Friday, December 14, 2012

Body Size in Children's Fiction: A Weighty Issue

Augustus Gloop winning his Golden Ticket
The other day, my 9-year-old son K. became very upset when my 16-year-old teased him for being "chubby." My wife and I sprang to K.'s defense and told him that he was far from being chubby, which is true. But later, I got to thinking why this particular comment on a person's body size would cause such consternation on all sides. Our society is hugely conflicted about bodies and their sizes, with fat being a four letter word. (Yet, at the same time, most of us would caution our children about unrealistic body sizes for both men and women, the "Barbie and Ken" look.)  

Because I am a writer, and because I am a believer in the power of literature to shape minds and influence society, I set myself some homework. What are the images in children's literature of people who are considered overweight? A Google search led me to an interesting article on a website called Health for the Whole Self. The article detailed the portrayal of overweight characters in books, and it wasn't pretty. To summarize: if not downright mean and horrible--Dudley Dursley in Harry Potter--fat characters are often portrayed as gluttonous or unintelligent or in some way morally deficient. Think Augustus Gloop or, from my British childhood, Billy Bunter.


Billy Bunter sneaking some "tuck."

Another well-written article is by Beth Carswell, entitled The Skinny on Fat in Fiction. As she says,
"If a character is fat, it's a struggle for them, and often the central theme of the book. It often goes hand-in-hand with unflattering character traits, such as laziness, sloppiness or greed."
"In a world that is (all too slowly) more often refusing to accept prejudiced stereotyping of other varieties, fat people seem like the last largely socially acceptable target of the bigot. Will authors ever take to making a character fat just because, like having freckles, or blue being their favorite colour, or does it always have to serve a bigger purpose? Will there ever be a day when a character is fat without it carrying so much weight?"
Part of our society's prejudice may come from being repeatedly told by a medical establishment that being overweight is horribly unhealthy. But not all people who are considered overweight are "couch potatoes." I know a woman whom some would consider fat, but who is a tremendous kickboxer. She has accepted her body and thinks of herself as strong.

Finally, I write this as someone who is trying to think through this issue, who recognizes it is complex, and would love to encourage a discussion about it.

Some questions: Can you think of children's novels with main characters who are overweight, for whom their weight is not viewed as a moral failing?  Are there novels out there where the character's arc does not include the journey from fat and unhappy to thin and happy? 

15 comments:

  1. "Will there ever be a day when a character is fat without it carrying so much weight?"

    Now that's some great writing. :)

    Personally, when I write characters, I try to break stereotypes. In the last book I wrote, everyone was skinny, but they were runaways, so it made sense.

    In the book before that, one of my favorite characters was a bit chubby. But it didn't define him. He was also very kind, and very good with a sword. People are not one-dimensional, so character shouldn't be either.

    Also, in real life, I personally struggle with my weight. I weigh an eighth of a ton, which sounds crazy, but I'm six foot two, so it's not as bad as it sounds.

    That said, I prefer "portly" or "broad-shouldered" to "chubby."

    Great post, Mike!

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    1. Thanks, Matt. "People are not one-dimensional, so character shouldn't be either," is some pretty darn good writing yourself.

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    2. Heh, well, minus the typo it might be.

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    3. Isn't that what copy editors are for? :P

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  2. I hadn't thought about the medical establishment angle, but you're right. Both overweight kids and adults are being declared a future drain on the public health system due to comorbidities of obesity (diabete, heart disease, cancer, etc.) But our lifestyles are increasingly sedentary.

    It's such a complex issue.

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  3. Oh, and hobbits are naturally chubby. Many people (including me) think Sam, "the fat hobbit", is the real hero of LOTR.

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    1. He most certainly is. Samwise Gamgee is the truest friend in all of literature.

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    2. Christine, I had completely forgotten about the hobbits. Thanks for bringing up Sam Gamgee!

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  4. Great post today, Mike!

    It's not a MG title, but I've recently checked out Rae Carson's GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS. The protagonist begins the story as overweight, but this isn't a commentary on her character, it's just a part of who she is. In an interview included in the paperback edition, Rae Carson talks about her worries about showing her character's change -- which includes weight loss -- and what it might say indirectly to her readers. In the end, she felt the weight loss was necessary and natural, as the character goes through many physical feats that would spur weight loss, but she was so focused on representing a balanced view of personhood and weight that she went on to publish an article (also in the pb version) about weight and society. Read it here: Weighing in on Weight http://greenwillowblog.com/?p=4757

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  5. Love this post. No one talks about this! It's not out till June, and forgive the shilling, but my favorite character in my middle grade mystery, THE WIG IN THE WINDOW (Harper Children's, 6/18/13) is substantially overweight. It is an issue in the sense that withstanding insults has made her almost absurdly self-possessed and confident, but she's the secret hero of the book. I never stopped to think how often fat is equated with moral failing but perhaps my subconscious did!

    Also not a MG title, but I do like the book THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS by Carolyn Mackler very much, as well -- but I think that character does end up losing weight by the end. Still, fantastic book.

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  7. Timely post, Michael, as this is such a crucial issue across our country. Children need to be healthy, of course, but not bean poles, and kids should always be celebrated no matter what their size! My heart breaks for kids who think they're not good enough due to their weight. As authors, this is something we can help change.

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  8. One of the secondary characters in the novel I'm writing is an overweight boy named Orville. Orville DOES get picked on in the story because of his weight. And he IS more socially awkward and lacks confidence BECAUSE of all the teasing. It's a terrible and a perpetually reinforcing scenario for far too many kids in real life for me to shy away from it in my story.

    Orville, who happens to be one of my favorites, grows and develops right along with the main character, but Orville’s growth comes through his own actions and self-discovery. I have no plans for him to “lose weight” in order to be happy…because his weight isn’t his problem. His problem is that he’s learned to define himself by the standards of the people around him.

    It can be so easy to fall into stereotypical handling of secondary characters. Despite my affection for Orville, this post has still made me stop and rethink everything I’ve written about him so far. I don’t ever want to be complacent and assume my execution never falls short of my intention. So far, I think I’m managing the balance between telling it like it is and telling it how it ought to be. I can only hope someday if others get to read about Orville too, they’ll come to love and identify with him as much as I have.

    Thank you for the post!

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  9. One of my favorite MG novels is SLOB, by Ellen Potter. The main character is overweight, but hasn't always been. Something happened at some point in his life that changed everything, and the reader discovers what it is little by little. I LOVE the voice in that novel, written in first person. He's very upfront about his weight. Such an awesome book. I gave it five stars. There aren't that many books out there where the hero is overweight.

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    1. This is such a compassion, complex book. Ellen Potter is a remarkable writer.

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!