A Study on the Body Positive Movement: Narratives of Fat Body Positive Individuals

Fatness is the repository of a series of discourses whose intent is to define and control “unruly” bodies, i.e. bodies that because of their bulginess and fleshiness exceed the bounds of “normality”. Research has shown that fat has long being constructed as a stigmatising trait and as a result, fat individuals – particularly those who are fat and positive about their fat embodiment – are left confronting some common assumptions around fatness, namely that fat is – among other things – unattractive, unhealthy, and ultimately immoral. Scholars have addressed the role of fat activism in questioning the ways in which fatness has been framed and constructed in our society. However, in the last decade a new type of activism centred around the idea of self-acceptance has emerged. Body positivity rests on the assumption that all bodies are good bodies, regardless of their sizes. This study identifies and evaluates the impact of body positivity on self-identifying fat and body positive individuals. Building on existing research on fat embodiment, the thesis asks: How do people who identify as fat and body positive narrate the history of their bodies? How are the narratives of fat people influenced by their experience of being part of the body positive movement? The findings of this study reveal that participants developed a positive relationship with their fat embodiment and manifested a desire to challenge common assumptions around fatness, which impacted different areas of their lives, including the words that they use to describe themselves, clothing practices, family relationships, and their approach to health. The results indicate that being part of the body positive movement influenced a series of important and impactful changes in the lives of fat body positive individuals, and the relationship they have both with themselves, their close ones and society at large.