As the world becomes more sensitive to the harm that can be caused by negative on-screen portrayals of marginalized groups, it can be tempting to believe that such portrayals are mostly disappearing from movies (as they should). Since children are particularly susceptible to negative messages like this, it would be ideal to remove these portrayals from children’s movies specifically. To that end, one study examined the prevalence of weight-based stigma in recent popular children’s movies (Howard et al., 2017). This article will briefly summarize that study.
Methods
This study initially considered the 10 top-grossing G- and PG-rated movies of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 (through August). The authors then selected for analysis the 31 movies that were most well-known by a sample of children aged nine to 11. These movies consisted of 24 animated movies, six partially live-action movies, and one fully live-action movie. Each movie was also broken into “10-minute coding segments” for detailed analysis. In total, 302 segments were coded.
With the 31 movies selected, the study that had raters work “from a predetermined list of variables to document obesity- and stigma-related content” in those movies. Raters coded stigma-related content in both movies and movie “segments” based on the following:
- Verbal exchanges (weight-related insults)
- Visual presentation of characters (portraying obese characters and their actions in a negative light)
These factors have been used to measure weight bias in previous studies examining media.
Results
The following findings were obtained:
- 84% of movies included weight-based stigma
- 30% of movie “segments” included weight-based stigma
In other words, the majority of the movies investigated included weight-based stigma, and nearly one-third of all ten-minute “segments” included weight-based stigma, indicating that there was more than just one instance of weight-based stigma in many movies. Raters also included specific instances of this stigma, such as:
- “Idea that looking overweight is the main problem, rather than physical health” (Big Hero 6)
- “Granny: ‘Hey, fats, get me out of here’; ‘Pretend I’m a dessert; that should motivate you.'” (Ice Age: Continental Drift)
- “Man with overweight is the only exasperated character after running; an important quotation was “food fixes everything.” (The Croods)
These are just a few examples, and the rest can be seen by following the link posted near the beginning of this article.
Wrapping up
While many people might expect weight-related stigma to be disappearing from children’s movies, the results of this study indicate that weight-based stigma is still extremely prevalent in most recent popular children’s movies. The authors also note that many of these movies promote sweets (like ice cream) in favor of more nutritional foods (like broccoli). In other words, not only is weight-based stigma the issue, but so are the mixed messages being sent by these movies.
References
Howard, J.B., Skinner, A.C., Ravanbakht, S.N., Brown, J.D., Perrin, A.J., Steiner, M.J., Perrin, E.M. (2017). Obesogenic Behavior and Weight-Based Stigma in Popular Children’s Movies, 2012 to 2015. Pediatrics, 140(6), e20172126. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-2126.
