My Mad Fat Diary is a 1990s teen drama set in Lincolnshire, UK that follows a teenage girl dealing with depression, self-harm, and binge eating after leaving the hospital. The show explores regional identity through the characters' accents and portrayal of stereotypical teenagers in Lincolnshire. It also examines binaries such as youth vs. old, fat vs. thin, and North vs. South through the main character Rae's experiences and relationships.

2. TEEN DRAMA
My Mad Fat Diary –
• This is about a teenage girl in the 1990s, who has recently come out of
hospital after suffering from depression, self harming, and binge eating.
• After getting out she deals with meeting old and new friends, her mum
and her mums new boyfriend boyfriend.
• The show follows the ups and downs that she goes
through in her life, with her narrating over the top.

3. HOW DOES IT FIT REGIONAL IDENTITY?
• My Mad Fat Diary is set in Lincolnshire, UK, and this is recognised by
the accents on the characters.
• As well as this, the show follows certain stereotypes which fit to the
typical teenager in Lincolnshire, for example:
• In the first episode of MMFD, the main character Rae,
sticks to the idea that ‘there are no cool people in
Lincolnshire’.
• This is then challenged when she meets a group of new
friends who she thinks is cool.

4. CONTINUED …
• As well as people from Lincolnshire, the mentor is Scottish. This gives
the north and south divide. However he is not stereotypically Scottish
which is why he fits in Lincolnshire so well.
• Also there is an Asian man who plays the mums boyfriend. He is an
outcast in Lincolnshire because he does not understand English or the
accent. Also because there is not any other ethnicities in the show, and
everyone else is white.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHkxPNjhciA

5. HEGEMONY
• Hegemony is maintained in My Mad Fat Diary because it fits the
stereotype of the typical teenager living in Lincolnshire during the
1990s.
• They have outgoing personalities as well as still being in school.
• As well as this in the group of teenagers they have someone from each
section of teenage groups, for example, there’s a girl who is over
weight,
The ‘pretty’ girl, the ‘hot’ guy and the ‘dumb’ girl.
• This covers all stereotypes of teenagers.

6. BINARY OPPOSITES
• The two main binary opposites explored in My Mad Fat Diary, is youth
and old, and Fat and thin.
• The youth and old are mostly arguing over who is more powerful and
they are both trying to gain authority. This is mostly between Rae and
her mother.
• The fat and thin is explored when Rae is talking of her jealously of
her friend Chloe who is thin, and how great her life must be.
• However, the North and South is also Binary opposite because they
come from different ends of the country and have different cultures.

7. DOMINANT/SUBORDINATE
• Although Rae feels as if she is dominant, she actually has little control
of her life due to her mother grounding her.
• This is typical because it is normally an middle aged white person who
is dominant in TV dramas.
• As well as this, her mentor is also dominant. This is a stereotype
because normally a middle aged man has more power over
younger people or women.