Saturday, October 2, 2010

Fat Hatred and Disability On the Cleveland Show?

This lady is outraged at the portrayal of "Kendra on the cartoon "The Cleveland Show". I don't agree with her politics but understand her anger. It's business as usual sadly in multi-media land. I've only seen this cartoon a few times, it is too raunchy and nasty for me, but everyone is made fun of, on it, as this cartoon is part of the Family Guy franchise. Here is Kendra's cartoon "bio".

Kendra is also a redneck, and is possibly disabled. She is very much overweight, diabetic, a compulsive eater, and can barely get anywhere without use of her Rascal scooter, though is never seen without her cheerful attitude. Kendra first appeared in the Pilot at Cleveland and Donna's wedding. Kendra loves food, and is known to soak deviled eggs in her "flabs" before eating them. Kendra also has very bad gas. In Brown History Month, a paramedic said that her cholesterol was so high that it couldn't be measured by current science.

She is seen in A Brown Thanksgiving at the soup kitchen, with her family, on Thanksgiving, revealing that her family is poor.

More "programming" for the masses, but am I surprised to see a severely fat mobility impaired character married to an extreme caricature hillbilly "Lester" portrayed as doing nothing but eating buckets of ice cream, strewing food wrappers in her stead, with one show plot centering on her falling on the youngest child-Rallo, and almost squishing him to death while about to go into a diabetic coma? Not really. However there is part of me, surprised, that a character like this is even shown on TV, extremely fat people, especially those with mobility problems, well you don't see too many of them. I read about one show, where she was made the hero of an episode, saving two other females from a crooked casino owner.

What is even weirder is one time, they showed "Kendra" as super-thin. Odd that given most super sized people are fat by childhood. Is this supposed to suggest to us her life confined to a scooter led to the obesity?Here is the picture.



Anyhow, watching the cultural messages about fat people out in the world, it's getting worse and worse. Does this mean there are no fat people consigned to scooters who don't have eating disorders, No. But one can see the influences, that lead to a voicelessness in the experiences of fat people? Being super-fat in this world is almost like being forced into a total 24/7 caricature not of your own choosing.

11 comments:

  1. it's wierd, cause generations ago, a fat wife was a positive characteristic. heavier people were "healthier,sturdy, often country-people who could work hard, and not fragile."Often wealthy people were positively shown as plumper, indicating their status was higher.Being thin or skinny was seen as unhealthy and weak.--and poor.Slaves were often shown as being thin. the more money and power you had, the plumper you were, and this was a desired size by everyone.

    the advent of huge amts. of food, especially cheaper food, gradually changed that. Rich people tried to look slim, as if to disdain food, because plumpness was now a "common" or low working class characteristic.people in society, who had always had a hard time getting enough food, now had plenty,so a show of plumpness meant you got plenty of food, for a working class person; you were prosperous.

    Rich people did try to show how far away they were, from working class, by being completely opposite from them, and becoming slim instead.in this new world lots of banquets at weddings, ect,.denoted you were working class, not high status and rich.the rich wore jewels, furs,expensive clothing, instead because they had so much more money than working class.they no longer had to show they were prosperous the most, by flaunting much food.they flaunted other symbols of wealth instead.

    Now, people flaunt pc ideas, like thinness, hatred of obesity, and hatred of fat.to appear upper class, now, you embrace environmentalism, "green"dogma, recycling, "diversity,""sustainability," "charity to Africa, but not Americans", solar panels, wind power, electric cars that are expensive, and anything that is very fake, PC, and more worried about global warming, then the fact that your own Americans are starving.

    In other words, it's a matter of fashion.

    For example, you are supposed to seem upper-class, smarter, better educated, and richer, if you try to ban plastic bags, in favor of paper ones. (It also goes along with being less religious, or even anti-organized religion.

    ) Also, being very hip to technology, and the latest electronic gadgets, proves that you are better, more advanced, and superior class of person.low class people are shown as, disliking or not having or understanding computers and the Internet. They are also denoted as poor.

    So nothing has really changed among human beings, except that the fashion fads of upper-class, low class, and rich and poor, have changed around. Now, it's very high class and rich to be thin, and very low class, poor, and uneducated, to be fat.

    Fat people do not get hired, as a result. They are not considered "PC enough.since it is very PC to be thin, people who are fat, are very disapproved of.they are blamed for being too lazy, too greedy, and stupid.

