Historically, mainstream popular media has either erased or caricatured Black BBW bodies. When present, these women were often relegated to the role of the sassy best friend, the comic relief, or the asexual matriarch—rarely the romantic lead, the action hero, or the nuanced protagonist. Characters like Nell Carter’s on Gimme a Break! or Mo’Nique in early roles offered glimpses, but they were often boxed into tropes that emphasized loudness, strength, or desexualized humor over vulnerability and romance.