Mo’Nique campaigned against “skinny bitches” and equal representation of plus-sized women during her reign on The Parkers. Monumental for TV, indeed. Promoting a healthy body image is a relevant factor for every age group, especially adolescent girls. Teen dramas in the 1990’s and early 2000’s hit home with sensitive topics like drugs, premarital sex, rape and sometimes homosexuality. The vanity of life as a teen girl became a recurring theme. We saw a number of scenes with young women unhappy with their looks.
Laura Winslow wanted bigger breasts on Family Matters. Lisa Turtle obsessed over having the latest designer threads to keep up appearances on Saved by the Bell. And, little Rudy just wanted to look old enough to get into a club to see her favorite rapper, JT Freeze on The Cosby Show. Very seldom did audiences hear or see the plight of an overweight, Black girl. Kimberly Parker (Countess Vaughn) was inadvertently regarded as the overweight sidekick on Moesha, but her high school experience was more or less portrayed as delusional and boy crazy. If you’re anything like me, your body resembled Kim’s and not Moesha. Raven-Symoné brought an unconventional look for main characters to the Disney Channel.
Next Up: Raven Baxter
Witty. Edgy. And at times a bit hood for Disney, That’s So Raven presented a quintessential urban teen who just so happened to have psychic abilities. Audacious enough to make a caricature of herself, yet never too timid for shady one-liners, Raven served up comedy for the nonstop misfortune that is accompanied with awkward teenage years.
A diverse squad, two loving parents plus a pesky brother, all the makings of a family sitcom. That’s so Raven aired from early 2003 to the fall of 2007. You may remember, this is the age of belly rings, popped collars, jersey dresses and all things denim.
Raven’s style kept with the times, always capitalizing on her own added flair.
The story just so happened to be told by a curvaceous teen.
The real life actress, struggled with her weight off-screen admitting to tipping the scales at 180 pounds by the time the show ended. Although Raven was a full figured adult playing a teenager, she represented plenty of girls grappling with the pressures of society to be thin. Skinny is often associated with beauty. The show addressed the effects of fast food and poor eating habits, which continuously plague the American teen diet. One episode in particular discussed the discrimination of voluptuous models in the fashion industry, and the modifications of photos to suit unrealistic glamour standards.
Season 2, Episode 8: “That’s Not So Raven”
In this episode, Raven submits an original design to a magazine’s young fashion designer contest and becoming an unexpected finalist. Like always, her vision of the future didn’t exactly play out as planned. Raven’s talent was meant only to be seen on another body and not her own.
The image printed inside the magazine was far from Raven’s reality.
Raven confronts the editor about her photoshopped image and her question is met with the ultimate insult.
“My dear we love your design. We just don’t love you wearing it.” The rationale behind the decision to alter Raven’s body is an outdated idea that cover models, particularly for teen magazines are reserved for petite white girls. At one time, this held true. Full figured Black teens weren’t hailed as the model standard. One shallow opinion not only crushed Raven’s fashion aspirations, but she began to second guess her size, even exploring weight loss options. Luckily, her side kick Chelsea warned against extreme measures just to slim down.
A short scene, but a subtle educational moment. Eating disorders be it bulimia or anorexia are common dangers teens experience each and every day. Even with the most wholesome characters, Disney gets kudos here for highlighting weight issues and self-image.
In the end, Raven stuck to her guns and modeled her dress, her way.
Today, audiences see a variety of beautiful Black girls on television that come in all shapes and sizes from Zendaya to Amber Riley. Magazine covers have evolved and so has the fashion industry. There are bloggers and online communities geared toward curvy girls, dismantling rigid ideology of beauty. Society once excluded women, size 12+ from the spotlight. Those days are over. Raven is one of the first to prove that young women, even with a little extra baggage lead happy and fulfilled lives just like others half their size. Although her real life gets a lot of side-eyes these days, Raven’s time at Disney did not go in vain.
