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Fox's More to Love: Pseudo-Fat Acceptance in Reality Television

Fox's More to Love: Pseudo-Fat Acceptance in Reality Television <jats:p> Anti-fat bias has become a critical issue to address given the moral panic over perceptions of the prevalence of ‘obesity’ that leads to further stigmatization of fatness ( Boero, 2007 ; Campos et al., 2006 ; Flegal et al., 2010 ; Gard, 2010 ; Tischner &amp; Malson, 2008 ). Fat phobic attitudes result in negative outcomes for employment, relationships, and health care provision ( Teachman &amp; Brownell, 2001 ; Maranto &amp; Stenoien, 2000 ). The United States media has frequently been identified as a source that further reinforces stereotypes and contributes to anti-fat stigma ( Himes &amp; Thompson, 2007 ). Specifically, the representation of fat characters in television has risen in recent years ( Himes &amp; Thompson, 2007 ), possibly due to public pressure, marketing goals, or to better represent the general population. However, are these allegedly fat positive depictions effective alternatives to fat stigma? In the case of the Fox Television network's reality dating series featuring fat contestants, More to Love, pseudo-fat acceptance is the result. In this paper, we rely on a textual analysis of More to Love (in select episodes and promotional material) to highlight the undermining of fat acceptance in popular American media sources. We will discuss how pseudo-fat acceptance in this program further reinforces anti-fat stigma. Implications of fat stigmatizing and fat positive representation in the media will also be suggested. </jats:p> http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Somatechnics Edinburgh University Press

Fox's More to Love: Pseudo-Fat Acceptance in Reality Television

Somatechnics , Volume 2 (1): 93 – Mar 1, 2012

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References (36)

Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press
Subject
Articles; Film, Media and Cultural Studies
ISSN
2044-0138
eISSN
2044-0146
DOI
10.3366/soma.2012.0043
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

<jats:p> Anti-fat bias has become a critical issue to address given the moral panic over perceptions of the prevalence of ‘obesity’ that leads to further stigmatization of fatness ( Boero, 2007 ; Campos et al., 2006 ; Flegal et al., 2010 ; Gard, 2010 ; Tischner &amp; Malson, 2008 ). Fat phobic attitudes result in negative outcomes for employment, relationships, and health care provision ( Teachman &amp; Brownell, 2001 ; Maranto &amp; Stenoien, 2000 ). The United States media has frequently been identified as a source that further reinforces stereotypes and contributes to anti-fat stigma ( Himes &amp; Thompson, 2007 ). Specifically, the representation of fat characters in television has risen in recent years ( Himes &amp; Thompson, 2007 ), possibly due to public pressure, marketing goals, or to better represent the general population. However, are these allegedly fat positive depictions effective alternatives to fat stigma? In the case of the Fox Television network's reality dating series featuring fat contestants, More to Love, pseudo-fat acceptance is the result. In this paper, we rely on a textual analysis of More to Love (in select episodes and promotional material) to highlight the undermining of fat acceptance in popular American media sources. We will discuss how pseudo-fat acceptance in this program further reinforces anti-fat stigma. Implications of fat stigmatizing and fat positive representation in the media will also be suggested. </jats:p>

Journal

SomatechnicsEdinburgh University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2012

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