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\n Related: <\/span>All of Lena Dunham’s Most Impactful Quotes About Body Positivity<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tLena Dunham is proud of her body no matter what anyone else thinks. \u201cI always shudder to make big statements, but I have to say, the past two years haven\u2019t just been the happiest years of my adult life, they\u2019ve been the happiest years of my life,\u201d Dunham exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2019. [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She points to HBO\u2019s Somebody Somewhere<\/i><\/a>, starring Bridget Everett<\/strong>, as an example of a show that got things right by letting protagonist Sam \u201cbe a full human being,\u201d as opposed to, say, the fat friend or villain or person whose entire storyline revolved around weight and\/or the desire to lose it. (The critical darling was \u2014 criminally \u2014 not renewed after a third season.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAdds Osborn, \u201cWe see more fat people on TV but not at the level of population representation in any meaningful way\u201d \u2014 and often not at a level of fatness mirrored by the real world. That is, even the supposedly fat characters are quite small in the realm of the fat spectrum. But things are improving: \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more protagonists,\u201d she says, \u201cand more sidekicks with depth. They\u2019re not just the funny fat friend or the awkward fat friend. They\u2019re the fat friend who has a true storyline and it\u2019s not always about their weight.\u201d She liked Hulu\u2019s Single Drunk Female<\/i> for this, and specifically Lily Mae Harrington<\/strong>\u2019s character Felicia: \u201cShe has a real storyline of her own. It\u2019s a small storyline, but a real storyline.\u201d (Single Drunk Female<\/i>: another critical success, canceled after two seasons.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/div>Penguin Random House<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nApril Lockhart<\/strong>, who has a limb difference, is a fashion influencer who has unwittingly become a disability advocate. \u201cI didn\u2019t set out to be Miss Rachel<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d she tells Us<\/i>. \u201cI\u2019m, like, trying to go to Fashion Week<\/a>.\u201d But in 2022, she started a series called Normalizing Disabled Fashion Girlies on social, with the goal of \u201chelping people see that disabilities are very much the everyday. One in four people is disabled. It\u2019s so common.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nYou\u2019d never know it, judging by American TV and film. And for Lockhart, seeing people who are different or disabled or fat or anything else \u201cother\u201d is important: \u201cThe more you see it, the more familiar it becomes.\u201d She adds, \u201cI don\u2019t want to pretend that I always have it all together and I\u2019m always feeling my best \u2026 but nowadays, it\u2019s such a big part of my platform and that\u2019s also helped. What\u2019s the point in hiding it now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Florence Pugh: ‘I’m Never Losing Weight’ to Look ‘Fantastic’ for a Movie<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tAs these Hollywood celebrities show in their words, actions and online posts, the body-positivity movement has officially entered the mainstream. Well-known activists have used social media as a tool to spread more messages of self-love to their fans. Mindy Kaling made a splash when she posted a series of photos of herself wearing different two-piece [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Perhaps most critically, says Lockhart, \u201cwe haven\u2019t really seen people with disabilities in a cool light yet.\u201d We\u2019ve seen the inspirational but not the aspirational; the fashion girlies like Lockhart and me, just going about our lives while having limb differences and being fat. She shares the story of a friend with a facial difference, who says that typically in TV and film, people like him are the bad guys. Take, for example, characters like the Penguin or the most on-the-nose-named character ever, Scar: the Big Bad of The Lion King<\/em>, who is known for his\u2026scar. \u201cWe\u2019re normal people with cool jobs doing cool things, and I think this is a secondary factor to us in a lot of ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nNor must fat or deformed characters be perfect (because no one is). Insisting that they be to be is just as demeaning. Osbourn mentions Baby Reindeer<\/em><\/a>, and critiques about the main antagonist Martha (Jessica Gunning<\/strong><\/a>) being fat (e.g. \u201cWhy did she have to be fat to be the crazy stalker lady?\u201d). \u201cFat actors of all genders should be able to play all different kinds of roles without them being accused of making the world worse for fat people because they played some fat role where the person wasn\u2019t an angel. We don\u2019t have enough breadth of representation to hold that.\u201d She makes a great point: \u201cWhatever you think of that character, that was a brilliant performance by that actress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
