) is very angry about being at the camp, defiantly breaks multiple camp rules, and jealously plays a mean prank on the thinner “pretty girl” who, of course, gets a romantic attachment in the very first episode. Wil clearly states that she wants to “get fatter”, and she does a bold strip tease when forced to take a picture in her bathing suit, but I didn’t get the impression that her unhappy character likes herself very much. If one of the purposes of this show is to give some depth of character to the invisible fat kid, then I’m hoping that we see something more from Wil than anger, defiance, moodiness, and binge eating.
Maybe this is how fat camps are run, but military style exercise was portrayed as a form of punishment! The camp food was limp greens of some sort, rather than a full plate of deliciously prepared food, reinforcing the notion that eating well involves deprivation and horrible food. There were no positive scenes about changing eating habits & including fun exercise as a way to be healthier, even if you don’t lose weight.
A girl who was “vomiting” (bulimia) was whisked away without any explanation, not even “this camp is not qualified to treat eating disorders”. I feel the writers missed a great opportunity to educate people on the wide-spread nature of dangerous eating disorders.
As a high school teacher for 20 years, I know how influential media can be for teens trying to make up their minds about how to fit into our complex, conflicted society (you can be anything you want to be, as long as you are thin, fashionable and spend lots of attention on your appearance!) It is absolutely wonderful that the existence of fat kids, and their specific problems, are finally acknowledged. I’m hoping that the humanity of these kids is explored in greater depth. I also hope that this show does not become another thing at school to tease fat kids about ; perhaps it was wise to launch it over summer break, rather than during the school year.
I will say, re: Bulimia, they did mention that it was too serious to deal with at weight loss camp. I believe the show is planning to continue exploring eating disorders, and I truly hope they highlight that the kind of binging seen last night- with or without purging- is disordered.
I hope they start extreme, to catch attention, and then become more moderate and show that these kids are PEOPLE above all else, and have the same problems as anyone else does. Definitely tuning in next week to continue developing the opinion.
I did think they already started to show a bit more of Wil’s other side. There were small moments that I felt showed she was more than just angry/bitter about being at camp, and in the midst of her defiance, some very powerful lines (i.e. “Everyone wants us to hate our bodies. I refuse to.”).
I keep reminding myself that this is the start of the conversation, not the end of it. And they have to start where people already are. If the show started with a plus sized cast and total self-acceptance, it would be pretty unbelievable. That’s, sadly, just now where we as a society are right now.
Rachel
thank you for your very thoughtful input! I also hope that some of the over-the-top drama is to catch our attention and hold our interest, and that the very talented mother/daughter writing team has given these characters some issues other than their weight. And I totally agree that it would be unrealistic to show total self-acceptance, which for many is a life-long process. Yes, that line you quoted (“Everyone wants us to hate our bodies. I refuse to.”) was one of the strongest,most positive things that Wil said, even if some of her behavior seemed to counteract her words. I will keep watching, and hoping that this show can really touch some of the viewers, and make teens more accepting of friends of all sizes.
I would agree that I hope that this is done well and makes a positive change. I wonder if maybe we’ll know we’ve really made progress on this issue when there’s a full-figured woman in the lead of a show and (gasp!) the show would actually have NOTHING to do with weight issues!!
that would be the most progressive thing of all!