Since the 2015 release of “The Duff,” I can often be found expressing my distaste for the movie to virtually anyone who will listen. On the surface, the general concept is pseudo-feminist and misogynistic. A "duff" is defined as a "Designated Ugly Fat Friend". Yes, you heard me correctly.
When my younger sister first told me about “The Duff,” I questioned who would design a label such as this, and why they would market a film glorifying the concept to a target audience of impressionable young girls. This movie introduces a brand new way to harm the self-confidence of young girls and encourage the continued objectification of women. Insinuating that women center their friend groups around fake relationships with people of inherently lower physical attractiveness than themselves is baffling to me. This feeds into the idea that a woman’s sole purpose is to be the object of a man’s affection, and that women would go to great lengths (such as using another woman to make themselves more sexually appealing) to impress men.
After being labeled the "duff" of her friend group, a jock tells Bianca that she is essentially not dateable and exists only to provide information on her "hotter" friends to potential suitors. I take issue with this movie, firstly, because, the actress who plays the “duff” is Mae Whitman; a conventionally beautiful and thin girl. By insinuating that she is somehow ugly and fat, the movie feeds into unhealthy beauty standards for women, as well as promoting body shaming.
In a society where the fashion and entertainment industries have already established an almost unreachable standard of beauty, young girls cannot afford yet another example of what they should or should not look like to achieve true beauty. The rate of eating disorders among girls as young as 10 has more tripled over the last 30 years, and is at an all-time high, (1). Despite this, CBS producers are trying to pass off a girl who is no larger than a size 4 as the “fat friend.” I'm sorry, but when did being above a size 4 qualify someone as fat? More importantly, when did fat become synonymous with ugly? Beauty is not defined by a number on the scale.
In today’s society, girls are already bombarded by pictures of stick thin models and celebrities that have been photo-shopped to have the "ideal body." The average woman in America is 5'4 and weighs 160 pounds, but the average woman competing in a Miss America pageant is 5'7 and weighs only 120 pounds. Through research I found that the average BMI of these women is 16.9, while a healthy BMI is considered to be somewhere between 18.5 and 24.9, (2). This means that the average pageant contestants, or the women who are considered to be the "most beautiful in America," are extremely underweight by health standards. While I know this to be true, young girls are not aware of how unrealistic these standards are, and often establish unhealthy habits in an attempt to stay thin and "beautiful." This leads to eating disorders, crash diets, and a general stigma that, for women, appearance is the most important thing.
Disguised as a light-hearted coming of age tale, “The Duff,” perpetuates body shaming and bullying. We must work harder as a society to move away from stories of this kind, and build girls up rather than tearing them down.
