Fatphobia and machismo: “Criticisms against Lalachus and Cristina Pedroche are two faces of misogyny”

“Both Pedroche and Lalachus two faces of misogyny This shows us that Very special things are demanded from women. and the moment you give up on that idea, they will criticize you,” notes Elena Crimental, communications director of the Observatory for Diversity in Audiovisual Media (ODA). “Even if you comply with beauty codes in both behavior and appearance, you will receive criticism. “This is a very symptomatic situation,” the journalist adds.

Fatphobia on TV

On this occasion, the presence of Lalachus (Laura Yustres Vélez, real name) on one of the most important nights of the year was controversial because Breaking traditional beauty standards which has historically dominated television that night. The comedian and collaborator of ‘La revuelta’ has faced criticism for his physique since his presence in the bells was announced. “Unfortunately, the debate does not surprise us because It’s common for fat people to receive a lot of criticism when featured in the media.. Moreover, if a woman has the same body as a man, she will receive much more criticism on screen and will be seen as fat in front of the man,” Analyzes Criminal.

It is very important that people like Lalachus are featured in the media because There is a huge lack of body diversity television Moreover, population data shows that our diversity is very different,” argues the expert. In a highly fat-phobic society, ODA believes: “audiovisuals have enormous potential to change collective images”. “If the things we constantly see on our screens are very specific bodies and appearances, this will make many people other facts remain invisible “The naturalization of other identities, both physical and in other discriminated against groups, is also not encouraged,” he adds.

Continuous aesthetic pressure

Constant aesthetic pressure forces women to comply with certain parameters that few people can meet. “We also need to question the concept of normativity because it is a norm that we create, fiction and reality are much more diverse,” says Criminal. These nonnormative constructs are often linked to poor health, but many studies have shown that this is not a correlation. 50% of the Spanish population does not have a body size called the norm and in TV series and fiction, They don’t even reach 10% of the characters. “This means that the people who live here and how we are portrayed are underrepresented,” he adds.

An inequality that Lorena Vázquez and Laura Fa, regular collaborators of Antena 3’s ‘Espejo Público’, also face: “There are regulatory bodies that neither Laura nor I should have, dedicating ourselves to television and the easy criticisms we often make. Both are related to our body. Most of the time no one cares whether what we say is right or wrong, if they need to attack us they do it physically.”explains Vázquez. “The main criticism or message that ‘haters’ send us specifically is always ‘get fat, go on a diet‘. The first criticism is always about our physique and we are not actually fat,” says Laura Fa.

Body diversity on television

This fatphobia is added to misogyny and other demands. “If you are a woman you will suffer some oppression, if you are a fat woman you will suffer more, if you are a fat and racist woman even more.. All these elements that make up our identity are more important,” evaluates ODA communications director.

Lalachus’ presence on television this year has been a “Positive discussion for all women in media“, As the comedian alluded to, Mamarazis note that a television representation that offers such a positive vision of combating obesity is “very good.” “This shows Different bodies can now reach areas reserved for certain people only”, they value. “If you didn’t have the necessary body before, you couldn’t be an emcee or ring the bells.”