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More than 100,000 people sign petition asking Netflix to scrap 'toxic' show 'Insatiable'

It’s been accused of fat-shaming

More than 100,000 people sign petition asking Netflix to scrap 'toxic' show 'Insatiable'

It’s been accused of fat-shaming

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More than 100,000 people sign petition asking Netflix to scrap 'toxic' show 'Insatiable'

It’s been accused of fat-shaming

A petition to stop the release of a new show, "Insatiable," on Netflix, has gathered more than 110,000 signatures. To understand the controversy, here's the simplified premise of the show, from what can be derived from the trailer: A high-school student named Patty is relentlessly bullied over her weight. She then gets punched in the face and spends her summer vacation in the hospital with her jaw wired shut, meaning she can't eat. When she returns to school after summer, she is slim and vows to get revenge on the students who bullied her and made her life terrible.You can watch the trailer here. When the trailer was first released, there was a flow of backlash on Twitter with people immediately criticizing the plot line of a girl who is only accepted within her high school community when she loses weight and fits a certain "acceptable" aesthetic. There was also immediate criticism over the fact the lead actress, Debby Ryan, is wearing a fat suit. The criticism of the show has since turned up a notch after a 19-year-old activist Florence Given started a change.org petition calling on Netflix to stop the release of the show, writing:"For so long, the narrative has told women and young impressionable girls that in order to be popular, have friends, to be desirable for the male gaze, and to some extent be a worthy human... that we must be thin."The toxicity of this series, is bigger than just this one particular series. This is not an isolated case, but part of a much larger problem that I can promise you every single woman has faced in her life, sitting somewhere on the scale of valuing their worth on their bodies, to be desirable objects for the male gaze. That is exactly what this series does. It perpetuates not only the toxicity of diet culture, but the objectification of women's bodies."This series needs to be cancelled. The damage control of releasing this series will be far worse, insidious and sinister for teenage girls, than it will be damaging for Netflix in their loss of profit."Cosmopolitan UK reached out to Netflix for comment about whether it will stop the show's release, but it declined to respond.Florence told Cosmopolitan.com/uk her stomach turned after seeing the trailer: "I could see immediately how damaging this would be. The trailer shows Debby Ryan in a fat-suit saying ‘I used to look like this, was bullied every day ... but then, everything changed’. Enter new, ‘hot’ patty who experienced extreme ‘weight loss’ (if that’s what you can call taking off a fat suit) after she had her jaw wired shut, stopping her from physically eating ... This is dangerous."The petition also suggested the show could cause eating disorders and that the trailer alone has already triggered people with eating disorders. So far, Florence's campaign has amassed more than 110,000 signatures and hopes to garner 150,000.Florence, a survivor of an eating disorder, said the response to her petition has been "overwhelming and heartbreaking" after she claims to have received letters from parents, doctors and dieticians all voicing concerns over the trailer."When thousands of people are calling for this to be taken down, expressing that the trailer alone has triggered their eating disorder — we need an apology, not excuses," she says.Following the initial Twitter backlash, lead actress Ryan posted a statement saying she "cares deeply about the way our bodies, especially women's, are shamed and policed in society" and therefore wanted to work on a programme that addressed this "through satire". She pleaded with fans to wait and watch the show before they pass judgement.The show's writer, Lauren Gussis, also spoke out, insinuating that the character Patty was based on herself and said she was trying to share her story and insecurities through the humor in the show. "The show is a cautionary tale about how damaging it can be to believe the outsides are more important — to judge without going deeper. Please give the show a chance," she wrote.

A petition to stop the release of a new show, "Insatiable," on , has gathered more than 110,000 signatures.

To understand the controversy, here's the simplified premise of the show, from what can be derived from the trailer: A high-school student named Patty is relentlessly bullied over her weight. She then gets punched in the face and spends her summer vacation in the hospital with her jaw wired shut, meaning she can't eat. When she returns to school after summer, she is slim and vows to get revenge on the students who bullied her and made her life terrible.

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You can watch the trailer .

When the trailer was first released, there was a flow of backlash on Twitter with people immediately criticizing the plot line of a girl who is only accepted within her high school community when she loses weight and fits a certain "acceptable" aesthetic. There was also immediate criticism over the fact the lead actress, Debby Ryan, is wearing a fat suit.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The criticism of the show has since turned up a notch after a 19-year-old activist Florence Given calling on Netflix to stop the release of the show, writing:

"For so long, the narrative has told women and young impressionable girls that in order to be popular, have friends, to be desirable for the male gaze, and to some extent be a worthy human... that we must be thin.
"The toxicity of this series, is bigger than just this one particular series. This is not an isolated case, but part of a much larger problem that I can promise you every single woman has faced in her life, sitting somewhere on the scale of valuing their worth on their bodies, to be desirable objects for the male gaze. That is exactly what this series does. It perpetuates not only the toxicity of diet culture, but the objectification of women's bodies.

"This series needs to be cancelled. The damage control of releasing this series will be far worse, insidious and sinister for teenage girls, than it will be damaging for Netflix in their loss of profit."
There's a petition to stop this Netflix show because it's 'fat shaming'
Netflix

Cosmopolitan UK reached out to Netflix for comment about whether it will stop the show's release, but it declined to respond.

told Cosmopolitan.com/uk her stomach turned after seeing the trailer: "I could see immediately how damaging this would be. The trailer shows Debby Ryan in a fat-suit saying ‘I used to look like this, was bullied every day ... but then, everything changed’. Enter new, ‘hot’ patty who experienced extreme ‘weight loss’ (if that’s what you can call taking off a fat suit) after she had her jaw wired shut, stopping her from physically eating ... This is dangerous."

The petition also suggested the show could cause eating disorders and that the trailer alone has already triggered people with eating disorders. So far, Florence's campaign has amassed more than 110,000 signatures and hopes to garner 150,000.

10 ways to spot coercive control https://www.cosmopolitan.com/u...
Tina Rowden/Netflix

Florence, a survivor of an eating disorder, said the response to her petition has been "overwhelming and heartbreaking" after she claims to have received letters from parents, doctors and dieticians all voicing concerns over the trailer.

"When thousands of people are calling for this to be taken down, expressing that the trailer alone has triggered their eating disorder — we need an apology, not excuses," she says.

Following the initial Twitter backlash, lead actress Ryan posted a statement saying she "cares deeply about the way our bodies, especially women's, are shamed and policed in society" and therefore wanted to work on a programme that addressed this "through satire". She pleaded with fans to wait and watch the show before they pass judgement.

The show's writer, Lauren Gussis, also spoke out, and said she was trying to share her story and insecurities through the humor in the show.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

"The show is a cautionary tale about how damaging it can be to believe the outsides are more important — to judge without going deeper. Please give the show a chance," she wrote.