Fat Studies: The Basics
1st Edition
Published on 23. April 2025
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-1-032-88810-1 (ISBN)
Description
Fat Studies: The Basics introduces the reading of fat bodies and the ways that Fat Studies, as a field, has responded to waves of ideas about fat people, their lives, and choices.
Part civil rights discourse and part academic discipline, Fat Studies is a dynamic project that involves contradiction and discussion. In order to understand this field, the book also explores its intersections with race, class, gender, sexuality, age, disability, ethnicity, migration and beyond. In addition to thinking through terminology and history, this book will aim to unpack three key myths which often guide Fat Studies, showing that:
fat is a meaningful site of oppression intersected with other forms of discrimination and hatred
to be fat is not a choice (but also that a discussion of choice is itself problematic); and
fat cannot be unambiguously correlated with a lack of health
Fat Studies: The Basics is a lively and accessible foundation for students of Gender Studies, Sociology, Psychology, and Media Studies, as well as anyone interested in learning more about this emergent field.
Part civil rights discourse and part academic discipline, Fat Studies is a dynamic project that involves contradiction and discussion. In order to understand this field, the book also explores its intersections with race, class, gender, sexuality, age, disability, ethnicity, migration and beyond. In addition to thinking through terminology and history, this book will aim to unpack three key myths which often guide Fat Studies, showing that:
fat is a meaningful site of oppression intersected with other forms of discrimination and hatred
to be fat is not a choice (but also that a discussion of choice is itself problematic); and
fat cannot be unambiguously correlated with a lack of health
Fat Studies: The Basics is a lively and accessible foundation for students of Gender Studies, Sociology, Psychology, and Media Studies, as well as anyone interested in learning more about this emergent field.
Reviews / Votes
"This is an introduction to Fat Studies that is so much more than the basics. Friedman deftly weaves together the multiple histories and theories that are shaping Fat Studies today. The result is intersectional and accessible but never simple. It will be an invaluable touchstone for the field."Francis Ray White, University of Westminster
"Fat Studies: The Basics brilliantly unpacks the complexities of fatness across social, cultural, and political facets of life. The book highlights the impact of fatness within healthcare and how media representation curates our perceptions of the body, revealing how dominant systems take up fatness and create inequities in all aspects of our lives. Each chapter evokes a thoughtful process to rethink the biases and assumptions that permeate our understanding of fatness, and encourages us to enter our everyday lives with a more nuanced understanding of inclusion, access, and body diversities."
Sonia Meerai, Assistant Professor, Laurentian University
"This accessible little primer dives into the biggest ideas emerging from Fat Studies today, debunking myths and exploring the rich history and realities of fat lives. A must-read for anyone interested in social justice and body politics!"
Carla Rice, Professor and Research Chair in Feminist Studies and Social Practice, University of Guelph
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Weight
440 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-88810-1 (9781032888101)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€29.70
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
May Friedman is a Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. Her research explores Fat Studies and unstable identities.
Content
1. Introduction 2. How Fat Hurts 3. Choosing Fat? 4. Toward Death and Debility? 5. Fat and Popular Culture 6. Intersecting Fat 7. Fat Activisms and Fat Revolution