Fat acceptance 101: Midwestern American women’s perspective on cultural body acceptance

ABSTRACT

Weight stigma is pervasive in the US, with body size being pathologised and weight loss urged for those of higher weights. However, there is a growing movement for fat acceptance and body positivity. The present study explored perceptions and experiences of cultural body acceptance trends among Midwestern American women who are trying to, or have tried to, ‘accept’ their bodies. Participants (n = 18) are self-identified women who have ever been labelled ‘obese’ on the Body Mass Index and have ever tried to develop a more positive relationship with their bodies. Participants were interviewed three times over the course of approximately one year using a semi-structured interview guide that explored their perceptions of how society represented and treated those of a higher weight. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and interviews and field-notes analysed thematically. Emergent themes included greater (mixed) representation, lip service, and inclusive cultures. Ultimately, participants positioned shifting attitudes towards fat bodies within wider social trends toward greater inclusion and diversity in general, but remained frustrated by ceilings of acceptable size, disingenuous messaging, and cultural backsliding.

KEYWORDS:

• Fat activism
• body acceptance
• fat studies
• critical weight studies
• media representation
• diversity

Acknowledgements

Authors thank participants for their prolonged engagement in the study, Hannah Reagan for recruitment flyer design, and Anika Dhalla and Natalie Riediger for assistance with manuscript formatting.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Angela Meadows http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6273-7564

Notes

1 Fatness and fat are used throughout this manuscript in a non-pejorative sense but in line with fat acceptance communities who seek to reclaim these terms as neutral descriptors. To reflect some participants’ preferences, the term ‘higher-weight’ is also used. Likewise, ‘obesity’ is presented in quotes to acknowledge the contested meanings of this word and its political implications (Meadows & Daníelsdóttir, 2016).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by start-up research funds provided from Central Michigan University to AB. AM is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK.