Fatshion as Activism

This piece discusses how plus-size fashion, called "fat" fashion purposefully by activists who have worked to reclaim the word, can be an act of political engagement by highlighting the body positive actions of a blogger named Lolly. Lolly is a white, cisgender, fat woman in her thirties living in the United Kingdom. As a self-identified activist, Lolly uses her blog "Lolly Likes Fatshion,"¹ to connect with others and works to make space (both physically and metaphorically) for plus-size people in a society that is fatphobic.

I want to pause for a moment and explain the cultural context of "fat."

Fat people are commonly seen as unattractive or worse: as fundamentally bad people. Citing Puhl and Brownell, Lonie McMichael explains that, "negative stereotypes include perceptions that obese people are mean, stupid, ugly, unhappy, less competent, sloppy, lazy, socially isolated, and lacking in self-discipline, motivations, and personal control."² At the same time, size is typically seen as something that is an individual's fault—reinforcing the idea that fat people are lazy, too poor to afford "healthy" food, and/or not educated enough to know how to take care of their bodies.

The concept of "fat" in relation to body size is also complicated because the definition is somewhat slippery. Fat activist Marilyn Wann points out that there are many "experts" of what constitutes "fat": "In the United States, any number of self-appointed authorities are eager to designate who is fat and who is not. The federal government, health insurers, medical doctors, school nurses, popular media, advertising, the fashion industry, strangers, acquaintances, friends, family members, romantic partners, and, of course, the bathroom scale—each alleged authority draws its own line between fat and thin, does so at different weights, and may redraw the line at any time."³

It's also important to note that negative attitudes toward body fat are a relatively new thing in contemporary Western culture. For example, 200 years ago in America, corpulence was a sign of wealth and prestige;⁴ as LeBesco explains, ultimately the fat body is "created and abnegated through capitalism."⁵

It's within this cultural context that fat fashion bloggers like Lolly exist. According to Gurrieri and Cherrier, a fat fashion blogger is "a fat female who disrupts normalized understandings of beauty and its social categories via active participation in cultural fields of beauty,"⁶ specifically by having an online identity and participating in what is commonly called the "fatosphere." Connell explains the power of the internet, particularly for people whose bodies are left out of hegemonic fashion, stating that, "the increased ability of former fashion 'outsiders' to participate in the production of their own fashion discourse through the medium of the internet . . . has diluted the power of mainstream fashion tastemakers and created a symbiotic relationship between mainstream and virtual fashion communities."⁷ Moreover, fatshion blogs can be a place where people are able to connect with others, and practice body positivity. In our discussion, Lolly talks about what drew her to fat fashion blogging, its power for social change, and its connection to intersectional body positivity.

The following transcript is part of a larger interview between Katie and Lolly, which was done as part of the data collection for Katie's book project, under contract with the University of Nebraska Press, currently titled Writing the Body: Fa(t)shion Rhetorics and Body Positivity.

Interview

Katie Manthey (KM):

How would you describe your style?

Lolly (LL):

I tend to like more retro, girlie things, I think because when I couldn't find clothes, I basically lived in jeans and T-shirt. That was basically my uniform, every day. I had dresses in my wardrobe that were for special occasions, and never got worn. I had so many clothes that I bought that were too small, to eventually get into when I lost some weight, and never did. Then I decided to start buying things that I wanted to wear, and would wear, and that fit me. [laughter] Which, I think, was the major change in my wardrobe, because...