    In fact, they catch a lot of flak from the rest of the world, because it is now considered appropriate and approved of, to be very thin. It is FASHIONABLE. It is a matter of FASHION.so it's considered okay to blame fat people for everything, and to blame Americans for everything also. Since Americans are so envied by the rest of the world, it's okay to blame them for everything, for all the world's troubles also.it is out right JEALOUSY and HATRED.

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  2. Yeah you are right Unknown, a fat wife generations ago was considered a poisitve. You are right about how fat used to be in fashion for the rich, and thin was for everyone else. And now it has switched around. Today obesity is an opposite class marker as the thin can afford the more whole food, trainers, more leisure and the rest. You are right that thinness is a new status of wealth. I have noted that even between working class and rural America areas vs upper class ones, the more affluent are far thinner. I know with money it is far easier to stay thin in this society. Just look how thin all the celebrities are.

    The PC stuff [which often costs money to adhere too] definitely is definitely flaunted by the more affluent.
    Yes the environmentalism, "green-dogmas--what normal working class person can afford an electric car or a special "green" house? All of them are invested in the globalist vision given to them by their multi-national corporations they either are invested in, or work for at high levels, so yes they care more about giving charity to and DEVELOPING the third world, while turning away from America or America's poor. Just look at that commenter I had the other day, she was literally almost sneering at American poor people. I dare say, this was a viewpoint inherited by whatever corporation she works for that demands all that travel.

    You are right about the trends and the rest the affluent follow, the "right" kind of food, the "right" kind of causes, the PC junk. Even with size acceptance, when I was bumping around in those circles, it was mostly for wealthier fat people from what I could tell. Many were simply wealthy PC types who happened to be fat. Few in numbers overall but definitely not living the same existence as the rest of us. They had money for conferences, BBW clothing, and the rest, they weren't worried about keeping the electric bill paid.

    LOL about the gadgets when I moved from my rural poor area here, I almost had a culture shock, seeing everyone glued to their devices, talking, talking, talking, to no one seemingly about nothing important.

    You are right about how class has changed around. The wealthy women around here are lean as greyhound racing dogs, even comparing AVERAGE to AVERAGE, somehow they have ended up with smaller frames and far more thin bones, but then perhaps that is how all the job discrimination plays out, I posted an article the other day, that said even normal sized women at size 12 or so weren't making it in the boardroom but far smaller women. You are right, fatness is considered low class, and poor and uneducated. But then discrimination works against the fat, they do not get the great jobs, they are looked over for promotion, or laid off.
    They are not considered PC enough. I think about what I went through at even my midsized smaller weights to get jobs and it was insane. Class warfare is being instituted via obesity, as you have seen me talk about quite a bit on this blog.

    Yep now you have to be more FASHIONABLE [read THIN] then INTELLIGENT to make it, and the right connections help too. Fat people are the new scapegoats in America and well now they have turned against Americans too, so now we are blamed for everything too.

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  3. The Cleveland show is a cartoon and does make fun of everybody just like family guy. The fact of the matter is There are people exactly like Kendra in this world so her character is realistic. Do you find the real people like that offensive? Have a sense of humor and not everything is about you. It is a funny show and I will continue to watch it.

    Another thing about bigger women in history. Yes they were bigger but not 500 lbs. They were healthy and not super skinny but were still healthy. Anyway you look at it 500LBS is ridiculous and at what point in life did you give up and just accept being fat. Its never to late to get up off you ass and work out. Don't blame it on anybody else but yourself. Not to be cruel but you did this to yourself.

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    1. Hey, you don't get to judge other people's lives. I am over 300 pounds but guess what I'm an incest survivor with an eating disorder, have also had some bulimic behaviors but never to the point of becoming thin. I've also attempted suicide more than once and I used to self injure. Who are you to judge? And why is it that people shame and blame those who are not the socially approved size and shape. This isn't really about health. It's prejudice. And for your information, there are cultures in which young women are force fed, yes, to the point of being, in your way of thinking, 'disgustingly' overweight. THEIR society believes you have to be very large in order to get a husband. That is what is valued. Your comments are really offensive.....There are societal/physchological/physical reasons which are in play and you have NO RIGHT TO JUDGE. Many psych meds cause weight gain too but unless you have walked a mile in someone else's shoes you should shut the 'f---' up.

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    2. Yes we do get to judge. Welcome to the internet.

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    3. That goes both ways buddy. I judge those who believe everything they are brainwashed to believe.

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  4. Yes they do make fun of everyone. Why would I find people who look like me to be offensive?

    I am not one of those fat activists who try to claim everyone was walking around at 300lbs and zaftig or whatever the popular word is now. I never accepted being fat. It sucked. I got diagnosed with a disease that is a rare fat disorder. Maybe you should read some recent posts on this blog. You are insane to think someone becomes fat by choice. I am glad your body works normal.

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  5. The Cleaveland show is pretty nasty, and I was appalled by some of the things I heard said about the overweight lady. There's really no excuse for it......My best guess is that whoever runs/writes the show has got some self hate going there, this need to ridicule and be nasty is a quality of it's own. There is a hatred too it. A sign of people who have very shaky self esteem. After all, why do kids at school pick someone to bully? Because they've been bullied. Yeah, it's really not okay. We see far too much of in on TV yada yada.........You can be 'edgy' without being mean spirited....

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  6. Its a cartoon. They make fun of EVERYBODY. If u dont like the show, dont want watch it. Nobody's forcing u.

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  7. Hey, Anonymous, you scrote, they do not make fun of EVERYONE. I have NEVER seen a tall thin young male ever taunted on your precious funnee bully stuck in junior high shows. Just like how all media pretends to be so "accepting" when the acceptance only expands to rich skinny bitchy misogynist gay men and hyper-masculine stereotypical "violent women-abusing bad-ass" black men. If you are a young, compliant, tall, skinny supermodel type female who is seen as available prey, you get the illusion of kindness for obvious reasons. Everyone else is treated as sub-human, and deserving of abuse by these "lots of 'lulz'" shows.

    Something is very wrong with younger people. It's almost as if the junior high bullies never emotionally matured, and anyone who doesn't fit the four stereotypical reality show hero roles lauded by this cruel and vapid society (ie young, nasty "it's just a joke!" predatory white frat boys, hypermasculine, aggressive young black men, shallow, appearance-obsessed bitchy young model-wannabe tall 'n' skeletal women, or every bit as bitchy yet more nastily smug tall skinny young gay men) is seen as an undesirable underclass.

    I graduated from an Ivy League school and have two advanced degrees but could never land a job. One could blame it on my Asperger Syndrome, but the second they saw how I looked, I knew I wouldn't get the job even if I could have appeared completely neurotypical. I later learned that if you were not a tall thin male, you would not be hired unless you were a "tall skinny hot girl", a "tall skinny funny gay guy" or a "tall, tough 'cool' black guy."

    I realized how stupid I was to get all this education. My position in high school, as miserable as it was, at least had a few teachers who saw me as brilliant despite the fact that I was hated for how I looked. In the working world, all that matters is it you look "right" and make people "comfortable".

    I'm not "obese" by BMI, but I'm four foot ten with lipedema and I'm a trans man. I get laughed at daily. My parents were very wealthy, were very loving when I was a happy short child who ignored other parents' nasty comments about my "stocky, dumpy" body and "boyish ways" since I was considered "gifted". After all these years of me failing at life, transitioning, and being unable to exist socially or find employment, I know I've gone from being their joy to being their greatest disappointment (I'm an only child, to make matters worse). I need to remind myself every day that this society has gotten even meaner, more superficial, and less suited to my needs with every year to the degree that it's as if I never left junior high or high school. And the puerile, hateful, degrading music/film/"reality" teevee/gleefully vicious video games/porn soaked internet/nuance-starved journalism/inane social media "influencers"/divisive yet equally idiotic politics/lying corporations/and the screen-obsessed, authoritarian, empathy-challenged, critical thought-lacking "Milennials", in their vast numbers, love it all and see nothing wrong.

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    1. "In the working world, all that matters is it you look "right" and make people "comfortable".

      Yeah that's for sure. You know I've lived that one prior to disability. I wish something could change in this society, there's a looks pecking order that has grown oppressive. I have noticed some disturbing things on those shows too, some of it seemed to worsen with the years. Yeah it's like all the nightmares of our junior high school years grew worse and worse. I think the entire jobs world needs change, why should people be forced out for looks [those healthy enough to work] or on Aspergers etc, who can do that job. Maybe some UBI, or changes the system--the job system is failing beyond belief, especially with Covid will change some of this garbage. This is one way they got everyone by the throat. Sorry to hear what you have gone through. I would get away from parents who do nothing but remind you of being a failure or if they have any "loving" bone in their body left, confront them on it and consider low contact if they will not change.

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