Uber Skinny Stars: It Starts At The Top
In this week’s issue, Entertainment Weekly catches on to the problem with the tiny bodies on 90210. But the article is worth reading even for those of us who already talked about it. First, the problem:
Almost without exception, the young actresses on The CW’s spin-off are alarmingly thin, with arms that seem thickest at the wrists, and legs that look, well, like arms… “Everyone says television adds five or ten pounds, so if you’re watching and someone looks like they haven’t eaten in forever, what must they look like in person?”
(I’ve been watching the show, and it’s especially striking with the lead character, Annie. She’s supposed to be from Kansas, but with her tiny body and tan and blindingly white teeth, she really looks more like a Los Angeles girl than a modern-day Dorothy Gale.) Then, the deeper problem emerges:
Of course, no one is pointing accusatory fingers at three actresses barely out of their teens. One casting agent who works frequently with The CW turns a critical eye on the network itself. “I know in discussions at ABC and CBS that ‘too skinny’ is no good. They talk about it as a minus point… But at The CW it’s a different story. They’re trying to pull in the Gossip Girl audience and that’s the image: hyper-skinny models.”
So, it’s on purpose. The network is putting out these “hyper-skinny” bodies on purpose. I certainly don’t blame the actresses, who may be—and I hope they are—just naturally very small. But is there any reason all three female leads need to fit this “hyper-skinny” model mode?
In my ideal world, we wouldn’t just have racial diversity on television shows, we’d also have size diversity. Can you imagine? A variety of shapes and sizes, on purpose. I think this is an issue worth making some noise about. And I hope the network executives who can do something about it are listening.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advocacy, Celebrities, Gossip, Magazines, Media, TV
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At least my girl Kelly still looks good and healthy. Love her: http://tinyurl.com/53mj8o
Hey Mo Pie, I would love to hear your thoughts on something I have been thinking about:
Many complain about “impossibly thin” actresses on TV with the occasional fat person interspersed, but, one thing that I never seem to see is that person who is somewhat overweight. You know, a girl that you might describe as being a little “overweight” but not fat.
I just saw a few re-runs of House with Hugh Laurie and once again noticed that all of the women that flirted with him in the different episodes were thin, and one was much, much older and heavy. But you never see a girl who is, say, 15 pounds heavier than her “ideal”.
Do you know what I mean?
I have a theory about this, but, I would love to hear your thoughts.
It is striking to watch TV from the early 90s (including the original 90210) and gape at how “normal” all the bodies seemed. The early seasons of “Friends” come to mind. Jennifer Aniston now vs 1994 is almost alarming. What’s sad is that her gorgeous curves probably wouldn’t even be cast on that show if it were debuting in 2008–she’d have to be as tiny and skinny as she is now. It’s upsetting.
Even more interesting in that EW was a box showing how skinny stars become after they acheive fame, noting how Anne Hathaway and Katherine Heigl used to be about a size 6 and have plummeted in weight in direct correlation to their rising stars.
It is just messed up, really.
I wonder if it’s the stress of fame or the pressure to fit in…
Can I throw my 2 cents in? I used to be an actress and I used to live in L.A. When we first moved there I weighed 145 pounds I’m 5’9″). I was quite thin, but this was the beginning of the ultra-skinny movement (“Ally McBeal was in its first season). So I wasn’t thin enough. And I noticed exactly what Usually Lurking mentioned: most of the women are very skinny, and every once in a while you’ll see a large woman (usually as an object of scorn or a joke), but you rarely see an average-sized woman on TV or in films.
I’m with you folks; I think we should fight for diversity in size on screen.
Great post, Size Diversity on tv would be amazing!!! I think so many people want this… we need to let our voices be heard somehow
But, Alyssa, why are “average” women not on TV? I have my own theory, but I would love to hear from others.
Here’s an idea why average women aren’t usually seen on scripted shows: because TV execs and casting departments can’t get any mileage out of them, if you know what I mean. In Hollywood, average is considered just that, average. Women who are size 12 and 14 are so commonplace, they don’t generate a lot of excitement. So the people behind the shows turn to extremes, on both sides of the scale.
