#representation: plus size

[representativecharacters]

Characters: Tabitha and Courtney/Witches of the Creek

From: Craig of the Creek

Representation: Lesbian, Plus Size, Subculture*

Their Importance: They’re the most prominent of several completely undisguised gay couples on this show. They’re a sweet, affectionate couple and alternate between teasing and supporting the protagonists. Their relationship is initially ambiguous until they share a kiss in the Halloween episode. Craig of the Creek also features characters with a wide range of body types. Is short, rounded and broadfaced which are typically traits that are treated as comical and unattractive but her appearance is never commented on. 

*The girls are also heavily into witchcraft and are pretty gothic which gets them mistaken for real witches by the child protagonists. Tabitha and Courtney enthusiastically play along and embrace their role as resident witches. This is treated as an endearing character trait instead of as something morbid and pathological. 

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Misaki Oota

From: With the Light

Representation: Body Type, Gender-Nonconforming

Their Importance: Oota is a plus-size girl with some masculine-looking features. In a lot of comics this would regulate her to caricatured comic relief. Instead she’s a realistically-drawn significant character who’s appearance and “indelicate” behaviours are never played for laughs. While she deals with bullying from classmates she has an unwavering confidence in herself, excels at kendo and loves cute clothes and has several close female friends as well showing that not adhering to limited gender roles doesn’t mean not enjoying anything feminine. She also has an adorable romance with rising idol star and classmate Kanata. 

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

The Baker Thief Double Post

The world of Baker Thief is one where gender variance and are so mainstream that there’s hardly worth remarking on. The very diverse cast are completely contented with their identities and there are no tiresome exposition monologues to slow up the action - it’s taken for granted that the audience knows what all these niche labels are. This is a very refreshing variation on every other nb and/or aspec-related story I’ve read which feature plenty of clunky explanation scenes.

Character: Claire/Claude

Representation: Aromantic, Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Plus-Sized

Their Importance: Claire/Claud is literally the first aspec character I’ve come across that doesn’t spend any time angsting over their status. The same goes for their nonbinary identity. There are also several (factual not-particularly-fetish-y) descriptions of their large figure which is a nice twist on the mainstream image of a nonbinary person which is skinny and androgynous.

Character: Adele

Representation: Aspec (Demisexual)

Their Importance: She‘s a highly driven and morally upright investigator. She casually comes out as demi in an early scene and it’s simply one of several aspects of her character. She has a deliberately ambiguously relationship with Claire, which plays with the conventions of mainstream romance.

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Glimmer

From: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Representation: Asian, Plus size 

Their importance: She's allowed to be both heroic and flawed, and grows a lot throughout the show- we initially meet Glimmer as a naive teenage girl, but after seasons of loss, hard choices, but also forming new friendships, it was wonderful to see her become a powerful queen. A lot of Glimmer's story revolves around living up to expectations both her mother and her position as a future ruler has placed on her- but unlike way too many stories like that, Glimmer has clear support, and her self doubt is acknowledged as valid. 

Most action shows like to pretend all women and teenage girls have the body type of a model, so Glimmer never being shamed for her weight is incredibly important. So is her never being portrayed as lazy or greedy, both common stereotypes about plus sized people. 

 Glimmer also has a love interest- the last season confirms she is in love with her childhood best friend Bow, and he feels the same way. Multiple people in the fandom praised that this is a main interracial relationship where neither partner is white (Bow is black, Glimmer is East Asian). They were also always shown to be affectionate and understanding with each other and fought together as a team, so it's no wonder most of the fandom including myself loves their eventual love confession and happy ending.

Thanks to anon for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Mei

From: Overwatch

Representation: Chinese, Plus-size

Their Importance: Mei is one of the cutest characters in the game who undergoes a lot of dark stuff in her past, however, she remains positive. She is more chubby than other characters but it is never noted on by anyone else.

Thanks to @philophile-ciel for the write-up!

[representativecharacters]

Character: Nicola Murray 

From: The Thick of It 

Representation: Anxiety, Plus size

Their Importance: Nicola is a government minister and a Secretary of State, so she is a very high ranking government official. She later goes on to become the Official Leader of the Opposition, making her one of the highest ranking people in politics. In her first episode, Nicola outright states that she’s claustrophobic. She it’s evident that she’s on edge because you see her carry around a bottle of Rescue Remedy. She has panic attacks on screen more than once. It’s rare to see characters have realistic panic attacks on screen and especially in a comedy in which it’s not played for laughs. It’s also not common to see people with anxiety progress so far in their careers on screen.

Issues: Although Nicola’s claustrophobia is named, her anxiety is only stated without being stated and is not named. She is also the brunt of jokes (omnishambles) based on her claustrophobia. She is portrayed as an absent mother. She is shown as loving her kids, but because of her job, she finds it hard to be there for them. And while she progresses to be the Official Leader of the Opposition, she doesn’t stay that way.

[representativecharacters]

Character: Terri Coverley

From: The Thick of It 

Representation: Plus-size

Their Importance: Terri is a senior staff member in her department and she is a high ranking member of the government. Of course, jokes are made at her expense, but it’s refreshing that none of them have to do with the fact that she’s fat. In fact, her weight is never commented upon nor is she ever shamed for it. She isn’t shown to be eating as often as some of the other characters. But her life outside of her work is slightly explored (she appears in a workplace comedy) and she is happily married and she appears in and directs community theatre musicals.

Issues: Like everyone else in the show, she’s not that good of a person. She used to be hardworking, but, like everyone else in the show, lost interest in her job and became jaded and lazy. It could come off as ‘fat person is lazy’, only everyone else is portrayed in the same light.

Thanks to anon for the write-up!