Top 5 Problems with Netflix's Insatiable
#5: The Premise Is Based on Fat Shaming
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If you’ve heard anything about this show, it’s probably that the entire storyline is problematic in terms of how it addresses obesity and body image. The basic plot is about an overweight high schooler who gets punched in the face by a homeless man (after he steals her chocolate bar, of course). She has to have her mouth wired shut and due to an all-liquid diet, ends up losing a ton of weight and emerging thin and beautiful after her recovery. “Insatiable” has been marketed as a “satire”, but the show never actually gives any insight on what it’s like to be bullied for being fat- it just turns it into a joke.
#4: Bob & Patty’s Relationship
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Early in the season, a character is introduced who becomes main character Patty’s mentor of sorts: Bob Armstrong. He’s a lawyer/beauty pageant coach who takes on Patty’s legal case and (because she’s attractive now) also suggests that she could do well on the pageant circuit. Patty immediately falls for the much older man, and for several episodes we are forced to witness an uncomfortable dynamic between the two that crosses the line from cringeworthy to totally inappropriate. Bob’s behavior throughout this arc is questionable at best.
#3: Debby Ryan Wears a Fat Suit
The lead actress wears a fat suit in the flashback scenes and in general, the attitude towards her former weight is incredibly fatphobic. While there is a long history in comedy of thin actors wearing fat suits, in recent years it has been called into question as a practice. Buzzfeed’s Jenna Guillaume said, “Fat suits dehumanise fat people, reducing them to nothing more than bodies to be reviled and mocked.” She went on to say that she has “never once seen a fat suit used in a positive way” and we’d have to agree!
#2: The Treatment of LGBTQ Issues
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“Insatiable” features several characters who are members of the LGBTQ community, but that doesn’t mean that they’re giving these figures proper representation. Patty’s best friend is gay, but it goes unacknowledged for several episodes and is played for laughs more than once. In one episode later in the season, there’s even a tired joke made about whether bisexuality exists. In another, Patty talks with a transgender girl about her body insecurities in a way that uncomfortably compares weight struggles and transitioning. The scene ends with the two of them confidently walking off in bikinis- making it clear that the show is totally tone deaf when it comes to this topic.
#1: They Joke About Sexual Assault
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In the very first episode, when we’re introduced to Bob Armstrong, he details how he became disgraced in the pageant scene after a mother accused him of molesting her daughter. Bob follows this up by saying that him being falsely accused is just as bad as him doing it for real. Let’s just come out and say right away that no, that’s definitely not as bad. The entire situation is played for laughs, and makes light of what actual victims of sexual assault experience. It also discredits accusers of sexual misconduct by implying that they’re self interested or seeking revenge.
