When Netflix first aired the trailer to their "coming of rage" show "Insatiable," it sparked an outrage for being "fat-shaming." A change.org petition was started to cancel the show before it officially aired, and I decided not to sign it. The star of the show, Debby Ryan responded to the backlash on her Instagram by saying "We're not in the business of fat shaming… I hope fans will wait and watch the show before passing judgment." Due to her response, I decided to watch the entire series, reflect, and then decide on rather or not if the show fat-shames. Sadly, not only does "Insatiable" fat-shame, but it makes a mockery of other social issues.

Here is a list of 12 social issues that "Insatiable" poorly depicts for each episode.

Episode 1 — False Accusations

In the first episode of Insatiable, the main character, Robert "Bob" Armstrong Jr., is a pageant coach for Dixie Sinclair, a very dumb high school student. Dixie loses the pageant which upsets Dixie's mother, Regina. This causes Regina to jump on stage and tell everyone that Dixie lost because Bob touched Dixie in an inappropriate way. Now, everyone in town refers to Bob as a child molester and he lost business.

In the real world, Bob could have sued Regina for the false accusations. First, though, Bob probably would have faced jail time and would have been sued. They play the false accusations as a joke on the show and that it barely affects Bob except for his business. False accusations are very rare, but they can cause damaging effects. One man spent 26 years in jail after being falsely arrested for being raped.

Episode 2 — Bullying/PTSD

In episode two, "Skinny is Magic," the other main character, Patty, is having flashbacks of being bullied. This is very common for people with PTSD and bullied victim. My issue with this is who unrealistic the bullying is made out to be. Bullying is real and a serious issue, but the bullying on the show is done for entertainment purposes only. I know that it is a show, but the could still be made to be relatable as well.

During one flashback, the overweight Patty is walking down a hallway and the marching band is playing trumpets as she walks. When Patty trips, everyone in the hallway laughs at her. This is one of the many examples of unrealistic bullying takes place. Overweight people are often victims of bullying, but it is often not at that level.

Episode 3 — Sexual Assault/Harassment

In this episode, Stella Rose Buckley is an old friend that Bob once had an affair with. Bob and Patty go to visit because Stella Rose is an expert in pageants. During their visit, Stella Rose wants to have sex with Bob again. He repeatedly says "no" but she tries to force herself onto him.

Male sexual assault survivors are often looked at as weak or demasculinized. It is also viewed as uncommon, even though one in six men are survivors. During the scene, Bob says "no" and Stella Rose does not respect him. Yet, this sexual assault is never brought up again. This leaves a message to the audience that if a man is sexually assaulted, do not report it or mention the incident again.

Episode 4 — Statutory Rape

In episode four, "WMBS," Bob's teenage son, Brick, admitted to his parents that he has been sleeping with Regina. The same Regina who lied and said that Bob touched her daughter. During the show, Regina actually does get arrested and faces consequences. But, this is only because Bob used this to get back at her for having a meltdown during another pageant.

While it is great that Regina faced consequences for her crime, I wished the show did not use her arrest as a revenge plot. What happened to Brick is an awful crime and wrong. He was sexually assaulted and they never discussed the facts or mental effects of a victim of statutory rape.

Episode 5 — LGBTQ+ Community

During the episode, an entire LGBTQ+ center is featured! They also include an incredible scene where Patty and a male-to-female trans woman have a serious talk about body confidence. The only issue is that the center is never mentioned again and the trans woman is unnamed and not seen again.

For the rest of the season, the only LGBTQ+ character is Nonnie, Patty's best friend. Bob and other Bob count, but that will be explained later. Queer representation problems are how shows use LGBTQ+ characters for views. They are usually one time characters who never get a real story arch. They are just used for views are typically used to make a heterosexual main cast look like they are more diverse than they are.

Episode 6 — Religion

In episode six, 'Dunk 'N' Donuts," Bob gets Patty baptized in order to enter the Miss Magic Jesus pageant. The episode makes a mockery of the purpose of religion in many ways. Bob agrees to be Patty's Godfather without understanding the meaning of the huge commitment. Patty and Bob also seems to not care about religion in any way.

