Fat people have historically been targets of discrimination in the media. In this essay weseek to statistically quantify fat people’s representation in popular movies, and to answer how stereotypes of fat people are constructed through previous media representations. Furthermore, we seek to examine if these stereotypes are present in popular cinematic movies from 2021 in Sweden. The essay examines fat bodies as excluded from the social norms of thinness, and are defined by the oppression they endure, rather than their size or weight. A thorough literature search on the subject of fat stereotypes in the media make up the theoretical framework used in analysing the discursive representations in the movies. The results show that very few of the characters were fat, and most of them were men. Furthermore, seven stereotypes of fat people are represented in the movies Spider-Man:No way home and Dune. The fat character is mainly portrayed as unattractive and a sidekick to the main protagonist. In conclusion, the result match the societal structures of discrimination which may only be prevented through recognition and a reflexive approach. / Tjocka människor har historiskt sett blivit utsatta för förtryck och diskriminering i media. I denna uppsats ämnar vi att statistiskt kvantifiera representationen av tjocka människor i populära filmer, samt svara på hur stereotyper om tjocka personer konstrueras genom mediala representationer. Dessutom undersöks huruvida dessa stereotyper förekommer i populära biofilmer från 2021 i Sverige. Uppsatsen undersöker tjocka kroppar som är exkluderade ur smalhetsnormen i samhället, och de definieras genom förtrycket som dem utsätts för, snarare än deras fysiska storlek eller vikt. En djupgående litteratursökning på temat stereotypisering av tjocka i media, utgjorde det teoretiska ramverket som använts för att diskursivt analysera representationen i filmerna. Resultatet visade att ett fåtal karaktärer var tjocka, och att de flesta av dem var män. Vidare representerades sju stereotyper i filmerna Spider-Man: No way home och Dune. De tjocka karaktärerna porträtterades främst som oattraktiva och som medhjälpare eller sidekicks till huvudkaraktärerna. Avslutningsvis är resultatet samstämmigt med hur samhällets strukturer ser ut när det gäller diskriminering, vilket enbart kan motverkas genom erkännande och ett reflexivt förhållningssätt.

Obesity bias has become the most acceptable form of prejudice in American society (Latner, O'Brien, Durso, Brinkman, & MacDonald, 2008). Stigmatization of the obese has tremendous social and economic costs both for the stigmatized population and for society as a whole. Few studies have been done to show effective ways to reduce obesity bias. This study looked to expand the research on effective ways to reduce obesity bias. Using a between-participants experimental design, the present study investigated whether multi-faceted information content about the causes of obesity (including psychological, social, and physiological causes) would be more effective in reducing obesity bias than any one of these causes presented alone. Results showed that participants' evaluations of a target woman who was overweight did not differ between the information content conditions, nor did they differ from a control condition. Implications, as well as limitations in the current study, are discussed.