{"id":7920,"date":"2018-12-11T22:48:31","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T03:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?p=7920"},"modified":"2022-06-22T11:50:43","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T15:50:43","slug":"dumplin-body-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Reasons “Dumplin'” is the Body-Positive Movie of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you imagine a movie about a beauty pageant, you might think it\u2019d be the last cinematic trope with any body positivity. After all, so many entries in this genre involve an extensive makeover or unsupportive competitors willing to do anything to win. Netflix\u2019s newest original film, \u201cDumplin,\u2019\u201d separates itself from the pack with a simple central message: Every<\/em> body is worth celebrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on a 2015 novel of the same name, \u201cDumplin’\u201d tells the story of Willowdean Dickson (nicknamed like the title by her pageant-queen mother), a plus-size Texas teen with an undying love for Dolly Parton. After discovering that her beloved late aunt (also plus size) backed out before entering the same small-town pageant that was Willowdean\u2019s mother\u2019s claim to fame, she decides to enter the competition in protest. What she doesn\u2019t realize is how empowering the experience will prove to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are just 6 of the many reasons \u201cDumplin\u2019\u201d should be considered the body-positive movie of the year. Warning: This post contains spoilers!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Romantic leads come in all shapes and sizes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a rule, the female lead in a film is conventionally attractive (read: tall and thin). The star of \u201cDumplin\u2019,\u201d played by Danielle Macdonald, is a firecracker teen with a body type that\u2019s not usually given top billing. Willowdean is determined, bold, and (spoiler!) has a love interest who\u2019s quite smitten. If you ask us, more movies should follow suit. After all, the majority of women in the U.S. wear sizes 14+\u2014it\u2019s about time the entertainment industry reflected that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Positive role models can change the way you view yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Willowdean may have had a strained relationship with her mother, she found a kindred spirit in her aunt Lucy. In a whimsically decorated enclave located behind her mother\u2019s sewing room, Lucy introduced Willowdean to self-love and the inimitable stylings of Dolly Parton. In Lucy, Willowdean discovered that you can find confidence at any size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Sometimes all it takes is a few sequins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite only entering the pageant to prove a point about narrow beauty ideals, Willowdean discovers the value in sharing her own beauty with the help of a few new friends. After finding an old flyer in Lucy\u2019s Dolly Parton scrapbook, she visits a bar where drag queens impersonate the iconic country singer. Channeling the spirit of her aunt, she learns that she can overcome her fears and insecurities to prove that she\u2019s just as worthy of a competitor as anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. There\u2019s more than one way to be a beauty queen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Millie, another girl from school with a similar body type, first enters the pageant following Willowdean, she tries to shut it down completely. \u201cI\u2019m not the Joan of Arc of fat girls,\u201d she says. But the determined Millie isn\u2019t ruffled\u2014she\u2019s wanted to be a pageant queen since the age of eight. After a rocky start, Millie fine-tunes her act and ends up scoring the runner-up spot in the competition\u2014a far cry from what her peers expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Every body is a swimsuit body<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The swimsuit portions of pageants are known for their emphasis on \u201cbikini bodies\u201d and crash diets. In this pageant, however, Willowdean takes the opportunity to enlist her slender best friend to help her demonstrate that every<\/em> body is a swimsuit body\u2014and the crowd goes wild. This scene proves how integral a support system can be to building self-love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Dolly Parton is a body-positive icon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any recap of \u201cDumplin’\u201d would be incomplete without an homage to Dolly Parton. With famous quotes like, \u201cFind out who you are and do it on purpose,\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world,\u201d Parton instills in her listeners the importance of showing off what makes you uniquely special. And for young women growing up in a society that\u2019s not always the most body positive, this is a lesson that bears repeating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a favorite part of \u201cDumplin’\u201d that we didn\u2019t mention? Share this post
with your own review!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Header Image: Kathy Hutchins\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you imagine a movie about a beauty pageant, you might think it\u2019d be the last cinematic trope with any body positivity. After all, so many entries in this genre involve an extensive makeover or unsupportive competitors willing to do anything to win. Netflix\u2019s newest original film, \u201cDumplin,\u2019\u201d separates itself from the pack with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":7948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"class_list":["post-7920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-know"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 Reasons "Dumplin'" is the Body-Positive Movie of the Year - Dia & Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why the Netflix original "Dumplin'" deserves the top spot on your to-watch list.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Reasons "Dumplin'" is the Body-Positive Movie of the Year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why this Netflix original deserves the top spot on your to-watch list.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dia & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/diaandco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-12T03:48:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-22T15:50:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/dumplin-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"830\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marge Hudson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@diaandco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@diaandco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marge Hudson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/\",\"name\":\"6 Reasons \\\"Dumplin'\\\" is the Body-Positive Movie of the Year - Dia & Co\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/dumplin-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-12T03:48:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-22T15:50:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de\"},\"description\":\"Why the Netflix original \\\"Dumplin'\\\" deserves the top spot on your to-watch list.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/dumplin-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/dumplin-header.jpg\",\"width\":830,\"height\":540,\"caption\":\"dumplin cast\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/know\/dumplin-body-positive\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"6 Reasons “Dumplin'” is the Body-Positive Movie of the Year\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dia & Co\",\"description\":\"Dia & Co is the premier personal styling service for plus-size women. 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