The ultra-skinny gal represents glamour, and it can also represent distress, In the eyes of a TV producer or writer, a long-haired blonde size 0 that wears expensive trendy clothes, has a cushy job, yet has a personal life so dysfunctional, she needs the hunk of the week to rescue her, equals high-ratings drama and buzz and continuing stories.
Then you’ve got high-end heavy women like me, who are perfect fodder for TV writers to think up more fat jokes and other ways to present our bodies as something to be scorned or frightened of. I find that with comedy writers who really aren’t that funny, insulting fat people is the usual go-to routine when they need a quick laugh.
Bree, that is interesting…here is my theory:
Picture your favorite leading man in your favorite show having various girls flirt with him in different episodes for different reasons. All of them are thin and beautiful. Some he goes for, some he doesn’t.
Now, imagine if some of those girls were somewhat overweight (though, not fat nor obese) and he didn’t go for any of those girls, but he did go for some of the thin ones. I think that he would go from being a fan-favorite to being hated. They would see themselves in the “average” women and see him turning them down and only going for her prettier sisters.
But, if you keep the game existing in simple terms, thin versus fat, then most people will not hate him for going for the pretty girls.
This is similar to having Good Guy versus Bad Guy. The simple setup provides an obvious choice, whereas a more complex and realistic setting would make it much harder to find the good guy to root for.
Anyway, that is my theory.
The slightly overweight girl simply makes the show to complicated for the good guys to show their “goodness”.
“The slightly overweight girl simply makes the show to complicated for …”
Should read: “…too complicated…”
Have you seen the movie “In Search of Debra Winger?” (It might be “Searching for Debra Winger…”)
It’s not a great documentary, but there is a lot of discussion about how women are cast. There are some high-profile actresses talking about how women can’t get cast in anything unless two or more men among the production staff say “yes” to the question: “Would you fuck her?”
They made it seem like that was a question for women auditioning for peripheral roles.
I dont know if any of you watch Degrassi: Next Generation…but one of the actresses on the show Shenae Grimes (the one that played Darcy, a super Christian girl who then proceeds to descend into a black hole of tragic events) is in 90210 (she’s the redhead).
In Degrassi, Shenea looked normal. She was thin and looked liked any normal teenager.
Now as she starts this new show, she does look much thinner than she used to be in Degrassi (which, if I understand correctly, she is still a cast member of…so she is shooting two full-time shows).
Maybe she is really stressed out from being on two very popular programs (Degrassi is much more popular in Canada than in the US) and getting a big break on American TV through 90210.
In Wake Up, I’m Fat! Camryn Manheim wrote that the director of The Road To Wellville deliberately looked for a variety of body types & sizes in the cast.
One of the things I liked about watching BBC America and occasional shows on PBS is that it seems the Brits use real people in their shows. I can relate better to those shows and the people in them because of it. Otherwise, I confess that I’m mostly scornful.
But at The CW it’s a different story. They’re trying to pull in the Gossip Girl audience and that’s the image: hyper-skinny models.
I think it’s interesting that they said that, because the girls on GG (with the exception of Jenny)aren’t hyper skinny model types. They are quite thin, of course, but not like the girls on 90210.
Well, not to sound like SourFace, but how long ago did she write that? 2001? I think she was right, but I think the “average” size of women who are supposed to be “desired” – which of course all women on screen are, unless they’re “larger”, as other posters have pointed out – shrinks annually.
It seems that to address the problem thoroughly, it would be as important to pay attention to trending as the way things are at any given point.
(And then there’s film v. TV v. theatre, but I have no wish to take up the whole page with just one comment … )
To be honest, I think many of you are giving producers too much credit for thinking about it that much. It’s all about money. They throw up on screen whatever they believe will get the most eyeballs watching their stuff.
And they like control. Keeping desperate young actors obsessing over their looks ensures that they have control over said actors. The fact is, every actor knows that what they look like is 90% of their career. If you’re a young woman in Hollywood, that means being skinny (no matter what it takes), having white teeth, getting mani/pedis and waxing.
It’s not just performers who are insecure. There’s no such thing as job security in the entertainment industry, and EVERYONE’S head is constantly on the chopping block.
