AIBU fat sexism?

[DrinkTaboo]

Hi all,

Ok so I have wanted to ask this since yesterday but I am I little worried it's going to offend. So I just want to say I know there has always been and still is more sexism towards women then men and this is not a point scoring thread.

Ok here I go.... I want to know why I never see fat men on TV ads, yes really? All I seem to see now is large women jumping around in knickers and bra, on some TV ad, yes they look fab!! And I think it's good that we are putting more out there other then just really thin models but I never see large men on TV ads jumping around in the sea or pool in their underwear? 😂

I asked a few rl friends and all of them have pulled a face at me an gone, eww why would I want to see a large man with belly hanging out, dancing around on my TV screen in his underwear.

AIBU to think it's sexist?

P.S. I am not taking about dating, I have never gone out with a large man myself, so again. No point scoring. This is just about the TV ads.

There is definitely at least one ad featuring a fat man on a beach at the moment. Can't remember what it's for, though.

But in general, YABU. There are a LOT more fat men in the media in all kinds of roles, and it's not seen to be nearly so much a problem for a public career as it is for women.

Southern comfort? He isn't dancing, but is cool af

There is a fat man on a beach advert. Think it's for some skin cream.

The Go Compare dude looks overweight. unless he's in a suit.

A fatsuit, I mean. Not that he suddenly looks slim in a suit..

There are overweight men in abundance across all forms of media.

The "plus size" women being shown as empowering are very beautiful, very airbrushed versions of overweight women.

Societal sexism is not against men, believe me.

Whenever you see a “larger” man, it will be for comedy effect or a Slimfast advert. Same goes for someone wearing glasses - will be for Specsavers.

Men's career prospects, safety, worth to society is not generally measured by how they look. Whereas for women their "worth" still does tend to be measured on their appearance. In general men can add a few pounds and it will have no effect on his earning power (Leo Di Caprio) but if a women does the same she is more likely to be denied work. The appearance of average sized women in advertising, I suppose, seeks to redress this in some way. With women still being most affected by eating disorders and poor body image, seeing "NORMAL" women reflected in TV and advertising is important. Plus we are all talking about it so it helps with business.

I put normal in inverted commas because many "plus sized" models have beautifully proportioned weight distribution and represent the average overweight person about as much as Kendal Jenner does.

Because it's still objectification of female bodies.

You are all right about men in the media, I was just on about the ads because I have seen a lot of them lately an thought hang on.

Yes I guess I did not think about them being air brushed

This is why I like asking because it gives me food for thought. I feel a little silly now but still glad I asked.

I imagine those images of fabulous looking 'plus sized' models have, like their slimmer counterparts, been airbrushed and tweaked to within an inch of their lives.

Very, few women, unless very young and/or very slim and toned have lovely smooth contours like those women do.

Don't believe the images you see on screen or in photos.

Agree with pp, most of the larger men on screen are there for comedic effect to some level.

The Southern Comfort man is a beautiful example of this. He's got a fat stomach and is wearing a tiny pair of speedos or shorts, can't remember which, yet he's still 'cool' and impressive because he's drinking Southern Comfort.

It's a huge con that women have been convinced that empowerment comes from taking off our clothes. It doesn't at all. It just feeds into the narrative that our sole worth is in our appearance.

We can express our pride at being female without being naked. Clawing back power can be best done fully clothed in comfy shoes.

Clawing back power can be best done fully clothed in comfy shoes.

Aye but you cannae swim in the sea fully clothed with a pair of birkies. These ads are usually about being "beach ready". Surely clawing back power can also be done in a bikini and flip flops - the power to swim in the sea and not give a flying fuck about my belly/hair/scars/thigh gap etc etc.

OP have you watched any TV recently? Almost all presenting duos are a gorgeous model next to an aging man. Think Holly & Phil, Cheryl and Dani (X Factor). If this is one area where unconventionally attractive women are getting prominence then that’s great.

I've never really thought about it OP but you're right.

The only times I can recall fat men on the beach in adverts, they've been the subject of humour.

I’ve seen clothing ads with larger men in them. It depicted them as cool/get together with the lads not mocking them or saying they’re empowered or anything.

Yes but the ads are about being 'beach ready', whatever that means, and clawing back power as defined by the advertisers.

Wobbly bit, hairy legs etc are still not acceptable in the advertisers' world and despite supposedly showing 'ordinary' women frolicking in bikinis on the beach, they're still airbrushing out the wobbly bits, which in a way is worse than just using the slim women they always used to use.

My last post was in answer to RolyWatts post.

Watching the new season of Stranger Things and I was struck by how fat and doughy Hopper (police chief, Eleven's guardian) was. He had a scene where he took his shirt off and he had giant flabby love handles. Feel better?

Fat men are used for the 'useless Dad' ads. I think the issue with there being no fat men in the beach ads is because men don't need to be 'bikini ready' therefore there isn't the same male market for useless beauty products.

Boots doesn't need to tell men 'come on let your gut hang out' because men do that already.

Complaining that there aren't enough men in these ads is a bit like complaining that there aren't enough male dancers in strip clubs. Theres no market for it - because of sexist attitudes towards women.

Very small skinny men are often poked fun of in adverts (think Mr Muscle), possibly because men are more likely to feel insecure about being 'weedy' than being fat.
Signedup is right though, adverts reflect market demands and people's aspirations. Hence why plus sized models tend to be pretty with hourglass shapes. Being curvy and voluptuous is one thing, being an obese apple shape is another thing altogether (and I know this from exoerience).

Fat men like Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin get the skinny wives don’t they?

Loads of them on screen. One of the most genuinely depressing films I watched in recent years was the Adam Sandler one Pixels.
Large middle aged men allowed to be themselves, tiny silent women, it was abhorrent and particularly so in a film marketed mostly for teen boys.

Plenty of larger men in adverts. However these are shown as average normal men types so you probably don’t notice. Larger women are only used if it is advertising for a larger woman’s brand.

The difference is that forever men have been on tv in pretty normal sizes ie not size 6 or whatever the male equivalent is. You could see men on there the size of your brother or father and noone would bat an eyelid but how often would you see a size 12 or 14 woman on tv. Only recently because they are trying to get away from every woman having the figure of a model even if she is discussing politics