WHY SO MUCH HATE TOWARDS JANE

Having just watched “The Inbetweeners Movie” for the first time [late I know], I feel compelled to discuss one aspect of the film that not only relates to this blog, but a broader issue - The portrayal of plus size women in the media. The basic plot centres around the 4 main characters on a lads holiday, and the romances that develop between them and a group of girls at the resort. The sub plot in question is that of “Jay” with the girl in the picture; Jane [played by Lydia Rose Bewley, sister of Charlie Bewley from Twilight].Now she happens to be the ‘bigger’ girl in the group, and not just incidentally so. It becomes the sole focus of her characters role in the film. There isn’t a scene she features in that doesn’t make offensive reference to her size. She receives constant insults from the main characters, bit parts, and even extras who are drafted in to reinforce this idea that because she is a little curvier, it somehow makes her unattractive, and moreover, not worthy of respect from any of the people she encounters. In her defense, she doesn’t play the part in a downtrodden way [despite none of her friends visibly standing up for her], and takes the unrelenting barrage of abuse in an almost irritatingly forgiving way and oblivious way. I will explain why I say that shortly. Now to clarify, I don’t believe I was over sensitive or defensive with my response to the film. I was actually a big fan of the TV series, and took the extreme humor with the pinch of salt that was intended. I felt, however, that the portrayal of this particular subplot transcended humor and was actually potentially damaging. Having suffered numerous offensive blows at the hands of Jay, Alice makes a final romantic move on him at the beach. Surrounded by hecklers shouting sizeist abuse at her, Jay deals a final humiliating rejection which sends her running off. Instead of giving her character strength and esteem in the face of overblown public ridicule, the next time she comes into contact with her main abuser, she instantly forgives him. Not only that, she rewards his chain of attacks with the offer of a ‘blow job’ n return for a feeble apology. To me, this undermines any potentially positive outcome from the plot. It simply portrays the curvier female in a role that lacks the respect of her peers, but also the respect of herself. Considering this film is targeted almost exclusively at the 15-21 age group, who are incidentally the same age group most vulnerable to body issues, it’s a great cause for concern to me. My concerns were only compounded when I searched for more info on the gorgeous actress who played the part. The majority of what I found consisted of forums where HUNDREDS of young males within this same demographic used equally damning language to describe her physical appearance, and expressed their warped opinions of how her size somehow has some kind of bearing on her value as a person. There are SO many ways this film could have tacked this issue in a positive way which promoted confidence and body acceptance in it’s increasingly vulnerable target demographic, WITHOUT even sacrificing it’s trademark coarse humor. But sadly, it didn’t. I don’t think sexism exists in the same form as it did 30 years ago, but I think is it just as systematic and heavily ingrained. Sadly at the moment, it seems most obvious in the treatment of our beautiful curvy women, both on TV, online and in the wider community. Occasions in which they appear empowered and desired as opposed to as objects of humor or ridicule are few and far between. With such stark negative portrayals being played out in front of the impressionable, on this scale, I’m not surprised so many young women are resorting to drastic cosmetic procedures and dangerous diets in order to attain perceived value. So REBLOG this beautiful, voluptuous lady, and lets use OUR COLLECTIVE influence to redress some of these imbalances. Coz let’s face it, despite what the writers of this movie may have intended, she looks DAMNED good in that lingerie!!