Hairspray

There are scenes of mild comic violence, without visible injury detail.

Bad language includes ‘whore’, ‘asshole’, ‘damn’, ‘hell’ and ‘God’.

Mild sex references include a comic sequence in which a teenager tells her boyfriend to ‘go to second [base]’ and then moans as he moves his hand below the frame.

The film deals with the theme of historical racism. Unlikeable characters display racist attitudes, using outdated and discriminatory language such as ‘high yellow’, ‘coloured’ and ‘mulatto’, while the main character and her friends publicly protest segregation. There is also occasional use of the term 'negro', spoken in the historical context. Unlikeable teenage bullies and their teacher mock students from a ‘special education’ class. A girl is mocked and criticised for being fat, though she is later celebrated for her positive self-image. While the film generally carries a strong anti-discrimination message, it also features uncriticised casual use of other discriminatory terms such as ‘retard’, ‘spastic’, ‘queer’ and ‘loony’.

There are infrequent comic references to a woman’s use of ‘diet pills’, implied to be amphetamines. In another scene a woman asks a group of teenagers to ‘get high’ on ‘reefer’ with her, but they are shocked by the suggestion and immediately decline her offer.

There is occasional mild rude humour.