Representation of Body Image

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-mad-fat-diary/4od
My Mad Fat Diary

In this programme, the protagonist named Rae Earl, is an overweight teenage girl who has recently left a psychiatric ward. The episode above begins with her narration on her losing her virginity, as well as the morning after it happened.

From these first three minutes, the programme seems to present her very realistically in the role of a teenage girl - arguably too realistically, as teenagers in TV are usually beautified to some extent with the use of make up or flattering clothes to make them look more attractive, but in the case of Rae there is no obvious appearance of make up, her hair the morning after appears to be more messy than it would normally be portrayed on television, and her clothes are very simple, modest and dark - not bright and cheerful which teenagers are usually presented to wear. On one hand, this is a fairly positive representation, as it normalises the appearance of a teenage girl without touch-ups to the audience which allows teenagers alike to personally identify with Rae and also allows the show to focus more on her experiences and feelings rather than looks, which helps in humanising her character as more than just a 'fat chick'. However, it can be argued that her plain appearance in the show doesn't help in representing overweight people on television in a positive way, as her features are not celebrated in the way they potentially could be. This kind of representation supports the negative stereotype that fat people cannot be attractive. It is impossible to deny that Rae's weight isn't a vital part of the plot, as even the show's title is a reference to her weight. However, the show tries to side the audience onto Rae's side of any conflicts and uses her experiences to provide information to what it is like to be an overweight teenager.




http://www.channel4.com/programmes/geeks/4od#3637918
Geeks

The show's objective is to gather young, self-proclaimed 'geeks' to a destination known for partying and socialising to challenge their social awkwardness and outsider status and make them 'cool'.

The body representation is split into two very different categories in this show: the attractive, thin and fit young people who are celebrating the party lifestyle of the location chosen for the episode, and the geeks who have been chosen to be the focus of the episode who are presented in a more negative way. In the clip above there were examples of different 'geek' individuals who had one or more features that are considered unattractive as well as standard for someone who is considered a 'geek'. This includes overweight people, skinny and lanky boys or guys with no body hair or stretch marks on their stomachs. The girls are presented with much less variety, where they are shown in their sexy cosplay of female superheroes, which by the nature of cosplay presents them in a more attractive and presentable way. While the guys are presented in a way which almost mocks their appearance and makes them appear silly (the footage of the boys in cosplay is much less serious and casual than the perfected costumes of the girls), the girls seem to be celebrated more. However, in most over clips the geeks are presented in a way where their bodies and appearances are not something desirable, as the point of the show focuses on changing the way these people look - as if suggesting that the way these geeks have looked up to this point is negative. The representation of body image prevalent in the new location is also shown to be making several girl contestants uncomfortable as they comment on the revealing clothes many other girls present themselves in on the streets, which highlights the contrast of the representation of body image between the contestants and everyone else.