Hairspray: A Media Study

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Recommended: Importance of feminism essay

Yashkarn Pabla September 19th, 2014
HAIRSPRAY: A Media Study of Sociology Theories and Areas of Interest
Feminism is thoroughly repeated in the movie hairspray. Feminism is the promotion to make political, social and economic rights equal to men. Movies these days rarely have an overweight actor playing a lead role. People in our generation have an idea that all women actresses have to be beautiful and flawless in order to have lead roles. Tracy, Edna and Penny are affected by this horrific put down every day. Edna is a character from this movie whose role is played by a named John Travolta. Edna has not stepped outside her house for over ten years because she is very insecure about her weight. She is nervous about what the neighbours …show more content…

A whole musical starts and Tracy states that, “everyone says a girl that looks like me can’t win his heart.” Tracy broke the stereotype that states that an obese girl like her can’t get the popular, good looking guy. She was bullied several times by a number of people because they said Link wouldn’t like her because she is too fat. She replied, “he’ll like me for what I am inside.” Overweight people don’t get as much opportunities as slim and healthier looking people. Even though Tracy was told repeatedly that she won’t get Link because of the way she looks, she was determined to break the boundaries and open up people’s minds. Just because someone is obese in size than others, doesn’t mean that the other person is better than them. Size discrimination should be taken the same as ageism and racism. Secondly, Tracy receives a phone call from “Hefty Hideaway” to represent that store as a spokesperson. Being excited, she asks her mom to come with her to the clothing store as her manager. Of course, Edna strictly yells out, “I don’t want to be seen like this. Maybe after my next diet." Tracy losing her mind says, “Embrace your body and love who you are.” Tracy finally convinces her mom to go with her. The store owner offers them donuts and says, “Take as many as you want.” Again, they were criticized by their weight because the store owner offers them a lot of donuts. He stereotyped them like it …show more content…

Penny fell in love with a black male. In the 1900’s interracial couples were very rare. If you were dating or married to a person of a different race, people will judge you. Penny believed in that she can get away with her boyfriend that is, “black.” She went to his house and his mother was surprised but she supported them and told them to be prepared for all the negativity they’ll receive and have to live with. Just because she is a woman doesn’t mean she can’t choose who she wants to love and marry. If people of the 1900’s see this couple walking down a street, they won’t judge the man that much, they will mostly judge Penny. It’s odd for an interracial couple existing in the 1900’s, but it’s even odder for a white woman to fall in love with a black male. A woman is negatively impacted more than the male in the interracial relationship. Secondly, Penny had to go through a lot of difficult situations just because her best friend is fat. Stereotypically, an obese person hangs out with other obese people and a skinny woman hangs out with other skinny people. These people were already labelled into groups. In the end only their image was different. Feminism was carried on second hand from Tracy to Amanda. Despite being negatively impacted by being Tracy’s best friend, she supported her even when things got real ugly. Feminism occurred when Amanda hung out with Tracy. People judged her because she was skinny and Tracy was fat. Females are

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