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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that Bridget Jones is a terrible role model for women?

259 replies

malificent7 · 22/10/2020 05:31

I quite like the films...they are funny... but they do make me cringe.
Bridget overhears Mark Darcy slag her off. ( calling her a spinster- terrible sexist word) then ends up obsessed with him.
She has a perfectly lovely figure but we are led to believe she is fat as she permanently struggles to loose weight and become like her "stick insect" love rivals..
She is quite inept and bumbling....adorable but useless.
That bloody song " all by myself!"

I know as women we can probably all relate to Bridget on some level ..especially her insecueities but bloody hell...we should not want to be like her!

Am I missing the point here? Are the films/ book sexist or are they trying to highlight sexism? Either way...Bridget Jones is anti feminist .

OP posts:
SomewhereEast · 22/10/2020 18:55

Why would anyone think of Bridget Jones as any kind of role model though? I don't think she was ever offered to anyone as such? I genuinely don't get the idea that fictional characters should have to live up to any particular ethical or ideological standard.

ShebaShimmyShake · 22/10/2020 19:06

@SomewhereEast

Why would anyone think of Bridget Jones as any kind of role model though? I don't think she was ever offered to anyone as such? I genuinely don't get the idea that fictional characters should have to live up to any particular ethical or ideological standard.
It's usually female characters (and famous people) that are expected to be role models.
UpHereforDancng · 22/10/2020 21:33

@lottiegarbanzo makes a really good point!

Backtoblack1 · 22/10/2020 21:35

I am more offended by how upper middle class she is

ThankHeavenForFuzzyDucks · 22/10/2020 21:47

B J was never intended to be a role model. A literary or film heroine maybe but not a heroine in the true sense.

Madcats · 22/10/2020 21:54

@Backtoblack1

I am more offended by how upper middle class she is
Rightly or wrongly, you had to go to a fairly decent Uni or have family connections, to have a reasonable job in the City or media (or a relaxed attitude to before "The Big Bang" kicked in.
Madcats · 22/10/2020 21:55

Oops, I accidentally censored my above post (but you will get the idea).

ThankHeavenForFuzzyDucks · 22/10/2020 23:11

@Chickenwing

In the book Bridget describes 9 stone 3 as a slip into obesity.
To be fair a lot of mumsnetters seem to think like this!!
JaffaJaffJaffpussycatpuss · 22/10/2020 23:13

@KihoBebiluPute

She's not supposed to be a "role model" though.
Exactly. I see what the OP is saying in a way because we all grasp at things and imagine how we should be. But she's not supposed to be a role model.
Ideasplease322 · 22/10/2020 23:45

Was he point of the worthy thing in the book not that she wasn’t actually fat, but her insecurities made her think she was?

If I remember right she was about nine stone,

Ideasplease322 · 22/10/2020 23:46

Weight thing not worthy thing

MadameBlobby · 22/10/2020 23:48

Bridget was/is the same age as me. I have always just thought of her as being of my generation and I can relate to her on that level

nibdedibble · 23/10/2020 08:52

To be fair, back in the mid 90s, people just were lighter and slimmer. It’s another country now where weight and acceptance of obesity are concerned. (I’m not judging, I’m obese now.)

TheNewLook · 23/10/2020 08:55

Was he point of the worthy thing in the book not that she wasn’t actually fat, but her insecurities made her think she was?

Yes. The entire premise was that Bridget was neurotic about her weight when she was actually very slim. This is what annoyed me about the films. Renee Zellweger gaining all that weight to play “fat Bridget” was completely needless and missed the point entirely in the pursuit of a few cheap gags. And of course everyone wanted to see the “fat” Hollywood actress!

Dailyhandtowelwash · 23/10/2020 14:55

We don’t know if she was slim. We only know her weight. But her weight wouldn’t make her overweight at most heights.

Vello · 23/10/2020 15:24

She would have to be under 5 feet tall to be overweight at 9 stone 2.

Dailyhandtowelwash · 23/10/2020 15:30

Yes, and she probably wasn’t! But her height and clothes size were left out deliberately so the reader has no idea exactly what her appearance is - not to mention her body composition which makes people look so different at the same weight. She’s not definitely ‘very slim’ basically.

Lincslady53 · 23/10/2020 18:01

The author, after many years of denial, has admitted that the books are based on her life experiences. Listen to her on Desert Island Discs.

TheWashingMachine · 23/10/2020 18:06

I bloody love Bridget Jones and she wasn't doing badly, she had her own flat, friends, etc.

pinksparkleunicorns · 23/10/2020 18:20

I think she's great.

Someone who can laugh at herself. We love her, her imperfections make her perfectly lovable. I envy her life in London with great friends.

I believe in body confidence. She looks great, and her attitude is comical but she is overweight. Biologically she would be healthier loosing a few stone. I'm so sick of it being considered anti feminist to admit when a woman needs to loose weight to be healthy. Said by someone of a very similar size to Bridget Jones.

Vello · 23/10/2020 18:30

No she's nine stone two in the books and wants to get to eight stone four.

She's not overweight. Like I said up to she would have to be 4'11 or below to even get to a BMI of 25. If she was of average height her BMI would be 21. If she lost two stone she would be dangerously underweight. It would be a medical emergency. She's definitely not overweight. It's part of the point of the books.

When she does finally get to her goal weight she looks terrible and everyone thinks she is terribly ill.

I haven't actually read these books for 20 years but I guess they made an impression! Grin

FelicisNox · 23/10/2020 18:32

YABU simply because you're massively overthinking it.

  1. these books were written almost 20 years ago and haven't aged well.
  2. the language in the books is a joke, they're not meant to be PC.
  3. she's a character in a book, not a role model.

Despite that, this is the reality of many women. Lord knows I've met a lot of them in my time and I don't judge because I wasn't much better myself at one point.

It's a comedy not a TED talk.

pinksparkleunicorns · 23/10/2020 18:36

@Vello I'm confused by your post. I'm 5'2 and weigh 9 stone 4. According to the BMI calculator on NHS website I'm overweight...

pinksparkleunicorns · 23/10/2020 18:38

Sorry @Vello I just checked, I'm a healthy weight (wahoo). Although "just" healthy it seems Confused

winniestone37 · 23/10/2020 18:41

Bridget Jones isn’t a role model you wally.