"Is this the little fat girl?" The Last Resort has aired a truly troubling moment.

Ever since the tabloids ‘broke the story’ that The Last Resort’s Sharday McAvoy grew up overweight, we’ve been waiting for one inevitable reality TV moment: the confession.

You see, when you used to weigh 120 kg, it’s very important that all of Australia your therapist knows.

Why? Because you’re obviously battling ‘weight demons,’ and those demons can explain most, if not all, of your behaviour. Especially with your romantic partner.

What’s important to remember is that fat people are sad. And even once they’re no longer fat, the trauma and shame of being fat persists.

Listen to Laura Brodnik and Tiffany Dunk discuss the biggest problem with The Last Resort on The Binge.

Such is the premise of Sharday’s most recent Last Resort counselling session, led by psychologist Sandy Rea.

Frankly, it was difficult for the show, and more specifically, Sharday, to progress without this crucial backstory.

She had to admit to her ‘weight battles’ in order to be cured. After all, the issues in her relationship (most notably, her decision to LIE to her partner about him not being the father of their child), stems from the fact she (rightly) hates herself for growing up a “fat little girl” – the ultimate failure.

On Wednesday night, Sandy Rea wasn’t going to stop until Sharday admitted she was still haunted by the memories of her fat past.

“Why do you think you are primed to behave in this way?” Sandy Rea asked, almost mouthing to Sharday “because you used to be fat, sweetie.”

“I have no self confidence,” Sharday responded. But that wasn’t nearly specific enough, so Sandy Rea got straight to the point.

“IS THAT BECAUSE OF YOUR WEIGHT?” Sandy Rea basically yelled.

The producers then intervened, and told Sharday that unless she provided six photos of her at her fattest, she couldn’t stay in Fiji.

“Yeah. I used to be the fat girl in school… I was 120 kilos,” she said. “I was a pretty big girl. So I was, really bullied. High school was hell. It was awful. Kids are cruel.”

Sandy Rea nodded because, well, that explains everything, including climate change, the Trump presidency and why she stubbed her toe on a table last week.

“Inside this beautiful woman,” Rea said, “remain the scars of a young 120 kilo girl”.

"Being bullied because she was overweight has really had a profound effect on her negative self image," Rea continued in a piece-to-camera.

"I get your past," she told Sharday, mostly because she, along with the rest of Australia, have seen photos in The Daily Mail. "But at some point, we have to make decisions about how we're going to move forward in our relationships."

Right.

The irony is... baffling. People like Sharday feel bad about their weight because of assumptions that they should feel bad. Looking to her past 'struggle' with weight to explain her current behaviour tells a story of tragedy - because apparently, for a woman, being fat is one of the worst things you can be.

Sandy Rea continues, "Because what you're doing is constantly... affirm that I'm beautiful. Affirm that there's no other woman you're ever to look at," with potentially the most intense stare we've ever seen.

The music is the same track that's played when a child dies, or there's a flashback to a horrifically violent war. It's too much. 

And then comes the clincher.

"So my inference... is this the little fat girl who doesn't really have a good self concept? Is that where it all comes from?"

Oh Jesus.

She jumped really quickly to the 'fat little girl inside' analogy. And that's... messed up.

The implication, intentional or not, is that the 'fat little girl' is a demon. The 'fat little girl' makes Sharday act irrationally, it makes her hurt people, and it makes her sad - an assumption that in itself makes being a 'fat little girl' far worse than it objectively is.

The implicit connection society holds about weight and morality was made blatantly obvious on Wednesday night's episode of The Last Resort. And it's an idea that serves none of us well.

If fat is always bad and always sad, it's impossible for women to have a healthy and realistic relationship with their bodies.

Being fat is not a crime, nor is it (always) a trauma.

Sharday is not perfect. But her weight has nothing to do with it.

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