Give us a fighting chance, an image we can be proud of

Michael Farmer
Jeannina Perez
WST 3015 (Introduction to Women’s Studies)
17 February 2010

The Film Hairspray though based on civil rights and social justice is full of false generalizations and stereotypes. I’ll focus on the false generalizations and stereotypes made about women’s sexuality in the film and the idea’s about plus sized women.
Plus sized women in the film are constantly shown as outcast individuals with little or low self-esteem, they’re portrayed as matronly and un attractive. The contrast becomes very clear when Tracy Turnblad tries out to be on the Corny Collins show and is denied, among other things because of her size. The message is thin is normal, thin is good, thin is beauty. Look at Tracy’s mother, she stays shut in the house, buries her poor self esteem in housework and boring matronly clothes. Tracy’s mother is not portrayed as pretty or sexual, she’s fat, old, sad and asexual in the film. She’s also portrayed as weak, she takes the path of least resistance, she has a hard time making declarative statements. “We ignore the societal and institutional reasons that contribute to obesity; instead we perpetuate cultural sizeism by pointing fingers at those who overweight reinforcing the idea that thinner is better.” (Seely 131)
Somewhat conversely women who are portrayed as sexual are portrayed as evil, calculating, slutty, diseased ect. “Sexuality can be restriction and vulnerability for women Especially for those who repudiate societal norms.” (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 149) We see this in the character of Velma Von Tussel. One of Velma’s spotlight moments it’s a song entitled “Ms. Baltimore Crabs”, she sings about how she slept with entire panel of judges to in order to be crowned a beauty queen. It’s implied that because of her sexual freedom, she’s contracted crabs. Later in the film she tried to seduce Mrs. Turnblad husband to turn them against each other with the promise of sex.
Even though the film Hairspray was mostly mocking these stereotypes and bringing their falsehoods into the sunshine it does shed light on the way many of the people we see everyday actually feel. The reality is that big women are beautiful, sexual, strong willed and any other personality type they want to take on. But, when we tell them from a young age as a collective society they cannot be these things, they must be less than, we set them up for failure. The same goes for women who are blossoming sexually. Women should be empowered to explore sex and be armed with the sense of seld and knowledge needed to be safe. If we send them into the sexual world with one hand tied behind their back because of stereotypes in films, We all lose.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Womens Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th. New York, NY: Mcgraw Hill, 2010. 149. Print.
Seely, Megan. Fight Like A Girl. New York, NY: NYU Press, 2007. 131. Print.