My Big Fat Rant about Body Image Stuff

I always hated shows like Ugly Betty that try their best to present different body models, but end up as a patronising shit soup of endless self justifying skinny folk saying stuff like "some of my best friends are unpretty..." and "you're pretty smart for a fat/ugly/mental/whateverlabeltheychoose girl".

But it seems E4 have taken my annoyances and amplified them. Its like some rancid, maggot riddled hand expecting me to let it squeeze my inflamed boil of fury.

New show My Big Fat Teenage Diary is about Rae who is 16, struggling to cope with being a teenager in the 90's.  That alone might have been interesting and at least worthy of a look see.  But then we have this - 

"Though Rae is over-weight and struggles with mental health issues, she’s still a fun-loving girl with a lust for life and a big crush on Liam Gallagher."

So, basically, even though she's FAT she will still be having fun. Oh Excellent, because I was thinking all fat people are miserable and sad on account of their poor fat bodies and the fact that no one likes them. 

From the trailer and the E4 blurb, it seems the thing that will "save" poor fat mental Rae is that she will become part of an entourage of "The coolest people I've ever met" and her life will have meaning where it had none before.

What an ace message - dear overweight fat girls with body image worries, the closest you will get to having a normal life is to latch on to a bunch of "cool kids" and hope some scraps of cool fall your way.

And the so called cool kids look like a bunch of Blue Wicked drinking Jocks and Mean Girls just desperate for a pal like Rae that they can set up for falls and patronise to maintain their deluded superiority over all.

NOW obviously, I haven't seen it.  But I just feel these elements need not be the show's selling points - Overweight girl, with mental issues, seeking acceptance from non overweight gang of so called "normal" kids.  As billed and as promoted, I can't see anything other than a disgustingly skewed presentation of what overweight girls with mental issues need to put themselves right - Normal friends, who can help her to conform i.e. become not overweight and not mental.

This blog was written before the show even airs.  Here's hoping that the heroine shows the gang of straights what a bunch of shallow twats they are and kicks them into touch, replacing them with friends of whatever shape size or mental capability they might be, for it need not be made a feature!!!

Here's hoping. 

Daisy xx