They teach the audience that religion is not serious in any way. While religion can be practiced in many ways, I find it unfair that they are both joining a church to do a pageant. Religion is a practiced faith that is supposed to have a significant purpose, and the show represents religion as a joke.

Episode 7 — Alcohol Addiction

Magnolia Barnard is Robert "Bob" Barnard's teenage daughter. Bob went to high school with the main character Bob. Magnolia is an alcoholic who is being treated by her own father and friend, Dixie. Dixie keeps giving Magnolia alcohol so that Magnolia is unfit to compete in pageants. Dixie desperately wants to win a pageant.

What Dixie did to Magnolia is horrible, yet in the show, she gets away with it and never faces consequences. Over 600,000 teens each year struggle with addiction in the USA. Yet, it appears glamorized and is hardly addressed in the show. The creators had an opportunity to addressed important drinking issues in the USA, and they missed their opportunity.

Episode 8 — Teenage Pregnancy

During the episode, Wieners and Losers, Patty has sex with a boy named Christian and believes that she may be pregnant. After a pregnancy test, it turns out to be positive. This episode is actually very realistic, surprisingly. What ruins the episode is how it turns out that Patty is not pregnant. She actually has chimera, an extremely rare condition where Patty absorbed her twin while Patty was in her mother's womb. Chimera can cause a false positive on a pregnancy test.

There is nothing wrong with this storyline. It shows the struggles that teenage girls have and how abortion is an option. They also showed light on a serious condition. The issue is how after Patty finds out that she has chimera, the Pastor from episode 6 claims that Patty has a demon in her. Patty just went through a stressful time and she is being told that she has a demon in her.

Episode 9 — Mental Illnesses

During the ninth episode, Bob and Patty are discussing how Patty may have a "demon" trapped inside her. Patty wants to remove the demon because she believes that it is causing all her bad behavior. Bob makes a comment that her bad behavior is caused by borderline personality disorder.

In the show, it was a mockery to borderline personality disorder because they are comparing a demon and bad behavior to a misunderstood personality disorder. BPD is a disorder that causes people to have severe trouble maintaining relationships with others and understanding themselves. The show made one simple comment, yet it can cause a huge misunderstanding of the disorder to those watching.

Episode 10 — Domestic Abuse

During this episode, Patty's ex-boyfriend, Christian, is trying to convince Patty to go away with him. Patty had just found out he had gotten in trouble in the past for kidnapping his girlfriend. Patty repeatedly says "no" to going with him. Patty's best friend, Nonnie, tries to pull Christian off of Patty, but he pushes her down. Christian then grabs Patty. Patty's other ex-boyfriend, Brick comes to rescue Patty.

One in three teens experience teenage domestic abuse, which means what happened to Patty to is very realistic and common. What is surprising is how the incident occurred during school, yet you never hear about Christian getting in any form of trouble. There were many eyewitnesses surrounding them, but no witnesses reported Christin for what he did to Patty and Nonnie.

Episode 11 — Polyamorous Relationships

Episode 12 is a very interesting episode, Bob Armstrong and his wife, Coralee, decide to save their marriage by entering a three-way relationship with Bob Barnard. Bob and other Bob began having an affair with each other, but get caught in episode 11. Coralee has been secretly in love with Bob Barnard for years. They believe this will save their relationship.

Polyamorous is real and a very serious, but the show turns polyamory as a form of cheating and a way to save a relationship. If you want to learn more about a healthy polyamorous relationship, there are better depictions of it on TV and online.

Episode 12 — Suicide

In this final episode, Bob discusses to Patty how he saved her from suicide. In the very first episode, Bob decided to attempt suicide but decided not to because she agrees to do pageants with him. In this episode, Bob comments that Patty and he are soul mates in a way.

Bob should not have put this kind of pressure on Patty and should have sought mental help. Suicide affects thousands of people each year. Yet, the show is teaching people that one person can come in and save you from suicide. That is a serious issue and should never be depicted.