by GISSELE GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
We need to talk more about the weight stigma rooted in kid entertainment as we are structuring the idea that body-shaming is acceptable when it is the norm in many kid shows. We are also sending the message that thin, able bodies are the most valuable bodies regardless of children having a broad spectrum of different body types and abilities.
A 2017 study found that 84 percent of the top-grossing films directed to children promote weight stigma. Another study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders showed that 58.3 percent of kid shows contain some sort of negative comment on incidents related to a character’s weight or appearance.
An example of this is portrayed in the movie Trolls. When one of the main characters, King Gristle Jr., asks a girl out on a date, then immediately goes home and hops on a treadmill. He states he would like to “lose 30 pounds in the next eight hours.” Not only is this teaching children that they must lose weight to be worthy of love, romance, and desire – it is also encouraging an unhealthy relationship with exercise, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and more.
Another film that exemplifies this issue: Zootopia, ironically, a film about problems with stereotyping and prejudice, features a cheetah whose entire storyline uses fat stereotyping. This cheetah is either eating or referencing food, is out of breath when he does a physical activity or loses food amongst the rolls of his body. While there is nothing inherently wrong with portraying fat people eating food or being out of breath, it is clear that the scenes use these things about the cheetah as comedic relief, promoting the idea that fat people are to be made a mockery of.
Although some call these just cartoons, we call this internal messaging. We urge kid shows to stop including negative commentary about body size, storylines about weight loss, and instances of blatant body shame and fatphobia. It is a guaranteed way to decrease self-esteem and increase the risk of developing eating disorders and body image issues.