Abstract
The proposition that fat is a feminist issue is almost an axiom within the feminist literature. And yet, different feminist scholars see fat as a feminist issue for radically different reasons. An analysis of mainly U.S. research suggests that for some, fat is a symptom of underlying distress and compulsive eating as a coping mechanism for this gendered anguish. For others, higher rates of “obesity” among poor women and women of color is a scandalous form of environmental injustice necessitating policy interventions to combat obesity in these populations. Others have argued that fat is a feminist issue because the fear of being or becoming fat tyrannizes average-size and relatively thin women, limiting their quality of life and often leading to eating disorders. In contrast, Fikkan and Rothblum (2011) argue that fat is a feminist issue because fat women are subjugated to bias, discrimination and abuse precisely because they are fat women. Unlike other approaches, they put actual fat women at the heart of their analysis, comparing their experience to that of both thin women and to fat men. They rightly signal the importance of examining how the social experiences of fat people vary by sex, social class, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, among other factors. While emphasizing the importance of their perspective, this article advocates that this line of feminist analysis be pushed even further.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Averett, S., & Korenman, S. (1999). Black-white differences in social and economic consequences of obesity. International Journal of Obesity, 23, 166–173.
Bacon, L. (2010). Health at every size: The surprising truth about your weight. Dallas: BenBella Books.
Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2005). Keeping up appearances, getting fed up: The embodiment of strength among African-American Women. Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism, 5, 104–123.
Bell, K., & McNaughton, D. (2007). Feminism and the invisible fat man. Body & Society, 13, 107–131. doi:10.1177/1357034X07074780.
Bergman, S. B. (2009). Part-time fatso. In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 139–142). New York: New York University Press.
Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, western culture, and the body. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Bunzl, M. (2005). Chasers. In D. Kulick & A. Meneley (Eds.), Fat: The anthropology of an obsession (pp. 199–210). New York: Jeremy Tarcher/Penguin.
Calasanti, T. M. S. K. F. (2001). Gender, social inequalities, and aging. Lanham: Alta Mira Press.
Campos, P. (2004). The obesity myth: Why America’s obsession with weight is hazardous to your health. New York: Gotham Books.
Campos, P., Saguy, A. C., Ernsberger, P., Oliver, E., & Gaesser, G. (2006). The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: Public health crisis or moral panic? International Journal of Epidemiology, 35, 55–60. doi:10.1093/ije/dyi254.
Cogan, J. C. (1999). Lesbians walk the tightrope of beauty: Thin is in but femme is out. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 3, 77–89.
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Cooper, C. (1998). Fat and proud: The politics of size. London: Women’s Press.
Cooper, C. (2009). The story of the chubsters. Paper presented at the National Popular Culture & American Culture Associations Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist policies. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139–167.
de Saint Pol, T. (2009). Norms and attitudes to body fatness: A European comparison. Populations & Societies, 455, 1–4.
Estrich, S. (1999). Making the case for yourself: A diet book for smart women. New York: Riverhead Trade.
Fikkan, J. L., & Rothblum, E. (2011). Is fat a feminist issue? Exploring the gendered nature of weight bias. Sex Roles, this issue. doi:10.1007/s11199-011-0022-5.
Flegal, K. M., & Graubard, B. I. (2009). Estimates of excess deaths associated with body mass index and other anthropometric variables. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89, 1213–1219. doi:10.3945/?ajcn.2008.26698.
Gard, M., & Wright, J. (2005). The obesity epidemic: Science, morality, and ideology. New York: Routledge.
Gilman, S. L. (2004). Fat boys: A slim book. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Gortmaker, S. L., Must, A., Perrin, J. M., Sobol, A. M., & Dietz, W. H. (1993). Social and economic consequences of overweight in adolescence and young adulthood. The New England Journal of Medicine, 329, 1008–1012.
Hebl, M. R., & Heatherton, T. F. (1998). The stigma of obesity in women: The difference is black and white. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 417–426. doi:10.1177/0146167298244008.
Hill, A. (2009). Spatial awarishness: Queer women and the politics of fat embodiment (Master’s thesis). Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green.
Jhally, S. (Producer/Director/Editor) (1999). Killing us softly III [Motion Picture]. Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation.
Kilbourne, J. (2000). Can’t buy my love: How advertising changes the way we think and feel. New York: Touchstone.
Kirkland, A. (2011). The environmental account of obesity: A case for feminist skepticism. Signs, 36, 463–485.
Lovejoy, M. (2001). Disturbances in the social body: Differences in body image and eating problems among African American and white women. Gender and Society, 15, 239–261. doi:10.1177/089124301015002005.
Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A.-M., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62, 220–233. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220.
Maranto, C. L., & Stenoien, A. F. (2000). Weight discrimination: A multidisciplinary analysis. Employee Responsibilities Rights Journal, 12, 9–24. doi:10.1023/A:1007712500496.
Monaghan, L. F. (2008). Men and the war on obesity: A sociological study. London: Routledge.
Muennig, P. (2008). The body politic: The relationship between stigma and obesity-associated disease. BMC Public Health, 8. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-8-128.
Muennig, P., Jia, H., & Lubetkin, E. (2008). I think therefore I am: Perceived ideal weight as a determinant of health. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 501–506. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.114769.
