Rachel Spence
A2 Media Studies Independent Study
Rachel's work scored 38 out of a possible40%
To what extent does 'The Fat Slags' strip in Viz offer a demeaning and sexist construction of northern working class women?
'The Fat Slags' is one of Viz's more well known cartoon strips and features in almost every issue. The characters are often placed on the front cover as an incentive to buy. First featuring in June 1989, 'The Fat Slags' are Tracy and Sandra, two female best friends from a Geordie working class area. The strip follows their exploits, usually involving them eating massive amounts of food, having casual sex, drinking and generally “being crude”, which is stereotypically not considered
conventional female behaviour. Yet this is what makes 'The Fat Slag's' a funny cartoon strip. The fact that Tracy and Sandra do not and will not conform to typical feminine behaviour makes them humorous, shocking and to a certain extent, feminist, acting the equals of men and refusing to act how society would expect them to. The humour in Viz has been accused of being “immature” yet this is what serves to be pleasurable, and most importantly has become a highly successful formula.
Viz's aim as a magazine is to gain sales and make a profit - as soon as strips stop being funny, they will be dropped. 'The Fat Slags' strip however has been sucessful for almost 12 years and still retains its popularity. Despite this priority for humour however, Viz throws up a number of issues within the cartoons, and offers many messages to its readership. One of these issues is its representation of women, particularly working class northern women, most notably in 'The Fat Slags'.
'The Fat Slags' strip always opens with “Oh lordy its...The Fat Slags.” and the name of the strip and the nickname of the characters has several connotations. Tracy and Sandra are fat (or as the cartoonist seems to suggest, obese) and in a body fascist society are therefore presumed likely to have a limited choice of men. They are also slag's (defined by the Oxford dictionary as “a prostitute or promiscuous woman), so they have a well known reputation for having had numerous
sexual partners, and also for being “easy” to sleep with. The whole 'concept' therefore is that because they are so overweight, they cannot be picky about their men and so will have sex with anyone who'll offer them apint and a bag of chips (if that). They are desperate and only men who are desperate would have sex with them. It's as if they have realised their own grotesqueness and so have become slag's in order to increase their chances, signing themselves as available. A valid
reason to why this would be funny is that men (Viz's target audience) can identify aspects of the characters from “real” life. Men are known to make fun of one another if they sleep with a “fat” or “ugly” women (which Tracy and Sandra are). This joke is well known amongst the working classes and beyond. 'The Fat Slag's' are funny because they are based on a stereotype, as are many of Viz's characters, which is familiar to everyone, and their sheer audacity to even contemplate trying to “pull” would interest a reader who knows they have a stereotypically frowned upon body shape, which presumebly excludes them from having sex with any man. The blatant manner in which they approach men probably stems from the exaggerated common belief that fat women must be easy in
order to gain any male attention whatsoever. There are probably real life sex monsters like Tracy and Sandra out there in real life who believe this lie, and so 'The Fat Slags' is funny because it may contain some truth. However it is sad for exactly the same reason.
'The Fat Slags' strip also offers its readers a representation of a northern working class lifestyle and attitude which again is evident in many of Viz's strips. Their names - Tracy and Sandra are comic working class names as they are considered “common” and hold connotations about a certain type of woman e.g. a loudmouth, tasteless, brassy woman. Their own humour and conversations are crude and 'typically' working class, although it would be likely to shock some even in the lower socio - economic groupings. They speak and act like men - swearing, using sexually explicit language and generally being vulgar:
Tracy: Eeh, San! I'll have to nip to the toilet. Me knickers are right up me arse!
Sandra: I'll come with you. I'm bustin for a piss.
They drink and smoke like men, break wind with no apparent embarrassment, and eat junk food constantly, which is obviously why they are so fat. Their monstorous gluttony serves as a comedic device because it is so astonishing and unbelievable. They could be described as the original 'ladettes'. The text in the speech bubbles is written in such a way that when it is read out loud, it sounds exactly like a Geordie accent, with its appropriate abbreviations. For example, “Where have
you been?” becomes “Where've yer bin?”. This is a comedic device as it clearly imitates the accent and would be particularly amusing to readers, say, in the USA or even in the south of England, as it brings with it connotations of everything which is the stereotypical of the “grim north.” It builds sucessfully on a northern stereotype which has existed since at least Dicken's day.
