‘Pivoting’ is undermined by a careless weight-loss story

Three minutes into the show, Jodie announces she wants to get back in shape and see a trainer, so she can start living her best life.

It was my first time seeing her in a movie since she starred in Something Borrowed, and I must say she looked great. After hearing her character say she wanted to get back in shape, I was worried that her words would lead to a larger weight-related storyline. I breathed a sigh of relief when Sarah chimed in to say "You know the only weight you have to lose is Dan?" My relief was short-lived.

Jodie, Sarah, and Amy were friends with Coleen and were struggling to cope with her death. They all set out to become new versions of themselves after mourning her loss in different ways. Sarah quit her career in medicine to work at a grocery store. Amy wants to spend more time with her kids. Jodie wants to lose weight and have an affair with her trainer, Matt.

I had high hopes that the cast of Good Girls would help fill the Good Girls void in my life, since they include Amy's husband, Henry, and Coleen's husband, Brian. The first season left me confused. The majority of the antics are amusing, and the characters have a lot of potential. The show is undermined by a careless and harmful weight-loss storyline.

Jodie's weight-loss storyline is primarily used as a means to explore her conflicted feelings about her marriage, but writers could have achieved their desired result without establishing her unhealthy obsession with weight loss. If they felt the weight-loss storyline was necessary, they should have set out to better understand and portray the complexity of diet culture and eating disorders on screen. Writers created a storyline that was offensive and perpetuated fat-shaming.

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Three minutes into the series, weight loss came up as a red flag. Jodie is asked by Hot Trainer Matt if she has lost any weight recently. She explains that she is down a couple and is doing intermittent fasts, which he replied, "You're gonna be back in your skinny jeans before you know it." You are going to look so hot!

His comment implies that Jodie isn't already so hot at her current weight, which she is, and it promotes a ridiculous correlation between attractiveness and slim bodies.

Jodie and Matt kiss in Matt's car after three episodes. There is a clear spark between the two, but before you can fully appreciate it, Jodie asks, "Can I lose eight more pounds first before we do more?"

This joke is outrageously unfunny, insulting and reduces a serious issue to a punchline. commentary related to eating disorders can be triggering and harmful to people. It perpetuates ideas about weight loss and relationships with food. A June 2020 report by the ANAD predicts that almost 30 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. Eating disorders are the cause of 10,200 deaths a year. If writers are going to craft characters who have fitness goals or set out to tell stories related to body image and disordered eating, they need to do so with care.

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In some cases, the way people respond to Jodie's self-deprecating comments and obsession with weight will change. Her friends as well as Matt.

Jodie forced her legs into a pair of jeans to impress Matt in the pilot. When she can't get them off, she calls Amy and Sarah for backup, and they end up taking her to the ER after accidentally puncturing her leg with a pair of scissors. It is meant to be a comical low point, but it is also a great opportunity for Jodie's friends to remind her that she does not need to lose weight or fit into a certain pair of pants. They do not.

The lack of concern about Jodie's well-being is disappointing, especially from Sarah, who has dedicated her life to medicine. Several episodes show them responding with positive, supportiveAffirmations such as, "You are not bulky, you are beautiful, and I think your body is amazing as is."

Amy, say something! Credit: Michael Becker / FOX

Jodie's behavior and mindset as it relates to weight loss is a concern. Jodie is trying to lose a pound to feel confident enough in her body to sleep with Matt. After her husband shows her kindness, she feels guilty and wonders if cheating on him would be a mistake. The writers gave her an exaggerated reaction to her feelings, rather than having a mature conversation with her trainer. Jodie dumps a bunch of bread and chocolate into a large bowl and starts eating as much as she can in order to quickly gain weight back so she won't have to sleep with her trainer just yet. We later see her eating a pizza on her own. Amy ignores the comment and starts talking about herself.

Jodie gained four pounds in a week in the cold open of the next episode. Jodie was so close to her goal weight that she had a thigh gap. My affair with Matt is put off until the end of the year. I cannot fit into the leggings he wants to rip off of me and throw across the room.

Jodie says that the scene couldn't get any worse. I have to go. I wrote the high gap on my calendar.

Jodie, nooooooo! Credit: SCREENSHOT: PIVOTING / FOX

It comes across as more lazy than funny in regards to Jodie's storyline, because the writers are trying to be innovative by striking a particular style of humor that gives off majorly fed-up Bad Moms vibes. The conversations we are having about diet culture, which have moved far beyond what we see in this show, do not fit with the tone of the show. It is troubling to see an otherwise delightful show be dragged down by a reliance on offensiveness, as there has been a promising push for body positivity and representation over the past few decades.

It is understandable to react in unusual ways after a loss. It's wrong to use a topic as delicate as diet culture to enforce the view that a thin woman needs to lose weight. If Jodie's desire to get back in shape is meant to emphasize a larger struggle with self-love or eating disorders, I hope writers don't laugh at her struggles. I would urge the team to start giving Jodie more substantial storylines that focus on her crumbling marriage, her affair, motherhood, her desire for independence, or her unfulfilled career ambitions, rather than her weight, if this storyline is truly nothing more than a byproduct of misguided writing.

The Season 1 finale gave viewers a glimpse of Jodie's storyline potential. Jodie and her husband had an honest conversation about their issues, and she and Matt were hanging out without being focused on her weight. I hope writers continue to strive for that sort of depth if the show is renewed for a second season.

Jodie deserves better.

The first season of the show is available to watch.

If you would like to talk to someone about your eating behavior, you can call the National Eating Disorder Association. To be connected with a trained volunteer at the Crisis Text Line, you can either text NEDA or visit the nonprofit's website.