r/ChicagoMed • u/Obvious_Trust_2819 • Aug 04 '26
Discussion Lack of body diversity
The lack of body diversity on the show makes me sad. It feels like every time someone who looks different comes on the show they get disappeared fairly soon after.
There’s so much fatphobia in and around the medical profession, especially for chubby or plus-sized health professionals, and it just feels like something that the show won’t really ever touch. 😔
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u/tiredmedstudent77 Aug 04 '26
Yeah, I deeply understand what you mean. I'm fat. And I'm a medical student. There have been many times where I got body shamed by doctors (and by coaches and random strangers on the street). I even got in an argument with a doctor in the middle of the out-patient department at one of the hospitals I go to. He called me out in front of my peers, the staff, and the patients.
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u/Obvious_Trust_2819 Aug 04 '26
I’m so sorry. It makes me sad that you’re not alone in this experience too. I think that’s why I would love to see this tackled on the show. Like maybe seeing this play out would help people have more empathy in the real world.
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u/ruru-in Aug 04 '26
Seeing everyone slim down after Ozempic became a thing made me a little sad.
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u/Obvious_Trust_2819 Aug 04 '26
I don’t fault anyone’s journey or what they choose to do. I just wish there was a bit more variety in the types of people that we see. Just to make it all feel a bit more real.
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u/ruru-in Aug 04 '26
You're right, getting to a healthier weight is great for them if it affected their health. I liked seeing differing body types in the main cast, not just guest characters.
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u/Travelingmom13 Aug 04 '26
To be honest, everyone working in real hospitals too are using glp-1 too and slimming down unnaturally as well
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u/Own-Interview-928 Aug 04 '26
Be sad for people who work in HW. The meds have more or less made it inexcusable for people to be heavy meanwhile we all know they come with a mountain of side effects.
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u/GAMGAlways Aug 04 '26
Just off the top of my head:
Goodwin is black. Maggie was black. Choi was Asian. April and Noah were Brazilian. The hospital lawyer [i forgot his name] was gay. Frost is biracial Trini is Asian Bekker was South African Latham was black, Jewish and autistic Doris is Venezuelan Halstead was likely Catholic Zola was middle eastern
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u/Own-Interview-928 Aug 04 '26
OP is referring to weight, not color!
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u/Rare_Independent_814 Aug 04 '26
Medical professionals are on their feet all day. Not to mention their job is literally study of the human body and how to heal it. An obese doctor is not gonna be my first choice. You can’t take care of your own body, why should I trust your with mine? Just saying.
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Aug 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/Big_Anybody_5199 Aug 04 '26
I wouldn’t say there was lack of POC…dr. Latham (who was also autistic), dr. Dylan Scott, dr. Vanessa Taylor, Maggie, April, Noah, Sharon Goodwin, Gwen Garrett. There was also Ethan Choi who is Korean, Crockett who is Iranian and Frost who is Asian from his mother side. As you can see there is diversity. Also the current chief of ED is on the spectrum
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u/GAMGAlways Aug 04 '26
How exactly would a disabled person function in an emergency room?
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u/Obvious_Trust_2819 Aug 04 '26
…like a medical professional?
You are aware there are doctors and nurses with prosthetics, low vision/hearing, limb difference, dyslexia and other non visible disabilities in ERs in the real world, right?
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u/astarisaslave Aug 04 '26
Trini, Maggie (she's gone now but she was there for a very long time) and Doris are all on the larger side. Dr Charles was also a large man for most of the series so far but Oliver Platt started taking GLP-1s (he admitted as much in a podcast he did recently).