Nichter, M. (2000). Fat talk: What girls and the parents say about dieting. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Null, M. A. (2011). Gender and sexuality as relational constructs: Fat admirers negotiate masculinity through the terrain of women’s bodies. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Okunade, A. A., Hussey, A. J., & Karakus, M. C. (2009). Overweight adolescents and on-time high school graduation: Racial and gender disparities. Atlantic Economic Journal, 37, 225–242. doi:10.1007/s11293-009-9181-y.
Orbach, S. (1978). Fat is a feminist issue. New York: Berkeley Books.
Pearce, M. J., Boergers, J., & Prinstein, M. J. (2002). Adolescent obesity, overt and relational peer victimization, and romantic relationships. Obesity Research, 10, 386–393. doi:10.1038/oby.2002.53.
Pope, H. G., Phillips, K. A., & Olivardia, R. (2000). The Adonis Complex: The secret crisis of male body obsession. New York: Free Press.
Probyn, E. (2008). Silences behind the mantra: Critiquing feminist fat. Feminism & Psychology, 18, 401–404. doi:10.1177/0959353508092095.
Prohaska, A., & Gailey, J. A. (2010). Achieving masculinity through sexual predation: The case of hogging. Journal of Gender Studies, 19, 13–25. doi:10.1080/09589230903525411.
Regnier, F. (2005). Obésité, corpulence et statut social: une comparaison France/Etats-Unis (1970–2000). INRA Sciences Sociales, 1.
Regnier, F. (2006). Obésité, corpulence et souci de minceur: inégalités sociales en France et aux Etats-Unis. Cahiers de Nutrition et de diététique, 41, 97–103.
Roehling, P. V., Roehling, M. V., Vandlen, J. D., Blazek, J., & Guy, W. C. (2009). Weight discrimination and the glass ceiling effect among top US CEOs. Equal Opportunities International, 28, 179–196. doi:10.1108/02610150910937916.
Rothblum, E. (1994a). ‘I’ll die for the feminist revolution but don’t ask me not to diet’: Feminism and the continued stigmatization of obesity. In P. Fallon, M. A. Katzman, & S. C. Wooley (Eds.), Feminist perspectives on eating disorders (pp. 53–76). New York: The Guilford Press.
Rothblum, E. D. (1994b). Lesbians and physical appearance: Which model applies? In B. Greene & G. M. Herek (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on lesbian and gay issues (Vol. 1, pp. 84–97). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Rothblum, E. D. (2002). Gay and lesbian body images. In T. F. Cash & T. Pruzinsky (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice (pp. 257–265). New York: The Guilford Press.
Royce, T. (2009). The shape of abuse: Fat oppression as a form of violence against women. In E. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 151–157). New York: New York University Press.
Saguy, A. C. (2011). What’s wrong with fat?: Book manuscript in preparation.
Saguy, A. C., & Gruys, K. (2010). Morality and health: News media constructions of overweight and eating disorders. Social Problems, 57, 231–250. doi:10.1525/sp.2010.57.2.231.
Saguy, A. C., & Riley, K. W. (2005). Weighing both sides: Morality, mortality and framing contests over obesity. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 30, 869–921. doi:10.1215/03616878-30-5-869.
Saguy, A. C., & Ward, A. (2011). Coming out as fat: Rethinking stigma. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74, 53–75. doi:10.1177/0190272511398190.
Schoenfielder, L., & Wieser, B. (Eds.). (1983). Shadow on a tightrope: Writings by women on fat oppression. Iowa City: Aunt Lute Book Company.
Siever, M. D. (1994). Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 252–260. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.62.2.252.
Snyder, S. (2010). Revisioning fat lesbian subjects in contemporary lesbian periodicals. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 14, 174–184. doi:10.1080/10894160903196574.
Sobal, J. (1995). The medicalization and demedicalization of obesity. In J. Sobal & D. Maurer (Eds.), Eating Agendas (pp. 67–90). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Stimson, K. W. (n.d.). Fat feminist herstory, 1969–1993: A personal memoir Retrieved from http://www.eskimo.com/~largesse/Archives/herstory.htm.
Taylor, W. C., Poston, W. S. C., Jones, L., & Kraft, M. K. (2006). Environmental justice: Obesity, physical activity, and healthy eating. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 3, S30–S54.
Textor, A. R. (1999). Organization, specialization and desires in the big men’s movement: Preliminary research in the study of subculture-formation. Journal of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Identity, 4, 217–239. doi:1083-8147/99/0700-0217.
Thompson, B. W. (1994). A hunger so wide and so deep: A multiracial view of women’s eating problems. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Wade, T. J., & DiMaria, C. (2003). Weight halo effects: Individual differences in perceived life success as a function of women’s race and weight. Sex Roles, 48, 461–465. doi:10.1023/a:1023582629538.
Wann, M. (1999). FAT!SO?: Because you don’t have to apologize for your size. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.
Wilson, B. D. M. (2009). Widening the dialogue to narrow the gap in health disparities: Approaches to fat Black lesbian and bisexual women’s health promotion. In E. D. Rothblum & S. Solovay (Eds.), The fat studies reader (pp. 54–64). New York: NYU Press.
Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Yancey, A. K., Leslie, J., & Abel, E. K. (2006). Obesity at the crossroads: Feminist and public health perspectives. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 31, 425–443.