'Insatiable' follows the story of an overweight teenager who loses weight in an attempt to take revenge on her school peers for bullying her.
An upcoming Netflix show is getting panned even before it has been released due to its sensitive - or insensitive, whatever way you look at it - subject matter.
Over 100,000 people have signed an online petition to stop the release of Insatiable, Netflix’s new teen drama that is facing accusations of ‘fat-shaming’ and sending a bad message to young people since its trailer came out on 12 July.
Insatiable’s lead role will be played by Debby Ryan as an overweight teenager who loses weight in an attempt to take revenge on her school peers for bullying her. The actress wears a fat suit in scenes before her character Patty loses weight over the school break.
The event that motivates Patty to lose weight is being punched in the face and having her jaw wired shut because of her injuries. It ‘lost me more than just my summer vacation,’ the character says in the trailer.
In this climate of body positivity and fat activism, the show’s delicate theme has caused a stir online. Florence, who started the online petition, wrote: ‘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.
‘We still have time to stop this series from being released, and causing a devastation of self-doubt in the minds of young girls who will think that to be happy and be worthy, they need to lose weight.
‘This series will cause eating disorders, and perpetuate the further objectification of women's bodies.’ The petition is urging Netflix to ditch Insatiable instead of releasing the show on 10 August as planned.
Ryan, who plays the lead character, came to Insatiable’s defence on social media, saying she ‘cares deeply’ about how women's bodies are ‘shamed and policed in society’.
‘Over the last few days I've seen how many voices are protective and fiercely outspoken about the themes that come to play in this story,’ she wrote on Twitter.
‘I was drawn to this show's willingness to go to real places about how difficult and scary it can be to move through a world in a body, whether you're being praised or criticised for its size, and what it feels like to pray to be ignored because it's easier than being seen.
‘I hope fans will wait and watch the show before passing judgement.’