Enter Fat Actress

Abstract

When I first conceived of this project in 2005, there were virtually no fat actresses to be found on stage or screen unless they were the target of jokes or crudely pathologized in some way. Kirstie Alley presented a glimmer of hope, but as I have discussed, instead performed a fat-face minstrelsy that further solidified stereotypes and pandered to weightist humor, capitalizing on fat-shaming. With a few exceptions in recent years such as Drop Dead Diva (2009) and Mike & Molly (2010), between 2005 and the present, representations of fat have been primarily depicted on reality-based and/or competition-based television programs such as The Biggest Loser and Extreme Weight Loss. These programs capitalize on fat-shaming and depict “real” people subjecting themselves to grueling regimens and public humiliation, not only in the form of the verbal abuse heaped on them from trainers and co-contestants, but in the exercise and eating scenarios they are compelled to engage in throughout the course of the show. Camera work frequently emphasizes the materiality of their fat bodies, trying to elicit disgust in the viewers by zooming in for close-ups on participants’ rolls of fat or sweat dripping from their faces/bodies. Indeed, The Biggest Loser features multiple scenarios designed to emphasize the materiality of participants’ flesh and provoke disgust.¹