The LGBTQ community is growing rapidy and gaining more support through the decades. However, many members within the community continue to experience discrimination because of their identity to other marginalized groups. Fat gay men have a hard time being accepted by the heteronormative society and the gay society. Members of this double marginalized group are often stigmatized and have a hard time feeling confident in who they are. Once the way fat bodies live and shape the world is understood, acceptance and celebration emerges.
Jason Whitesel, professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, enters the world of fat gay men in his book Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma (2014). Whitesel discusses how members of a double marganilzed group (being fat and gay) have reconstructed their identities in the face of discrimination. Whitesel argues that fat gay men are stigmatized in the LGBTQ movement because of their size. He explains how gay big men are marginalized both for their sexual orientation in a heteronormative society and for their size in a gay society (2). Gay fat men want their dignity and respect in society.
Whitesel’s use of ethnographic study allows people to better understand the stigmatized world of fat gay men. Whitesel does his research and observations by becoming a member of a fat gay men group called Girth & Mirth. Although his experiences and analysis is concentrated to that group, Whitesel does discuss the issues in a broader, open-ended lens. The Girth & Mirth is a group that provides fat gay men a safe-space and support. They like to refer to each other as a family rather than an organization. The Girth and Mirth family allows fat gay men to do activities like eating in public, socializing with others, and more “every day” activities they would not have otherwise been able to do on their own. People in this group discuss ways in which they found out about Girth & MIrth and how their life has changed since. Members have heard of this group through newspaper ads, friends, and more. Ultimately, Girth & Mirth saved the lives of many and provided fat gay men a place to come together and embrace their diffrences.
When trying to understand the everyday life of being a fat gay men, Whitesel becomes aware of his skinny privilage and ensures to not let it play a role when analyzing his research. In trying to understand the impact social events have on the fat gay community, Whitesel attends two. The first event is called the Super Weekend and the other is a national Convergence in Minnesota. Whitesel went into these events with only telling a few people he was doing research. Because Whitesel is a skinny gay man, he was known as a “chaser” (term given to skinny gay man who are attractive to bigger men) when he became a member of Girth & Mirth. By going in as a member and not letting it known he was doing research, Whitesel was able to get more sincere and honest responses on how the fat gay men feel towards their status within the gay community.
In Chapter 3, Performing the Fat Body we learn about The Super Weekend, an event where fat gay men gather at the Cabana Inn and “create an inverse world for themselves” (61). Big gay men are able to engage in reinventing themselves as objects of desire and reclaiming their right to self-definitions. People who attend the event are able to have a good time engaging in scatological humor and celebrating through food, dance, and sex. Whitesel attended this event as a member of the Girth and Mirth club, but also a coordinator of the event. Through his weekend and interaction there, Whitesel noticed that big gay men use campy humor to work through the stigma of being fat. It is important to note that The Super Weekend can be controversial as it can be over sexualized. For example, the doorknob award is given to the person who has had sex with the most people during the event. However, using this form of humor allows big men to “overcome their underdog status” (86).
Whitesel also participated in the annual Convergence of big men in Minnesota, which he describes in Chapter 4, Big Gay Men’s Struggle for Class Distinction. This event is much larger compared to the Super Weekend. Although Convergence is similar to Super Weekend, Convergence offers sightseeing, education seminars and theme dances. For example, the Convergence does a “prom”, “homecoming” type dance where fat gay men are able to dress up and participate in an event that they might have felt excluded when in high school. Although many members participate in such events years after their “normal” time, they still play a big role in their life and how they feel about their identity. In this event, Whitesel was advised to talk openly about his role as a researcher so more people can talk to him about how big gay men work through self-esteem issues (98). The Convergence allowed big gay man’s status in the society to be improved.
By attending both The Super Weekend and The Convergence, Whitesel was able to understand how big gay men socially construct their culture differently (108). This allowed Whitesel to conclude that gay men reconfigure the shame of fat stigma by either turning themselves into sex objects, or by seeking class validation (137). Whitesel was able to fit in the Girth and Mirth group nicely due to his homosexual male staus, but made sure to be aware of his skinny privilege as he interacted with people during both events. By keeping an open mind, Whitesel was able to grasp a better understanding of the injuries and discrimination that big gay men face.
