Representation II: Body Image in Literature

 Hi everyone, it's me again! I will be continuing my Representation in Literature series, this time touching on the topic of Body Image. As I have been saying in all my posts regarding these sensitive posts, I am not trying to step on any toes and what I am solely trying to do is help writers to be more inclusive in their writing in order to shed some light on what issues are in the world and reflect it in their fictional stories. Anyway, let's get started!

As stated in my other post, there are four rules to representing a certain demographic well. 

As you may have recalled from the title, today we shall be focusing on how to represent those individuals who have Body Image issues. Your poem or story has a world of untapped potential, so why make all your characters the same when you can make complex characters that people of all countries can relate to? Just like humans, all characters should have qualities that in a combination make them all unique in their own way. These can be strengths, flaws or even circumstances (as is in this case). But let us jump right into it, shall we? How does one write a character dealing with Body Image issues correctly? There are four rules to representing each demographic perfectly, which will remain the same for each demographic but in each article I shall be writing specific details for each representative matter. 

1) UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS AS SEPERATE AND COLLECTIVE ENTITIES. 

Firstly, body image issues are on a spectrum. Yes, fat shaming, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are predominant in our culture but what about skinny shaming and binge eating? The last term has come about as now that thicker bodies are being accepted (which is amazing don't get me wrong), thinner ones are shunned, causing them to feel terrible about their bodies. And what happens when a combination of the ones above occurs? As many people know, you can't please everyone, so you may have a character who is first skinny shamed, but then as they get fatter, it's not enough for the people and they go to the opposite extreme, starving themselves and vice versa for fat shaming. Also keep in mind that male counterparts CAN be affected by body image issues and these are the ones that need to be represented the most, so if you are writing a male character with body image issues, I applaud you. If you are writing a female, that is also okay, because we need to shed some light on these conditions and not hide them from the world simply because it feels uncomfortable to talk about.

2) MAKE THE CHARACTER'S JOURNEY DIFFERENT, JUST LIKE IT WAS A REAL PERSON. 

What I mean by this is that like every person's story is different, so should your character's. For example if you are going to write a character who is skinny shamed, explain that she loves to eat but her metabolism is different to the rest of the population and she eats much more than people think. Explain her confusion on why this is happening. What I'm getting at here is explain your character's backstory about this topic. It doesn't help to just state that she is skinny shamed without writing why. Also, does she come to terms with her body image? What causes her to change her mind? These are all questions that the author must have an answer to if the character is well developed. 

3) UNLESS IT'S CRUCIAL TO THE STORY, DON''T MAKE IT THE CENTREPIECE OF IT ALL. 

One thing that most people do not agree with when it comes to representation is when it feels forced. An example is when a particular piece of media makes it clear that they put a character different from the dominant culture just for kicks. If this is your intention, kindly do not write a character with body image issues. If on the other hand, you genuinely want to represent a condition which is not the dominant culture, go ahead. If the story you are going to write is about the journey of accepting and conquering body image issues, obviously it has to be the centrepiece of it. However, if you are writing any other genre, please do not make it the end all and be all of your story. An example of how you can do this is mention it off handedly or describe the symptoms of that particular character and then let the readers come to their own conclusions. 

4) RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH AND IF NOT ENOUGH, RESEARCH EVEN MORE.

 The most important and fundamental thing to do when representing a minority in any sort of art is to research. For example, sure, anorexia does eventually lead to passing out, but getting there is a gradual process. Most of the time, it comes from people constantly berating a person for not being the ideal body weight, and especially if he or she cares what the people think, does everything to make them approve. Eating disorders and body image issues are a psychological disorder, not a physical one. Which basically means that if you're going to write an overweight character who suddenly gains weight because of a medical condition, it's not the same, although it may lead to body image issues.

I hope these tips were helpful and happy writing, everyone!