Body Relationship and the Fat Female Experience

Abstract

Background: Fat people are subjected to oppression including medical “obesity” rhetoric and fat discrimination which may affect their ability to experience an embodied relationship with their bodies. Aims: The aim of this study was to discover how self-identified fat female-bodied people understand their relationship with their bodies. Methods: Six participants were recruited for semi-structured interviews which were then analyzed in a constant comparative method. Findings: Five themes emerged from the data: dehumanization, acceptance of (the fat) body, empowerment, resistance, and dis<-->embodiment. Relationship with (the fat) body was identified by the participants as fraught with tension in a context that involves considering the positionality of “non-normative’ bodies, the value and importance of community, and a high degree of effort.