She is also quick to clarify that we shouldn\u2019t congratulate ourselves too<\/i> much for the small bit of improvement we\u2019re seeing. In terms of Hollywood representation, yes, we\u2019re seeing growth; but \u201cfat people in the real world have to contend with not being able to use public transportation because the seats are too small, or being publicly harassed, or systemic medical and employment discrimination.\u201d None of those are storylines that I\u2019ve seen anywhere, at least not as a way to other or exoticize a character.<\/span><\/p>\n
Adds Osborn, \u201cWe see more fat people on TV but not at the level of population representation in any meaningful way\u201d \u2014 and often not at a level of fatness mirrored by the real world. That is, even the supposedly fat characters are quite small in the realm of the fat spectrum. But things are improving: \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more protagonists,\u201d she says, \u201cand more sidekicks with depth. They\u2019re not just the funny fat friend or the awkward fat friend. They\u2019re the fat friend who has a true storyline and it\u2019s not always about their weight.\u201d She liked Hulu\u2019s Single Drunk Female<\/i> for this, and specifically Lily Mae Harrington<\/strong>\u2019s character Felicia: \u201cShe has a real storyline of her own. It\u2019s a small storyline, but a real storyline.\u201d (Single Drunk Female<\/i>: another critical success, canceled after two seasons.)<\/span><\/p>\n April Lockhart<\/strong>, who has a limb difference, is a fashion influencer who has unwittingly become a disability advocate. \u201cI didn\u2019t set out to be Miss Rachel<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d she tells Us<\/i>. \u201cI\u2019m, like, trying to go to Fashion Week<\/a>.\u201d But in 2022, she started a series called Normalizing Disabled Fashion Girlies on social, with the goal of \u201chelping people see that disabilities are very much the everyday. One in four people is disabled. It\u2019s so common.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019d never know it, judging by American TV and film. And for Lockhart, seeing people who are different or disabled or fat or anything else \u201cother\u201d is important: \u201cThe more you see it, the more familiar it becomes.\u201d She adds, \u201cI don\u2019t want to pretend that I always have it all together and I\u2019m always feeling my best \u2026 but nowadays, it\u2019s such a big part of my platform and that\u2019s also helped. What\u2019s the point in hiding it now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAs these Hollywood celebrities show in their words, actions and online posts, the body-positivity movement has officially entered the mainstream. Well-known activists have used social media as a tool to spread more messages of self-love to their fans. Mindy Kaling made a splash when she posted a series of photos of herself wearing different two-piece [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Perhaps most critically, says Lockhart, \u201cwe haven\u2019t really seen people with disabilities in a cool light yet.\u201d We\u2019ve seen the inspirational but not the aspirational; the fashion girlies like Lockhart and me, just going about our lives while having limb differences and being fat. She shares the story of a friend with a facial difference, who says that typically in TV and film, people like him are the bad guys. Take, for example, characters like the Penguin or the most on-the-nose-named character ever, Scar: the Big Bad of The Lion King<\/em>, who is known for his\u2026scar. \u201cWe\u2019re normal people with cool jobs doing cool things, and I think this is a secondary factor to us in a lot of ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Nor must fat or deformed characters be perfect (because no one is). Insisting that they be to be is just as demeaning. Osbourn mentions Baby Reindeer<\/em><\/a>, and critiques about the main antagonist Martha (Jessica Gunning<\/strong><\/a>) being fat (e.g. \u201cWhy did she have to be fat to be the crazy stalker lady?\u201d). \u201cFat actors of all genders should be able to play all different kinds of roles without them being accused of making the world worse for fat people because they played some fat role where the person wasn\u2019t an angel. We don\u2019t have enough breadth of representation to hold that.\u201d She makes a great point: \u201cWhatever you think of that character, that was a brilliant performance by that actress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n She is also quick to clarify that we shouldn\u2019t congratulate ourselves too<\/i> much for the small bit of improvement we\u2019re seeing. In terms of Hollywood representation, yes, we\u2019re seeing growth; but \u201cfat people in the real world have to contend with not being able to use public transportation because the seats are too small, or being publicly harassed, or systemic medical and employment discrimination.\u201d None of those are storylines that I\u2019ve seen anywhere, at least not as a way to other or exoticize a character.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Florence Pugh: ‘I’m Never Losing Weight’ to Look ‘Fantastic’ for a Movie<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThank You!<\/h3>\n