Artikel

“I Wanna Be Fat” : Healthism and Fat Politics in TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life

Verfasst von: Kindinger, Evangelia
in:
2017 , Heft: 62 , 48-60 S.
Weitere Suche mit:
fatness
My Big Fat Fabulous Life
neoliberalism
reality TV

Weitere Informationen

Einrichtung: GenderOpen | Digital
Link: Volltext
Verfasst von: Kindinger, Evangelia
In:
Jahr: 2017
Heft: 62
ISSN: 0935-6967
Sprache: Englisch
Beschreibung:
American reality TV has for a long time staged fat bodies in exaggerated and voyeuristic ways. The aim of such programs is to tell cautionary tales about the supposedly disastrous effects of fatness for the individual and society. The fat body needs to change, or be controlled in order to function fully in a capitalist society. One series that interrupts this narrative is TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life (2015-); the title suggests that this narrative is not one of misery and regret, but of joy – certainly an unusual take on fatness in reality TV. It stars Whitney Thore, a woman who claims to be body positive, and who advertises fat politics; politics inspired by fat studies and activism. These clash with the healthist, neoliberal ideology circulated in reality TV. While she announces that she is proud to be fat, her friends and family are constantly shown challenging her. The series thus sends contradicting messages: unable to fully commit to fat and body positivity, it stages Thore’s health problems in a spectacular way and thus undermines the successes and triumphs she experiences as fat role model.
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GenderOpen Repositorium

Ein Repositorium für die Geschlechterforschung.
Eine Kooperation des Margherita-von-Brentano-Zentrum an der Freien Universität Berlin, dem Zentrum für transdisziplinäre Geschlechterstudien an der Humboldt-Universität und zu Berlin und dem Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Frauen- und Geschlechterforschungan der Technischen Universität Berlin
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