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

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dc.contributor.advisorMitchell, Allyson
dc.contributor.authorKotow, Crystal Lee Marie
dc.date.accessioned2020-11-13T13:54:16Z
dc.date.available2020-11-13T13:54:16Z
dc.date.copyright2020-08
dc.date.issued2020-11-13
dc.date.updated2020-11-13T13:54:16Z
dc.degree.disciplineGender, Feminist and Women's Studies
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis 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.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/37938
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectWomen's studies
dc.subject.keywordsFat
dc.subject.keywordsFatness
dc.subject.keywordsFat embodiment
dc.subject.keywordsFat feminism
dc.subject.keywordsEmbodiment
dc.subject.keywordsFat community
dc.subject.keywordsCommunity
dc.subject.keywordsFat stigma
dc.subject.keywordsWeight stigma
dc.subject.keywordsFat sexuality
dc.subject.keywordsNormalizing gaze
dc.subject.keywordsMale gaze
dc.subject.keywordsFatphobic gaze
dc.subject.keywordsFatphobia
dc.subject.keywordsFatshion
dc.subject.keywordsFat fashion
dc.subject.keywordsBariatric surgery
dc.subject.keywordsWeight loss surgery
dc.subject.keywordsObjectification
dc.subject.keywordsFeminist standpoint epistemology
dc.subject.keywordsAutoethnography
dc.subject.keywordsFat activism
dc.titleBig, Beautiful Affect: Exploring the Emotional Environment of BBW Social Events and its Relationship to Fat Women's Embodiment
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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