ABSTRACT
Women of every age, race, class, and sexual orientation are bombarded with messages about obtaining the perfect body and that one can never be too thin. Straight women statistically outnumber lesbians amongst those diagnosed with eating disorders and lesbians disproportionately support fat activism. In recognizing their influence on vulnerable and impressionable populations, the mass media and other disseminators of popular imagery have a responsibility to promote healthy body ideals and to celebrate more realistic body types. A different kind of criticism for Mike & Molly came from Maura Kelly, a blogger for Marie Claire magazine. Kelly further asserted that, since Mike & Molly features two fat actors, the show promotes “obesity.” To add insult to injury, she ended the piece with basic diet and exercise suggestions to those reading her blog. Kelly’s original blog is hardly surprising considering the history of American women’s body ideals and America’s aversion to fat.
