Institutions and the representation of obesity and obese people

Q2. What institutions are responsible for the production of your media texts?

Panorama: Tax the Fat, BBC might represent obese people differently to a commercial channel, as the issue is a more political issue which needs to be resolved. As obesity is the number 1 health concern in the UK, the government is finding ways to cut the levels of obesity, as many people are dying rapidly.

Though, commercial channels seem to maintain the status quo of negatively representing obese people. Shows such as The Biggest Loser on ITV seems to degrade obese people as being comical, as the audience have scopophilic pleasures in watching obese people suffer,which has generally been accepted in the media.


Q3. What other reasons might there be for why your group of people/place is represented the way it is?

In regards to the hegemonic structures, obese people are often misrepresented in documentaries and reality television shows such as The Biggest Loser, as they are ridiculed and rejected as being weaker and ugly , which may not be the case in society.

Though, the constant exposure of obesity being a serious concern is signified in the news, therefore, obese people may be negatively represented as being undesirable due to thier weight issues.

Generally, magazines perpetuate the idea of obese people being ugly, as magazine institutions airbrush models to look more appealing to the audience. Therefore, obese people are often misrepresented, as they are rejected in the media for being overwieght.