Big, Beautiful Affect: Exploring the Emotional Environment of BBW Social Events and its Relationship to Fat Women's Embodiment

This dissertation examines the way fat womens experiences in and relationships to their bodies are shaped by the affective environment of Big Beautiful Woman (BBW) social events. Data from the researchers autoethnographic explorations of BBW bashes and 12 interviews with fat women who attend BBW social events is analyzed using a theoretical framework that engages with feminist understandings of how power produces and exerts control over marginalized bodies, how violence is justified and enacted against marginalized communities/individuals, societal forces that influence the various ways fat women experience embodiment, and affective structures that work at a bodily level to shape our understanding of our world. In her work examining fat activism, Charlotte Cooper (2016) identifies BBW subcultures as one of several major sites for fat activism in the West (p. 53). Additionally, BBW subculture has yet to be examined academically in any depth for its contributions to fat activist and body liberation efforts. This dissertation addresses that gap in both activist-oriented and academic research. Furthermore, the stories held within this dissertation reflect voices of fat women about their experiences as fat women, furthering significant efforts within fat studies to prioritize the creation of knowledge about fat people by fat people. Participants shared BBW community experiences ranging from objectification by fat admirers, navigating diet culture in size-acceptance spaces and unabashedly exploring fat sexuality; however, a key finding of this research illustrates the centrality of fat community in fat womens efforts to build resilience against the ongoing trauma of fatphobia.