Fat femininities: on the convergence of fat studies and critical femininities

Abstract

What is the relationship between fatness and femininity? How do prejudices toward fat bodies (i.e., fatphobia) and femininity (i.e., femmephobia) intersect? How does scholarship on femininities converge with scholarship on fatness? And, what novel insights can be cultivated by putting the fields of fat studies and critical femininities into conversation? In this article, we explore these questions, arguing that fatphobia and femmephobia, as well as the dominant cultural framings of fatness and femininity, are inextricably intertwined. Specifically, we challenge femininity’s associations with superficiality and oppression, discussing instead the importance of intersectional and recuperative approaches to fat femininities. Accordingly, this article illuminates the complex relationships between femininity and fatness; how these relationships differ across intersectional axes of privilege and oppression; as well as the ways femininity and fatness – or, by extension, femmephobia and fatphobia – intertwine to create unique experiences of gendered embodiment. Ultimately, with this article, we advocate for the importance of exploring diverse fat feminine embodiments and the potential for critical femininities to transform how we think about and embody fatness.

Topics & Concepts