The young woman who was on DeGrassi was probably ordered to lose weight. I’ve seen that over and over: Friends of mine whose careers took off once they went from slim to skinny (and usually brown to blond, as well) on the advice of their agent, or a director or producer.
I think the reason you don’t see as much of that in British TV and in our own theaters is that they are far less likely than Hollywood to cast on looks alone. Yes, they want attractive actors, but they also need the acting chops.
Hollywood couldn’t care less about talent. they just want hotness. (And Anglo-looking actors.)
I was very sick recently, and only had enough energy/attention-span to watch old 80’s videos on VH1 Classic. It’s really amazing, to look at how the videos were based on stories. Not women shaking their asses, people just having plain fun. There were even a few fat women in the videos for good measure. Of course, in the 80’s they also showed videos by fat singers too.
I don’t understand how someone could be a parent of a daughter today, and not be angry and upset every minute of the day that their child is held up to these rediculous standards. Children can’t even watch cartoons anymore without having adult messages about how people should live and look infused into their heads.
I wrote an article about this, if the owner of the site is interested ask me and I’ll e-mail it to you, or if anyone is interested in it being on this site let the owner know. How you cannot watch cartoons today without the show being about someone being picked on. It’s no longer situational humor. Like, “Hey public transportation sucks!” or “Don’t you hate being sick!”, no it’s “Look at what a loser this person is!” all the time. It’s like bullying 101.
What I’m saying is, we need to leave children out of this. There should be size diversity everywhere. I recently saw Dr. Phil doing another Weight Loss Camp episode, where someone who can’t breath after running is considered adding to the drama of the show.
Torturing fat people that’s a ratings grabber? I don’t understand, what is different from running a fat person around till they can’t breathe for ratings satisfaction, how is that any different from the meaning of torture? For something people CANNOT CHANGE. It reminds me of an episode of Criminal Minds I saw, where this sadist enjoyed making women run until their legs broke and they had to stop, and then he would kill them. I apologize for being graphic, but that is horrific, doing the same thing to a fat person outside of breaking their legs, but causing them to be unable to breathe, that’s ok. That’s entertainment? WTF?!
I think one of the things that amazed me when I was living in the UK was that people on UK TV shows, especially their soaps, looked normal, they looked average but of course they have shifted towards more of a uberskinny look just like Hollywood.
Jackie, you make an EXCELLENT point!
I think this particular form of torture-as-entertainment started with “The Biggest Loser.” Torture them AND scream at them, then put it on TV for public consumption. (Oh, and don’t forget to have them stand on a large scale in their underwear!)
Usually Lurking:
If I ever finish my screenplay, you’ll see it.
(That’s a pretty big ‘if’ so don’t hold your breath.)
“But, if you keep the game existing in simple terms, thin versus fat, then most people will not hate him for going for the pretty girls.”
I’m a little uncomfortable with this sentence, only because it is equating thin with pretty and fat with ugly. In other words, why can’t people “not hate him” for going for the pretty AND fat girls.
I realize it’s part of a larger point about why you don’t see more size 8-14 women on TV, but I guess it’s just one of my pet peeves (and one that I sometimes slip into and have to catch myself) where I let thin/pretty and fat/ugly be interchangable. And I think that’s a destructive (and untrue) way to use language, so I just wanted to throw that out there.
Interesting discussion. (Though, I wouldn’t really say fat women are that well represented in the media either…)
“equating thin with pretty and fat with ugly”…
Yes, it is destructive (and untrue), but thin=pretty, fat=ugly is a real shorthand in the media. Individually we have a huge range of preferences and ideals of beauty, but most people will also recognise a social ideal that fits certain conventions of what beauty is. In our society, at our time, that is skinny, usually blonde and white, wearing expensive clothing and cosmetics, and extroverted. Just as wearing glasses is TV shorthand for “intelligent character”, those other markers are TV shorthand for “desirable character”. God forbid they have to explain it through well-written dialogue.
I once read a study on the perception of facial beauty which always cheers me up. People were shown a sheet of 25 photographs of faces of ordinary people, the kind of faces you would see if you hung around a bus shelter. While there was a general consensus when asked which faces others would see as attractive, there was not one face in the entire study which was not picked as the most beautiful by at least a few people. Not that I can remember the name of the study or who wrote it or anything useful like that.