Geena Davis Institute research reveals larger-bodied characters remain underrepresented on screen and are more likely to be portrayed through harmful stereotypes, shaping how children understand belonging, leadership, and self-worth.
LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2026 — Children’s television helps shape how young viewers understand who belongs, who leads, and whose stories matter. A new study from the Geena Davis Institute finds that larger-bodied characters are still largely missing from those stories, and when they do appear, they are more likely to be portrayed through harmful stereotypes. The data is being presented today at the 9th annual Women in Entertainment Summit.
Analyzing 329 children’s television series and 3,633 characters across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, researchers found that only 15.5% of characters were identified as fat. The study also found that fat characters were significantly more likely than non-fat characters to be portrayed as unintelligent, lazy, unhygienic, or the butt of a joke.
The findings point to a broader cultural message children absorb from the media they consume. From an early age, children begin forming ideas about bodies, belonging, and social acceptance. The characters they see on screen help shape who they believe gets to be admired, respected, included, and seen as a leader.
“Representation is about more than visibility — it’s about being portrayed with agency, depth and humanity,” said Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute. “Children notice who gets to lead, who gets to belong and who becomes the joke. The stories they watch help define their expectations of the world and their sense of what’s possible for themselves and others.”
The study found that body diversity becomes even rarer as characters become more central to the story. While 15.5% of all characters were fat, only 12% of lead and co-lead characters were. Larger-bodied characters were significantly more likely to appear in supporting roles, suggesting that the more important the role, the less likely the character is to be fat.
Researchers also found that fat characters were significantly more likely to be male than female, reinforcing narrower appearance expectations for girls. Larger-bodied children and younger characters were also less likely to be represented than older characters.
But representation was only part of the story.
While fat characters were just as likely as other characters to have aspirations, occupations, intelligence, and humor, they were significantly more likely to be portrayed through negative stereotypes. Fat characters were more than three times as likely to be depicted as unintelligent and were significantly more likely to be shown with poor hygiene, as lazy, or as the target of jokes.
The study also found that fat characters were less likely to be shown exercising or participating in sports, reinforcing long-standing myths about larger-bodied people and physical activity.
“The problem isn’t simply that children aren’t seeing enough body diversity,” said Dr. Larissa Terán, Director of Media Research at the Geena Davis Institute. “It’s that larger-bodied characters are still too often defined by stereotypes that suggest they are less capable, less desirable, or less worthy of respect. Those messages may seem small, but they add up over time.”
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Researchers uncovered another striking pattern: more than half of all fat characters were animated nonhuman characters, such as animals, monsters, or fantastical creatures. In many cases, those characters were visually designed to stand apart from the rest of the cast through exaggerated body proportions and other physical markers that signaled their difference.
These creative choices may seem subtle, but they help establish which bodies are viewed as normal and which are viewed as exceptions.
The findings arrive amid growing conversations about children’s mental health, self-esteem, and belonging. Research shows that body dissatisfaction can begin in early childhood, and media remains one of the most powerful cultural forces shaping how children see themselves and others.
The Geena Davis Institute is encouraging content creators, studios, networks, and streaming platforms to broaden body diversity on screen and move beyond limiting stereotypes. Recommendations include casting actors of varied body types across all roles, increasing representation of fat girls and young people, creating larger-bodied lead characters, and ensuring body size is never used as shorthand for humor, incompetence, or personal flaws.
Children do not need television to mirror every aspect of reality. They do need it to stop teaching that some bodies belong at the center of the story while others belong on the sidelines.
The full report, Body Representation and Portrayals in Children’s Television, is available from the Geena Davis Institute.
ABOUT THE GEENA DAVIS INSTITUTE
Founded in 2004 by Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, the Geena Davis Institute works collaboratively with the entertainment and media industries to reduce harmful stereotypes and increase representation across gender, race, LGBTQIA+ identity, disability, age, and body size. Through original research, education, and industry partnerships, the Institute helps create more inclusive media that reflects the diversity of audiences everywhere. If they can see it, they can be it.™