Coming out As Fat: Rethinking Stigma

Social Psychology Quarterly 74(1) 53–75 Coming Out as Fat: Ó American Sociological Association 2011 DOI: 10.1177/0190272511398190 Rethinking Stigma http://spq.sagepub.com Abigail C. Saguy1 and Anna Ward2 Abstract This paper examines the surprising case of women who ‘‘come out as fat’’ to test and refine theories about social change, social mobilization, stigma, and stigma resistance. First, supporting theories about ‘‘social movement spillover,’’ we find that overlapping memberships in queer and fat activist groups, as well as networks between these groups, have facilitated the migration of this cultural narrative. Second, we find that the different, embodied context of body size and sexual orientation leads to changes in meaning as this narrative travels. Specifically, the hyper- visibility of fat changes what it means to come out as a fat person, compared to what it means to come out as gay or lesbian. Third, this case leads us to question the importance of the distinc- tion made in the literatures on stigma and on social movements between assimilationist strategies that stress sameness, on the one hand, and radical political strategies that emphasize difference, on the other. Finally, this case suggests that the extent to which a stigmatized trait is associated with membership in a social group—with its own practices, values, and norms— shapes what it means to ‘‘come out’’ as one who possesses that trait. Keywords stigma, coming out, covering, flaunting, destigmatization strategies When asked about how she became a fat person’’ at her first National involved with the fat rights movement, Association to Advance Fat Acceptance prominent fat rights activist and (NAAFA) convention: ‘‘Even though author Marilyn Wann talks about her you may look fat, it’s hard to admit it. ‘‘Really Bad Day,’’ when a romantic As we talk about in NAAFA, it’s coming interest told her he was embarrassed out as a fat person’’ (Sherrie interview to introduce her to his friends because 9/7/01).1 she was fat and when she received a let- ter from Blue Cross refusing her health insurance because she was ‘‘morbidly 1University of California, Los Angeles 2 obese.’’ At that point, Wann realized Swarthmore College that ‘‘living in the closet [was] not Corresponding Author: working,’’ and she ‘‘decided to come Abigail Saguy, UCLA Department of Sociology, 264 Haines Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095 out as a fat person and tried to do it Email: [email protected] really publicly and really loudly 1 because . [she] wasn’t going to put Unless they requested otherwise, interview- ees are identified with first-name pseudonyms. up with exclusion’’ (Wann interview 8/ We use first and last names for those interview- 17/01). Another activist, Sherrie, simi- ees who requested to be identified by their real larly talks about how she ‘‘came out as names. 54 Social Psychology Quarterly 74(1) In an essay on the ‘‘queerness of fat,’’ This begs the question of why and Katie LeBesco notes that ‘‘fat activists how fat acceptance activists have come regularly describe the experience of to use this narrative and how they are coming out as fat and choosing to no using it differently than have gays and longer pass as on-the-way-to thin’’ lesbians. It thus speaks to the sociolog- (LeBesco 2004:95). She cites a 1983 ical question of how cultural narra- example when ‘‘Pam Hinden told tives travel and change in the process. what she called her ‘fat coming out As the above quotations demonstrate, story,’’’ in which she ‘‘explained that fat rights activists are not disclosing, coming out meant mustering courage as much as affirming, their fatness. to engage in activities usually thought They are reclaiming the term fat,com- proper only for thin people, giving up monly used as an insult, as a neutral futile diets, and rebuilding her self- or positive descriptor (it is in this sense esteem’’ (LeBesco 2004:95). ‘‘We’re that we use the word fat here), reject- here, we’re spheres! Get used to it!’’ ing the terms obese and overweight as Wann is quoted saying, echoing the pathologizing normal human variation ACT-up and Queer Nation’s mantra (Cooper 1998; Schroeder 1992; Wann ‘‘We’re here, we’re queer, get used to 1999). They are innovating upon the it!’’ (Burkeman 1998; cited in LeBesco concept of coming out as a ‘‘destigmati- 2004). zation strategy’’ (Lamont 2009; see It is intriguing that fat acceptance also Wimmer 2008). Thus, the rela- activists—who combat discrimination tively understudied case of coming on the basis of body size—would talk out as fat provides an opportunity to about coming out as fat. It is not sur- test and refine theories of stigma and prising that members of this move- stigma resistance. Before turning to ment, which emerged in the 1960s our findings, we review our theoretical and 1970s in the wake of the civil perspective, provide background on rights, women’s rights, and gay rights queer and fat politics, and describe movements, would be drawn to our data and methods. aprovenstrategyforcombatingstigma or unwanted difference (Goffman THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1963). However, the narrative of com- FATPHOBIA AND SOCIAL ing out does not seem to work with CHANGE fat. That is, while coming out usually refers to revealing something hidden, This paper seeks to contribute to under- body size is hypervisible. It is what standings of political resistance and Goffman (1963) referred to as a ‘‘dis- social change. It specifically considers credited identity,’’ meaning that it is political resistance to what we will call plainly visible, as opposed to a ‘‘discred- fatphobia, akin to homophobia, in itable identity,’’ which can be which thinner bodies are defined as concealed.2 morally, medically, aesthetically, and sexually desirable, while heavy bodies are vilified. The suffix ‘‘phobia’’ evokes 2That said, fat women often talk about feeling the fear and hatred that visible body socially invisible, in that people only see a fat per- fat on oneself or on others provokes for son and cannot see the individual woman, much as the protagonist in Ralph Ellison’s (1947) many in the contemporary United Invisible Man speaks of being black in the States. We conceptualize fatphobia as United States in the 1940s. a social structure that is jointly Coming Out as Fat 55 composed of cultural schemas and mate- research showing that the risks of obesity rial resources (Sewell 1992). Schemas have been overblown.4 Yet while clearly are ‘‘virtual’’ in that they exist only as intent on protecting its bottom line from memory traces in people’s minds, are accusations that its products contribute not always conscious, and can be trans- to illness, the food industry has not pro- posed or extended to new situations duced a counter-ideology that celebrates when the opportunity arises (Sewell bigger bodies. On the contrary, advertise- 1992:8). In contrast, resources are mate- ments for diet foods explicitly suggest rial. Schemas are enacted via resour- that thinness should be a personal goal, ces, while the use of resources is while other food advertisements implic- directed by cultural schema. As a struc- itly convey the same message by, for ture, contemporary American fatpho- instance, exclusively featuring very thin bia is both deep (schema dimension) models (Bordo 1993). Plus-size fashion is and of high power (resource dimen- probably the industry most invested in sion) (Sewell 1992). It is deep because creating positive and glamorous images it is pervasive and relatively uncon- of larger female bodies. While a growing scious. That is, in contrast to places market, plus-size fashion nonetheless where food is scarce and where fatness represents a tiny segment of the fashion signals health and high status (Klein industry as a whole, which caters to the 1996; Popenoe 2005; Stearns 1997), in slimmest women and emphasizes the contemporary and wealthy Western desirability of slenderness. In other societies, fatness predominantly signi- words, while not monolithic, contempo- fies laziness, ill-health, and ugliness rary Western economic interests over- (Campos 2004; Latner and Stunkard whelmingly support the idea that thin— 2003; Puhl, Andreyeva, and Brownell not fat—is desirable. 2008).3 In contrast, slenderness is Yet even deeply entrenched and pow- taken as proof of discipline, health, erful social structures can be chal- and beauty (Bordo 1993). lenged. One way to do this is to apply Fatphobia is of high power because existing schema to new contexts, negative attitudes about fat are but- a potential that Sewell calls the transpo- tressed by substantial economic and polit- sibility of schemas (Sewell 1992). Thus, ical material resources from the United talking about coming out as fat transpo- States and other state governments and ses schemas developed in the gay rights agencies, international organizations like movement (e.g., the importance of the World Health Organization (WHO), authenticity, value of diversity, critique pharmaceutical companies producing of pressures to conform) onto fat bodies, weight loss drugs, the weight loss indus- so that they can be seen as valuable try, the fashion industry, and the medical rather than pathological. This process, establishment (see Campos 2004; Campos in which innovations diffuse from one et al. 2006; Oliver 2005). In contrast, the social movement to another (see Soule food industry seems to have an economic 2004), is what social movement theorists interest in promoting fatness. Indeed, call a social movement spillover the Center for Consumer Freedom, (McAdam 1995; Meyer and Whittier afoodindustrylobby,haspublicized 1994). Previous work suggests that cultural diffusion is most likely when 3Fat is, however, multivocal, and positive con- notations of fat persist in certain contexts and in 4See http://www.consumerfreedom.com/adver subgroups. See, for example, Klein 1996.

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