Today, a bit of creepy irony, courtesy of Janet Bloomfield’s JudgyBitch blog.
Yesterday, Bloomfield put up a post (archived here) with the title “Feminists borrowing from terrorists now?” The source of her outrage? The anger directed at the now-notorious “Are You Beach Body Ready” ads posted in London tube stations by a weightloss powder company called Protein World.
The ads’ detractors, many of them feminists, think that the ad campaign contributes to fat shaming. Some of these critics have — gasp! — written on the ads with magic markers to express their dissatisfaction, acts of minor vandalism that the company’s CEO indignantly denounced as “terrorism.” No, really.
The company has also, it claims, gotten a number of threats, including a bomb threat. That’s a lot more serious, and completely indefensible; bomb threats are indeed intended to terrorise.
The irony? When I went to take a look at Bloomfield’s post last night, this was the first comment left on it:
I’m sorry, but that’s pretty fucking creepy. And it’s now been up on her site for a day.
I’m not quite sure how Bloomfield figures that bomb threats are terrorism but a comment warning feminists that “I’ll have my vengeance” is fine.
What’s with the rash of men acting like they’re being judged equally or more than women for their weight the last couple of days?
Ugh.
Fat shaming exists for both genders. But men are at least allowed to compensate for not being conventionally attractive. They can be smart, funny, talented, rich etc. Women are at best invisible, at worst treated with contempt if we aren’t pretty and thin. No other trait can compensate in the eyes of our culture.
@paradoxical intention
“Here’s the thing about fat men: You’re allowed to exist. You exist on television, you exist in the media, you’re allowed to be fat and exist at the same time if you’re a man.”
As far as television/Hollywood goes they’re allowed to exist, but *within certain contexts*; the harmless cuddly bear type father figure; a clownish low self-esteem friend; the one dimensional security guard/computer geek. They’re hardly ever a protagonist, there is not emotional subtext going on; the viewer isn’t supposed to identify with them.
Fat men might be more visible but they’re still presented basically as a joke.
Bryce… No. Just no. Chris Farley. Kevin James. Billy Gardell. That’s just off the top of my head.
@isidore13
Jack Black was the first one off the top of my head. Of course, I fucking love Jack Black.
@isidore13
JOHN GOODMAN!
Like, how could we forget him?! He’s awesome in any role! Seriously, is there any part he’s been in that’s been bad?
@Bryce: And fat women aren’t? Oh, wait, how many fat women are on television nowadays?
My point still stands: You’re allowed to *exist* as a fat man. I never said it was a nice existence, I never said it was all sunshine and daisies. But you still get to exist.
Though, I would still ask: How many fat men (or men who don’t look like underwear models) do you see with attractive wives on television? It’s actually a pretty common trope.
Ooh, or better yet: how many of those “jokes” still get treated like a person instead of just a thing to compliment someone else? How many times to those “jokes” still get an episode or a story arc where they’re suddenly not a joke?
Case in point: Homer Simpson is a fat, stupid balding guy with a hot wife. But, he’s had a story arc where he was suddenly super intelligent, but went back to the way he was for his family. Even though he’s a “joke”, and we laugh at him and his stupidity, he’s still shown to be a father who deeply cares for his family and someone who would do anything for his kids and his wife.
@ isidore13
Variations of the funny-but-ineffectual fat guy stereotype, and their weight is often the punchline both off and on-screen.
@banana, he’s awesome! Eric stonestreet is another. All of these are fat actors who were or are protagonists, with love interests and emotional depth. Even Farley, in Tommy Boy.
@isidore13
Michael Moore, Jorge Garcia (though I haven’t seen him in a bit), Jonah Hill, Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, Nathan Lane (everyone loves Nathan Lane), JAMES EARL JONES, Orson Welles, Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt–I know I’m forgetting a lot here.
Jonah Hill, Bill Murray, Orson Welles, John Goodman and JAMES EARL JONES have had at least several serious roles that weren’t centered around their characters being fat, too.
@banana, John Goodman, John Candy, Jason Alexander, Belushi brothers, Dom Deluise, George Wendt, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Griffiths, Jonathan Rhys-Davies.
All of those are serious, well respected actors with long careers being more than just the fatties, too.
So when I turned a kangaroo crossing into a dragon crossing, it wasn’t because I was a bored-as-hell teenager with a Sharpie waiting for the bus, it was because I was secretly a terrorist? Huh.
Admittedly this is from a pretty progressive (it also has a few badass women and an openly gay character!) animated movie franchise, but the first one off my head was Stoick from How To Train Your Dragon.
Bryce: Please name a fat actress or fat female character who has the kind of emotional depth that actors like James Earl Jones, John Goodman, or even an animated character like Homer Simpson is shown to have.
Hell, James Earl Jones – “funny-but-ineffectual fat guy stereotype” – I think not. Who is the female equivalent to James Earl Jones?
@isidore13
Now let’s name all the fat actresses!
Rosie O’Donnell, Queen Latifah, Melissa McCarthy, Roseanne Barr…er…Liberty Ross…
Well, how many serious roles have they have had that makes no mention of their weight?
Uh…huh…
Oh! Oh! Gabourey Sidibe in Precious…although her weight was part of it…hmmm…
OH! Bette Midler. Everyone loves Bette Midler. She has been in serious roles that weren’t about her weight, either. Although she’s certainly skinnier than the other actresses I’ve mentioned.
Kathy Bates! There’s one!
Do we count Oprah Winfrey?
Also I don’t think Gabourey Sidibe got many more roles…
She did voice the mother from Princess and the Frog for about two minutes, so I guess she’s an actor.
Oh, wait, does that mean Michael Moore is out? Well, i guess that saves space on paper if he’s out.
@isidore13
Yeah, but, you know, how many movies had a fat actress front and center in a serious movie part within the last 50 years?
Basically that one.
I notice Bryce has fallen silent…
Bill Murray isn’t particularly overweight, although certainly not conventionally attractive; very few serious in depth character portrayals (Lost in Translation seems to be the most notable) and only then after cutting his teeth in comedy. John Goodman, not really familiar with him, but again it seems like serious characters are only an option after becoming established via a long string of comedic roles.
James Earl Jones… plays a distanced authority figure, a judge or retired head of department (roles often set aside to for older black actors to give the impression race is no longer a factor in society).
@isidore13
Nah, I’m sure they just haven’t check the thread in a bit. We did rapidly post several times, so, yeah.
You know, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
So that’s like, what, 25-50 fat actors who more or less qualify according to Bryce? And fewer than 10 fat actresses. So far.