Introduction
Body positivity is a common trend and an important topic of conversation today. However, this happened due to the fact that many people are intolerant of overweight people. Because of the appearance of a person, they try to speculate on this and in some cases mock it. Due to the focus of such behavior on overweight people, this phenomenon is called fatphobia. Because of this negative perception by people, fatphobia has become an important topic that it is important to talk about in order to raise public awareness.
Discussion
Fatphobia can be relevant in all areas of people’s lives, including hiring and setting wages. This can put much pressure on people and make them feel uncomfortable and body-shy. Inappropriate attitudes towards overweight people are common and affect all sectors of society and places of work. In Hollywood, there is much pressure on actors not to gain weight, as producers only want to see slim and fit men and women in the lead roles. One such case was reported by renowned British showman and actor James Corden, who complained to David Tennant on his podcast show that Hollywood does not want to cast overweight men as love heroes (O’Sullivan). However, this was not an isolated case because this story is not one.
Many actors are constantly faced with the fact that they need to work hard not to be fired or take on new roles. Actor Richard Madden, best known for his role as Robbie Stark in the television series Game of Thrones, has also spoken out about fatphobia. The actor said that the entertainment industry puts as much pressure on men to look slim as it does on women (Parker and Humphries). Given this, the relevance of studying the topic of fatphobia is gaining significant importance in the modern world.
The rejection of overweight actors can negatively affect the industry and the people who work in it. Due to the pressure, actors will want to look slimmer and thinner, which previously led to the era of heroin chic. A similar phenomenon occurred in fashion in the 1990s and led many actresses to their deathbeds by trying to lose weight with heroin (Von Busch and Viau 117). This trend appeared due to the fact that many people did not like fat people on TV screens and fashion shows.
This is dangerous for actors because the ability to earn money will directly depend on how slim they look. In addition, showing only perfectly fit people on screen can make overweight viewers feel inadequate and unwelcome in society. Such emotions will suppress a person and prevent him from living fully and being fulfilled. Accordingly, discrimination against obese people in Hollywood has negative consequences not only for actors who cannot get roles but also for viewers. They want to be like those portrayed on the screen, and thus this can push people to rash acts.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be said that fatphobia, as described above, is a problem of more than one generation. Over the years, in Hollywood, as in other areas of activity, overweight people have been discriminated against, which is not the norm. Previously, this behavior of HR agencies that recruited actors for the roles led to the beginning of heroin chic, which many celebrities suffered from. A similar effect may be repeated in the future since mostly beautiful and slender people can be seen on the screens. This puts a lot of pressure on actors to change a lot for roles.
Works Cited
O’Sullivan, Kyle. All the roles James Corden missed out on – and claim ‘chubby’ actors are excluded. Irish mirror, Web.
Parker, Charlie and Humphries, Will. Men are under pressure to look the part too, says Bodyguard star. The times, Web.
Von Busch, Otto and Viau Jeanine. Silhouettes of the Soul: Meditations on Fashion, Religion, and Subjectivity. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2022.