Thank you for this, Emma! It's necessary reading for creative writing classrooms too. I frequently come across fatphobic characterizations in early drafts, and when it's pointed out, students always get it right away and are swift to change. But how easily those things would slip by without active intervention! Another thing I notice is how almost universally, writing students write thin protagonists, regardless of their own bodies. I want to pair this essay with Tressie McMillan Cottom's "In the Name of Beauty" to get emerging writers to think about how they (we all) subconsciously replicate dominant structures of power in our characters' bodies, both negative and positive.
Thank you! Thank you! I've been reviewing books over at readingwhilefat.com with an eye to the anti-fat bias they show for a couple of years now. It is EVERYWHERE.
This is an awesome resource, thank you for both linking to it here AND for making this! It has long been a dream of mine to find media that was vetted for anti-fat bias before I invest time and money into it, so it’s exciting to learn someone has already been doing that work for books!
Thanks! I can only commit to one review a week—but would love to make it more professional and expand it. If there are any readers/reviewers interested…..
WOW--this blows my mind. I've noticed these kinds of lines alot in fantasy genre fiction and YA too. Normally I'm just like, oof, why are they saying it like that. But seeing it all lined up here--damning built-in prejudice. THANK YOU for writing this out. I can't wait for part 2.
This is so good, Stephen King is one of the commercial fiction worst offenders and it is SO painful. Every single book has some direct equation of fat with bad or moral failing. It is clearly his own internalized shit and it is terrible.
Thank you so much for this!! I'm in recovery from an eating disorder and this shit is E V E R Y W H E R E. Reminds me of how I had to put down Stephen King's 11/22/63 because the main character's girlfriend was like 6 feet tall and then it said she weighs 100 pounds and as a tall AFAB person I was just like. No. And that was before I was even hyper aware of it.
rough stuff, and I appreciate how you are holding up a mirror to it. it's such a deep prejudice that it's assumed to be universal and okay. thanks Emma.
This is so timely! I had just started Fate and Furies because I loved Lauren Groff’s other books, but had to put it down because of the obsession with body size. It wasn’t just the fat phobia, but also the non stop glorification of thin bodies that was just such a turn off. I get that you have to conjure somewhat of a visual for readers but one of the things I love about reading is that you get to focus on the inner worlds of the characters. I don’t really give a shit what they look like!
I know I'm super late to this but I came specifically looking for this article it having seen it linked in other newsletter I have subscribed to because I was so angry after finishing Such a Fun Age a few days ago! Over all I really liked the book, well written and interesting story but the fat phobia in it was so annoying and lazy. It's so challenging to see authors who can write about things like race, class in gender in thoughtful ways but anti fatness just does not even register. It's also so lazy and cliche at this point that I can't believe how common it is. Off to read part 2.
Thank you for reading! For sure -- thoughtfulness about race, class, gender does not seem to translate at all to thoughtfulness about body size and fat liberation!
Reading this well after it was published but love <3 So disheartening that in 2024 books are still being published and skyrocketed to the top of bestsellers list where 50% of the enjoyment relies on the reader knowing that the protagonist is *definitely not* fat and spends 17 pages looking at their own collarbones in the mirror, or engaging in romanticised ed behaviour (yes the waif, of course the waif). Not at any point is it relevant to the plot or necessary for their characterisation, but I guess that’s what happens when fiction with a tone that’s one step above y/n self-inserts (that are at least designed to make the reader feel important I guess?) are king
What is interesting is that being very thin is always portrayed in this dainty way that comes off as cutesy and girly, but if any woman dare be larger, then we are described as these ogres.
This is such an excellent piece. I'm very thankful for friends in Romancelandia who pointed out anti-fat bias in some of our favorite romances several years ago. Once you see it, you can't unsee it and it's troubling that so many in the industry have yet to see it, much less change their ways.
Thank you! Its hard to find a novel that doesn’t correlate fat and bad, or have weightloss as part of the heroine’s redemptive arc. I’ve been noticing but not saying for a couple of years now, I guess because I am fat myself so obviously my opinion is irrelevant.
I love how you took pictures of the pages—it made it so easy to read and also like: someone really published this ick!! Noooo! And I loved the quote from the book blog. Yes yes yes.
Thank you for this, Emma! It's necessary reading for creative writing classrooms too. I frequently come across fatphobic characterizations in early drafts, and when it's pointed out, students always get it right away and are swift to change. But how easily those things would slip by without active intervention! Another thing I notice is how almost universally, writing students write thin protagonists, regardless of their own bodies. I want to pair this essay with Tressie McMillan Cottom's "In the Name of Beauty" to get emerging writers to think about how they (we all) subconsciously replicate dominant structures of power in our characters' bodies, both negative and positive.
