Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sailor Moon & company are not fat! And neither are you!

So I hate to nark on my favorite show, but there are some things about Sailor Moon and weight that beg to be questioned. While for the most part, the message about having some weight is positive, sometimes they have fallen short. I do have to take into consideration that the show is over 20 years old among other things. However, if the Sailor Moon below is fat, then we are all fat 24/7. Again, usually the message is good. At one point in the series Mamoru (the main love interest) is quoted saying "a girl's beauty isn't limited to her looks". My point is the girls don't look overweight to begin with. Now, it's alright to talk about exercising and eating well so you don't get to an unhealthy point. In  the episode Usagi will teach you how to lose weight!, Usagi is seen eating a lot of junk food at multiple points. They also try to point out that the enemy is taking advantage of these irrational insecurities by opening up an evil gym. He tells "the chubby one" (for the record I think she's cute) that she can lose weight and even the skinny ones can! They look haggard afterwards, not pretty. The teacher becomes "too skinny" as Sailor Moon's counterpart, Luna the cat, points out. Usagi starves herself until she faints. The other love interest tells her she "doesn't need to be on a diet. If anything, you should gain some weight". Then Luna acts like if she eats a few dumplings she'll automatically gain pounds. Mamoru says "at least you won't gain as much" when she throws one at him. Point being that there's some back and forth discrepancies to note. I've read other debates over how Luna and Mamoru were just teasing Usagi. That's some pretty cruel teasing if you ask me. The worst part is when Luna draws a picture of a huge Usagi in 6 months time. If this was junior high school and a student was caught drawing that, they'd be reprimanded. At the end of the episode Sailor Moon says,"Girls who want to lose weight are strong!". Even with the want part thrown in there, I struggle to see the goodness of the message shine through. I actually have more annoyance towards the episode of the 4th season named Aim for the Prima! Usagi's Ballet. She has very minor love handles and everyone keeps telling her she's gotten fat and should go on a diet. The possessed skirt that gets thrown at her during a fight rips off because her body stretched it out. Give me a break! Throw a tutu at her in her size next time! They didn't address the issue at all in that episode. Sailor Moon has many good messages about  loving one another and such. Most of the weight comments are made in jest. Of course, I've started to realize the word fat can be just as harmful as other slurs. I'm sure some people used to think it was funny to tease me about my acne when I was a teenager. It never was for me. Even calling yourself fat keeps the stigma alive. While I wanted to clear up my skin, I eventually learned that it wasn't something to be ashamed of. It sucked, but it wasn't my fault. I did everything to try to tone it down. To point out one GOOD thing in regards to looks: in the 2nd season episode A huge shock for Usagi! Mamoru declares a break up, Usagi asks the store clerk if make-up would make Mamoru take her back. The clerk (who is the enemy) says "yes, he'll love you again!" Usagi immediately rejects it and says, "Mamoru is not like that!" Anyway, I love Sailor Moon and she looks fine in all these screen shots. Part of it is her character being ridiculous in season 1, yet there are also blatant, wrongful accusations in season 4 that are not worth the screen time!!!




1 comment:

  1. that is so funny you're a sailor moon fan! I'm 25 and for the past three years I've been sick I've been craving to watch sailor moon again! I watched it with my sister and brother when I was a teenager and it just makes me happy! I think it's about time I get a few dvds and see if my husband will watch it with me. Lol! ;)

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