Aidy Bryant A Role Model For Body Positivity After Struggles With Weight Loss

Aidy Bryant's weight-loss journey was draining her focus, and no matter what she tried, nothing seemed to work. She eventually accepted her body and became a role model for body positivity after accepting herself.

In an April 2021 interview with The Washington Post, the Saturday Night Live comedian revealed she centered a season 3 scene of Shrill on a real-life experience she had with a new doctor for the first time. 

The doctor reportedly extolled the virtues of gastric bypass surgery during the test, which Bryant underwent to get insurance while preparing to shoot the 2016 film The Big Sick.

"People do it all the time," the doctor said, according to her. 

In the latest and final season of Shrill, her character Annie Easton ends up seeing a doctor who is filling in for her regular doctor, and she uses that knowledge almost to the core.

The new doctor casually suggests that she consider gastric bypass surgery. 

Bryant who is also the owner of her own plus-sized clothing line explained they think of weight loss as her goal, and just by looking at her, the doctors assumed it was the reason for her visit.  

The Hulu series has worked hard to redefine how bigger women are depicted in television shows, from not using the word "fat" to not making an erotic scene amusing and funny simply because she isn't thin.

Bryant mentioned she could think of a million examples in the movies, where the erotic segments between a plus-sized woman and a man are represented by her jumping on him and then he falls over. 

“That's a classic. And there's something so demeaning and devastating about that to me. It feels like trying to joke it away rather than sincerely finding an actual funny moment,” she said. 

The SNL comedian elaborated viewers might still find comedy in a typical erotic scene between two normal-sized people and Shrill shows that as well. However, the actress stressed that the goal is to shift people's perceptions of plus-size women and men, too.

She also noted that it is assumed that if a person is overweight, they have given up themselves. "And it's like, I exercise all the time. I don't eat doughnuts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," she added.

'Shrill:' A Revolutionary Television Series that Mocks Fatphobia

Shrill has always been about the evolution of its central protagonist, Annie Easton played by Bryant, a writer for The Thorn, a Portland alt-weekly, whose intimate relationships are never quite deserving of her. 

The series captures the ever-present politics of being overweight. The series is adapted from the book of the same name by Lindy West, who co-created the Hulu series with Bryant and Alexandra Rushfield.

In the first season, Easton is mistreated at work and in intimate relationships. The second is about her taking back control of her life. Her "friends with benefits" agreement with Ryan blossomed into a full-fledged relationship while quitting her job and avoiding Gabe's narcissism, which gave her more freedom. 

The television series' last season normally brings some kind of conclusion. The principal characters discover what they're searching for, or seem to be on the right track, or are left in a position that feels like it belongs at the end of a novel. 

Easton is also struggling with her professional and personal lives in the final eight episodes. Instead of making her someone with whom the viewer can still empathize, the writers this season go to greater lengths to show Easton’s flaws and blind spots. 

It's a thoughtful and entertainingly low-key send-off for a show whose low-key vibe is one of its best qualities.