- Although more than half of the population is above "normal weight", only 3.3% of the characters in movies and series represent these bodies. The plot focuses on obesity of the obese character, especially if she is a woman.
The Spanish Observatory on Audiovisual Diversity has analyzed 1,721 characters from fiction films and Spanish series, of which only 57 are obese. The observatory's conclusion is that Spanish fiction does not reflect in any way the plurality of bodies in society. Even when we talk about diversity, body diversity is one of the most forgotten, says the observatory.
Beyond percentages, the observatory also attaches importance to the representation of these bodies: which roles and stereotypes are perpetuated or which open doors. In this case, when obese characters appear, the plot often focuses on their obesity: "When obese women appear on the screen, it usually presents itself as an anomaly and becomes an essential part of its plot, because they are the victims of pressure and comments, or because they experience a pattern of empowerment," said the members of the observatory.
"It is necessary to end these harmful clichés that only read obese bodies from humor, pathology or anomaly"
"The idea that feeds is that an obese person cannot exist on the screen without reference to their weight. In addition, what would be interesting would be the problem of diet culture and its relationship with the orders of femininity and thinness, but diets are often mentioned as a mechanism to laugh at what is fat or as a challenge to overcome their own limitations".
"Fiction is obese because society is obese too"
"It is necessary to end these harmful clichés that only read obese bodies from humor, pathology or anomaly. Fiction is obese, because society is also like this, but fiction should be a reference for society and should reflect on the concept of idealization, why and what generate what we consider ideal. Fiction, in short, is essential in our socialization and in our sentimental education".