However, as funny as they are, 'The Fat Slags' are often considered by feminists as a undoubtedly sexist and demeaning representation of women. The characters Tracy and Sandra do
not flatter the female sex, basically because they are the butt of every joke. They are funny to laugh at because they are slag's, will never get a decent bloke, are gluttonous beyond belief. Their crudity is so distasteful, this will also put men off them. Tracy and Sandra are stuck in a vicious cycle - they are sexually provocative because they are desperate and they are like this because they are overweight. They have deluded themselves into believing they are beautiful (though they are
constructed as grotesque), and call other (slimmer) women names. The whole concept is offensive to overweight people, insinuating they will never get people to fancy them unless they are easy. A
supporting character Baz, regularly hangs around them and takes them out because he himself is desperate, and knows they will always have sex with him, though in recent years he seems to have become more a friend to them and is a little protective of them. The reader is positioned into pitying Tracy and Sandra, but their characters have become loveable as they continue to astonish with their stupidity, and they miss every opportunity to redeem themselves. In a recent issue when the afore
mentioned Baz gets into a fight over them, they see it as a compliment and encourage it:
Tracy: Ooh San...he's goin t'glass 'im...I can't look!
Sandra: (Squeal, giggle!)
Tracy: Aye....ain't it romantic?
After the fight when he clearly needs hospital attention, they take him home and force themselves on him sexually as a reward. This negative representation of women could be viewed by some naive male readers as a true representation of all fat/working class women, and so encourage or confirm sexism.
But Viz does not just derive sexist humour from women, as they cunningly make fun of the male sex which shows they are at least even handed. Many, if not most of their strips make men the butt of all jokes. For example, another famous Viz character is 'Sid the Sexist' who every issue thinks he can get a woman by commenting on some part of her body or making sexist remarks. He undoubtedly fails every time which has left him a virgin in his 30's, still living with his mother. Baz too
suffers in the name of comedy. He is as much the butt of the strips as Tracy and Sandra are, and sometimes comes out of it all worse off than them e.g. Baz often ends up footing the bill for Tracy
and Sandra's food and drink, or 'accidently' ends up hurting himself. There is also the issue of whether Tracy and Sandra are really getting the 'bum' deal - are the men using them or are they using the men? Tracy and Sandra crave sex and they always get it. They are also just as likely to
insult a man who doesn't 'measure up' as a man would insult them about their size. Tracy and Sandra are sexist towards men in the sense that they objectify them into a free meal and someone to sleep
with. This however is not always obvious in the strip as the readers may feel they are laughing at 'The Fat Slags', and not with them.
All of this of course is unlikely to bother the majority male readership who will probably only notice the female orientated sexism, and so Viz would not seek to correct this. However, I do not believe Viz is a blatantly sexist comic, and I would not rank it alongside the 'lad mag' 'Loaded' for example, which deals solely in the objectification of women. Viz, I feel, is a very sly magazine, confronting many modern issues behind a mask of jokes. It portrays working class areas in which many of its strip are set and shows the squalor and poverty evident in Britain today. 'The Fat Slags' therefore can be viewed on many levels. Tracy and Sandra may have received a poor education, and so are left to sleep around in order to get what they can out of men. In an area where family values are lacking, Tracy and Sandra may have started having sex at a young age (age 12 has previously been suggested) in order to receive attention. The rigid class system in Britain in which he rich get richer and the poor get poorer forces Tracy and Sandra to live on 'Shit Street.'. Viz is therefore perhaps only reflecting on what it sees in society, co-inciding with Dyer's second notion of representation, re-representating what is truly typical of the world. Tracy and Sandra are a product of the neglected issues in Britain today, and so far from having a rude immature sense of humour, the cartoonist is perhaps being observational. The humour in Viz can also be viewed as harmless, as it only draws on common stereotypes, not roles of its own invention, as these are already familiar to its
readers and exaggerated to be humorous. Characters such as Tracy and Sandra were already on the minds of the British public, before Viz created them in cartoon form. Earlier versions of them could be said to appear in McGill seaside postcards from the 1920's onwards The message of 'The Fat Slags' is not that people in real life should be like them because they're funny, its that they shouldn't be like them because we don't laugh with them, we laugh at them. Tracy and Sandra may discourage female readers from leading a similar lifestyle.
But as mentioned before Viz does not assertively seek to put this issues forward. Viz instead gives pleasure to its readers through repetition and familiarity, and most importantly through its eager attitude to shock. As a long time reader of Viz, I have noticed it becomes more daring with each issue, and 'The Fat Slags' have certainly say things now which would have been far more taboo when they first began, although I have noticed there are some off limit areas, some areas into which
not even Viz would enter e.g. showing them on the toilet, showing them having their bikini line done.
