Stop messing with our icons!
My family and I just watched the new Christmas movie, Red One, which is a cross between the Marvel franchise, Platoon, and Santa Clause is Coming to Town. Perplexed? Same. (I also found the tangential Jumanji reunion between the Rock and Bonnie Hunt interesting, but I digress.) Despite all of the whiplash-speed action sequences and equally painful big-bro-little-bro banter between Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, the thing that stood out the most to me was the notable change in St. Nick’s physique.
J.K. Simmons plays Jacked Santa, complete with his North Pole home gym and Mrs. Clause as his personal trainer. Gone are the jolly Ho-Ho-Hos, replaced by push-ups, squats, and calorie counting. Who is Kris Kringle without his trademark bowl full of jelly? Less benevolent omnipresent folk legend, Jacked Santa is more like your retired military grandfather you know better than to talk politics with.
While the origins of Santa are arguable, it seems that the Internets can mostly agree that he was inspired by St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children known for his gift-giving. The image of St. Nick morphed over time from a “portly elf” in Clement C. Moore’s poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the widely accepted modern depiction of the jovial, red-cheeked Coca Cola Santa Claus.
Not everyone thinks Fat Santa is a role model for children (remember Biggest Loser Santa?), and the Coke caricature’s rotund figure has been disdainfully attributed to all the milk and cookies (and soda, I guess?) that he consumes. But at least some have argued that Santa’s size is what conveys his kindness and approachability, as opposed to his svelter, switch-wielding evil twin Krampus.
It is not surprising that the film’s creators felt the need to make Santa slimmer. Stamina, hard work, success, and attractiveness are typically seen as the antithesis of fatness. And it isn't the first time a movie has featured a slender Father Christmas (see Kurt Russell's Rock n' Roll Santa in The Christmas Chronicles). Santa’s portly likeness was clearly never intended to be inspirational- and that is precisely why his status as a fat icon is revolutionary.
Consider his monumental feats: Still spry at almost two thousand years old, designing and producing toys in enormous quantities, managing thousands of employees, handling large animal veterinary care and, of course, flying around the world and delivering gifts to every child in a single night each year. The fact that he has been able to accomplish all of this- as well as sustain a long-term relationship with a woman who loves him- while fat is truly remarkable, not because fat people can’t do great things, but because most people believe we can’t.
When fatphobia is rampant- as it always is but even more so during the holidays- we need reminders and examples that our bodies are not problems. We can’t do this without fat icons- those in the public eye who are unapologetically existing and doing and being inspirations for us all. There is already plenty of thinspo out there and keto/clean eating/fasting influencers are a dime-a-dozen. Let us have our fatspiration figures and leave Santa alone.
Happy Holidays!
