WHM: More Body Diversity, Please!

Time to talk more about our favorite word: representation! (No pun intended, tehe).

There are a lot of super important conversations happening, thankfully, about race and the immense disparity between white women and BIPOC women on screen and stage. But there’s another category we’d like to bring attention to: bodies! 

There is no denying the entertainment industry’s fascination (eh, obsession) with beauty and bodies. The history of TV & Film alone displays a standard, particularly for women, of physicality: smaller = better. And this standard has dictated the media we consume, limiting our exposure to such a small scope of human experience and representation. Obviously, not every woman looks like Kiera Knightly or Halle Berry. (Just like not every man looks like Michael B Jordan or Jason Momoa). But when these are the vast majority of mass depictions of femininity we see, and are praised by the masses, of course the rest of society is sucked into a set of standards. Kate Winslet, who of course iconically depicted Rose in Titanic, spoke about her experience being body-shamed during her Oscar whirlwind: “It was almost laughable how shocking, how critical, how straight-up cruel tabloid journalists were to me. They would comment on my size, they’d estimate what I weighed, they’d print the supposed diet I was on. It was critical and horrible and so upsetting to read.” 

Flashback: I think the first time I saw an actress who didn’t conform to the “ideal body” we are conditioned to aspire to achieve was Raven-Symoné in That’s So Raven. As an adolescent watching Disney Channel (with its picture perfect houses and Stepford Wives families) seeing someone who actually looked relatable was huge. As an adult, the first that comes to mind is Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids — who also inspired my temporary four-pack from cackling. As far as characters go, no complaints here. Raven and Megan still have my heart. But something I realized is that as curvier women, they were both cast in quirky comedic roles. Coincidence? Maybe. But why does it seem like so often all of the roles other than the “funny girl” go to women of a particular size?

We want to see ALL women! Women of all shapes and sizes, with curves and dimples, stretch marks and wrinkles. We want to see different-abled bodies. We want the stories and narratives with diverse characters to not be rooted in their physicality — how many times do we have to watch the “fat girl struggles with anorexia” storyline? How about instead: girl, who happens to be a size 12, conquers the world like the badass she is? Just spitballing; I’m an agent, not a screenwriter. Like Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan has said about body diversity on screen: “Actors are just playing human beings, and human beings look like a million different things. There's not just one type of person, so I don't see why there should be just one type of actor on screen, either."

So here’s our food for thought. Women are multi-faceted, multi-talented, and VASTLY more diverse and unique than they get credit, or screen time, for. So while we’re on the topic of women’s empowerment and progress this Women’s History Month, let’s make this aspect of representation and diversity part of the conversation! No more telling women to lose weight to play a role, please. Last I checked, 10 pounds does not an actress make. But grit, depth, raw talent? Those can be found in all bodies. Just take a look at our roster ;)

Much love, ladies.

image source: TOPVECTORS

AUTHOR: LARA FREEMAN-ERBIN