The script always seems to venture further that the actual cartoon drawings. 'The Fat Slags' though do not differ that much from issue to issue as it is the basic elements that are repeated which amuse
readers. They usually end up performing some kind of sexual act, and if they don't, then the insinuation is there. They usually do something which makes them look really fat and greedy. They usually say something incredibly stupid. It is this repetition allows the reader to become acquainted with the characters and think “Oh no, not again!” which as mentioned earlier increases their loveableness. The style of Viz (presumably on which it was modelled) is reminiscent of the children's
comics 'Dandy' and 'Beano' and this is also appealing. Tracy and Sandra need the speech bubbles to be funny, so different audiences can take away different meanings from the text, although as genre permits they must be the heroes who always come out on top. Boys who have grown into men cannot go on reading the 'Dandy' as this would look strange, and so Viz offers these men the opportunity of switching their allegiance to them. The visual graphics of Viz are strikingly similar to that of the 'Dandy' and 'Beano' except they do all the taboo things that were not allowed in these comics, but you wished they would do. The graphics are basic, are meant to be cartoon like so things can be exaggerated, and also follow the rules of repetition.
The narrative of 'The Fat Slags' is linear and could be described as 'goal orientated' as Tracy and Sandra strive for three simple things: food, beer or sex, or hopefully all three in one night. As they usually get these (indicating they are not as undesirable as Viz is at pains to suggest), the narrative always seems to end on a happy note with equilibrium, if you were to apply Tordorov's theories, from 'The Fat Slags' point of view. They do not appear to have any challenging goals or the
aspirations stereotypically associated with women e.g. motherhood, marriage, a career, and so they will never be disappointed, perhaps because they know they are not suited to these kind of roles,
although the cartoon genre keeps certain 'painful' areas off-limits, for example the prospect of spinsterhood. This is perhaps what makes them feminist as they do not aim to become part of what is
considered the norm.
But the most important aspect of 'The Fat Slags' relating to their their cartoon genre is the fact that they are indestructable. They will always return issue after issue emotionally unscarred and ready for another adventure, and this is because they are satisfied with their lifestyles and will not seek to change them. 'The Fat Slags' will never have the folly of becoming pregnant or catching sexually transmitted diseases.'The Fat Slags' will never grow old or change, as cartoon characters never do, and will remain a part of Viz for as long as they are popular.The genre of the cartoon never allows them to develop as a person, just as it doesn't allow them to suffer the consequences of their
actions, showing how far removed 'The Fat Slags' is from reality.
But after a thorough analysis of 'The Fat Slags' and its possible ideologies, one must ask how might the readership deal with the messages offered to them? Again the genre of the cartoon strip affects the way the reader interprets these messages. If through 'The Fat Slags' is it suggesting that it is a good idea to eat meat rejected by the dogfood factory, this is unlikely to make a reader want to do the same, or think that it would be funny in real life. The audience knows that 'The Fat Slags' are indestructable, just like Coyote from 'Roadrunner', but they however are not. Even a 6 year old child reading the 'Dandy' knows it is not a good idea to drop an anvil on someone in real life. Few realist conventions apply in comic books, and so ideologies and messages offered in 'The
Fat Slags' are likely to be taken with a large handful of salt.
Stereotypes protrayed in 'The Fat Slags' may have more effect on the audience however, as stereotypes can contain truths, and are not always necessarily negative. After reading 'The Fat Slags', a southern reader may take away beliefs on Geordie working class people as being friendly and outgoing. But similarly, a male reader may be influenced into thinking that all overweight women are desperate and therefore easy to “pull”. But all of this is impossible to pinpoint when analysing effects on Viz's audience. We cannot just assume that readers of 'The Fat Slags' will take Viz's 'messages' at face value which undoubtebly they won't. Audiences are subject to many different influences in their lives and so an audience is far more likely to negotiate their own meanings.
Richard Dyer suggested that “meanings are made in reception”, and I think this is true as individual audience members will form individual opinions on 'The Fat Slags'. It is impossible to say how 'The Fat Slags' is received, but it is important to remember that the audience is far from passive. They will in fact be an 'active' audience who read Viz for a number of pleasures recognised and outlined by 'Uses and Gratifications' theory.
People probably buy Viz for one sole reason or use and that is to be entertained by the humour it has to offer. Viz and 'The Fat Slags' have endured for many, many years, and with its highly sucessful formula, Viz is recognised as the leader in the market for adult humour magazines. Viz is probably bought purely to gratify entertainment needs, and so in the context of this pursuit by the readers, its 'messages' are unlikly to be taken seriously or have negative effects. Viz entertains its audience by offering some representation of the truth through its stereotyped characters, its shock factor, and the fact that readers know where to turn when they want to be entertained in an “immature or silly fashion”. Viz as a market leader sets the boundaries of taste and decency, and of just 'how far' you can go, but yet it continues to expand these boundaries in every issue.
In conclusion, I would like to add that upon asking female friends of mine who had read Viz if they felt 'The Fat Slags' insulted the female sex, the basic answer was no, nor were they insulted as 'northern' women by Viz's 'northern' representations. Although Viz on the surface appears to mock the female working class, it is best not to judge a book by its cover.
