Fatness, Stigma, and Resistance: Fat Activism Reconfigures the Desirability and Depathologisation of the Body
Abstract
In this study, we examine the impact of fat activism on the resignification of fatness as a political identity and resistance to body stigma. Through a qualitative approach, based on a focus group discussion with women activists and the analysis of their social media interactions, we explore their experiences around self-image, social perceptions of fatness and strategies of resistance to structural discrimination. The results show that fatness is still linked to pathologising and exclusionary narratives, affecting self-esteem and access to rights. However, the participants challenge these discourses by making fat bodies visible, criticising certain biomedical approaches and redefining the term ‘fat’ as an affirmation of identity. This article is framed within critical fat studies with an intersectional perspective on weight, gender and the social representation of non-normative bodies.
Keywords
Fatness, Social movement, Discrimination, Cultural identity, Social mediaReferences
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