Thanks so much Chelsey! That would be wonderful, would love to be a fly on that classroom wall
Thank you! Thank you! I've been reviewing books over at readingwhilefat.com with an eye to the anti-fat bias they show for a couple of years now. It is EVERYWHERE.
This is an awesome resource, thank you for both linking to it here AND for making this! It has long been a dream of mine to find media that was vetted for anti-fat bias before I invest time and money into it, so it’s exciting to learn someone has already been doing that work for books!
Thanks! I can only commit to one review a week—but would love to make it more professional and expand it. If there are any readers/reviewers interested…..
thank you!!
WOW--this blows my mind. I've noticed these kinds of lines alot in fantasy genre fiction and YA too. Normally I'm just like, oof, why are they saying it like that. But seeing it all lined up here--damning built-in prejudice. THANK YOU for writing this out. I can't wait for part 2.
This is so good, Stephen King is one of the commercial fiction worst offenders and it is SO painful. Every single book has some direct equation of fat with bad or moral failing. It is clearly his own internalized shit and it is terrible.
Thank you ER! So good to reconnect. Ugh FOR SURE. I read Carrie and was like...never again
Thank you so much for this!! I'm in recovery from an eating disorder and this shit is E V E R Y W H E R E. Reminds me of how I had to put down Stephen King's 11/22/63 because the main character's girlfriend was like 6 feet tall and then it said she weighs 100 pounds and as a tall AFAB person I was just like. No. And that was before I was even hyper aware of it.
ty <3 lol Stephen, NO
rough stuff, and I appreciate how you are holding up a mirror to it. it's such a deep prejudice that it's assumed to be universal and okay. thanks Emma.
This is so timely! I had just started Fate and Furies because I loved Lauren Groff’s other books, but had to put it down because of the obsession with body size. It wasn’t just the fat phobia, but also the non stop glorification of thin bodies that was just such a turn off. I get that you have to conjure somewhat of a visual for readers but one of the things I love about reading is that you get to focus on the inner worlds of the characters. I don’t really give a shit what they look like!
I know I'm super late to this but I came specifically looking for this article it having seen it linked in other newsletter I have subscribed to because I was so angry after finishing Such a Fun Age a few days ago! Over all I really liked the book, well written and interesting story but the fat phobia in it was so annoying and lazy. It's so challenging to see authors who can write about things like race, class in gender in thoughtful ways but anti fatness just does not even register. It's also so lazy and cliche at this point that I can't believe how common it is. Off to read part 2.
Thank you for reading! For sure -- thoughtfulness about race, class, gender does not seem to translate at all to thoughtfulness about body size and fat liberation!
Reading this well after it was published but love <3 So disheartening that in 2024 books are still being published and skyrocketed to the top of bestsellers list where 50% of the enjoyment relies on the reader knowing that the protagonist is *definitely not* fat and spends 17 pages looking at their own collarbones in the mirror, or engaging in romanticised ed behaviour (yes the waif, of course the waif). Not at any point is it relevant to the plot or necessary for their characterisation, but I guess that’s what happens when fiction with a tone that’s one step above y/n self-inserts (that are at least designed to make the reader feel important I guess?) are king
truly!! thanks for reading
As a fellow fat person. I resonate!
thank you!
What is interesting is that being very thin is always portrayed in this dainty way that comes off as cutesy and girly, but if any woman dare be larger, then we are described as these ogres.
This is such an excellent piece. I'm very thankful for friends in Romancelandia who pointed out anti-fat bias in some of our favorite romances several years ago. Once you see it, you can't unsee it and it's troubling that so many in the industry have yet to see it, much less change their ways.
Good reporting. Coincidentally, the Wall Street Journal recently write about discrimination at work based on size: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hidden-career-cost-of-being-overweight-68f4b8e7
Thank you! Its hard to find a novel that doesn’t correlate fat and bad, or have weightloss as part of the heroine’s redemptive arc. I’ve been noticing but not saying for a couple of years now, I guess because I am fat myself so obviously my opinion is irrelevant.
thank u for this!!! and i’m excited for part 2
I love how you took pictures of the pages—it made it so easy to read and also like: someone really published this ick!! Noooo! And I loved the quote from the book blog. Yes yes yes.
I just wrote about similar problems but zoomed in on kiddie books. I read Percy Jackson for the first time last year and, after reading Jessica DeFino's substack for so long, was like: this is so gross!! https://madelineperkins.substack.com/p/anti-fat-tropes-in-percy-jackson. And then I did another post about Mysterious Benedict Society succeeding where PJ failed, which thrilled me bc I will always stan that book. https://madelineperkins.substack.com/p/percy-jackson-a-tale-of-despereaux
feeling assertive for putting the links but substack ppl are so friendly I'm feeling brave! haha