TLC's New Series, 'Hot And Heavy,' Is Full Of Body Negativity That Should Have NEVER Been Approved To Air
TLC is taking the fear of women everywhere and telling them that yes, it's harder to find love if you are not included in society's beauty standard.
Lily Moe
Olivia Kappler
@TLC on Twitter
TLC is attempting to become relevant again in probably the most offensive way they possibly could. This week, the television network announced their new show premiering in January called "Hot and Heavy."
For these couples, love knows no size. See the highs and lows of their mixed-weight relationships on the series premiere of #HotandHeavy Tuesday, January 7 at 10/9c. pic.twitter.com/QAFh8AILj7
— TLC Network (@TLC) December 10, 2019
The television show is about "mixed-weight" couples, which in this show, means plus-size women and their thinner boyfriends, who show their love and the trials they face in their relationship.
In the trailer of the show, you see the girls talking about how they were told that it would be hard for them to find love, and then got lucky finding the "hunky" men that they landed.
In other words, TLC is taking the fear of women everywhere and telling them that yes, it's harder to find love if you are not included in society's beauty standard.
So, let me get this straight. Plus-size women are already prone to feeling shame from stores, food, or even backhanded comments from other women but now they are becoming the subject of reality TV's entertainment?
There is nothing healthy, positive, or beneficial about this show's message, and frankly, it could have harmful repercussions on its audience.
By creating a space where weight is the key focus, not the other aspects of the couples represented, TLC is leaning into body negativity and fatphobia that is sure to hit home with many viewers.
The average size of an American woman is 16. The average American woman has also dealt with poor body image, an eating disorder, or body dysmorphia. While we have made real moves to crush the stigma behind a woman's weight, every woman who has dealt with a body image disorder understands how easy it is to be triggered back into old habits.
By portraying plus-size women as any less than worthy of love — or lucky to be in a relationship because of their weight — TLC is reminding women everywhere that the number on the scale, apparently, does matter.
Wake up TLC, we're starting a new decade — and your fatphobic, outdated views of beauty are not welcome.
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