Although Whitesel described his observation in both events, there were areas that lacked information. For example, during the Super Weekend, he talks about the Chub-and-Chaser relationship but does not bring to attention the controversy and hierarchies that might exist. Events like this are spoken in a positive narrative, and lack explaining issues that might be present like the fetishization of fat bodies.
Overall, Jason Whitesel does a good job giving a voice to fat gay men. Members of this double marginalized group are often silenced by the gay community and Whitesel brings attention to groups such as the Girth and Mirth Club and how they use their platform to create a safe and fun space for gay fat men to express themselves and participate in normal activities such as partying and eating in public places. In Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma we learn of the injuries and discrimination fat gay men face and ways in which they embrace their figure and get rid of the shame they grew up with.
In conclusion, Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma by Jason Whitesel is an informative read for people who are interested in learning about the discrimination that occurs when you are part of a double marginalized group. This book enriches fat studies and highlights interesting ways in which social stigma, body size, and sexual identity intersect and impact the lives of people. However, it is important to note that having some knowledge of fat studies will be useful in understanding Whitesel’s conclusion on how the three social issues connect with one another.
Works Cited
Whitesel, J. (2014). Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma. New York, NY: NYU Press.
Hi Patricia, I hope you are doing well! I really enjoyed reading your post. I found it particularly interesting how you address intersectionality within this piece between men being fat and gay. I believe you noted somewhere in the review that Whitesel himself is skinny, so I found it especially interesting that he chose to write a book on this topic. We are in the middle of an ongoing dialogue in our society about being careful about the distinction between amplifying the voices of marginalized peoples while not speaking for them or over them. From what I’m gathering from your review, it seems like the author does a pretty good job of being aware of this, but I am curious to hear what you think and if there are places where you think that more attention to this importance might have been helpful. For example, I know that you noted one of the weaknesses of the monograph was that it lacked information at some times. Perhaps if Whitesel was a part of the group that he was writing about, he would have had this information. Thanks again for posting, see you soon!
Hi Patricia! Super interesting book. I had a similar thought to Matt as to if Whitesel was amplifying or overpowering voices, but I thought how you explained that was very helpful. I also was wondering why Whitesel specifically choose to research on only gay males rather than gay females or other/all genders, especially because fatness and gayness aren’t tied to gender. Regardless, it’s great to read about more intersectional identities and the spaces available to them!
Patricia, Thank you for bringing up this interesting topic about the intersectionality between fat studies and homosexuality! The fact that fat gay men are discriminated against for being gay within a heteronormative society and discriminated against for being fat within the gay community demonstrates the double oppressions that fat gay men feel. This is similar to the double-marginalization that black females are subject to because they experience the gender discrimination within the black community, as well as the racial discrimination from white communities. l never knew about the groups such as the Girth and Mirth Clubs which provide community and support for fat gay men to feel comfortable in public, so that is an interesting point that you made. l think double-marginalized groups are under supported and misrepresented, so to deal with this, there should be more resources and support groups for these marginalized populations. Great job – l will have to look into this topic some more!
Patricia, thank you for the review! It was very interesting to read about the marginalized voices of gay fat men and the intersectionality between these two topics that we have spoken about in class. I was unaware of these groups such for gay fat people that work to empower themselves, so it was great to read about them. I appreciate the position Whitesel took in being sure not to let him being skinny prevent him from diving into this topic, but surely there is some implicit bias on his part, so I wonder how this book would have been written differently if it were written from an actual gay and fat person. Maybe they would have highlighted different things or included personal anecdotes that could speak more to their story that would reflect more real-life experiences of many gay fat men. Like Anaya mentioned, I also wonder about the experience of gay fat women, and how their experience may be similar or different. I really appreciate you sharing more on this issue, nice job!
Awesome review! I really enjoy when authors focus on the intersection between specific identities, and it sounds like this book did just that! It’s so interesting to me how the “double marginalized group” quickly becomes so much more than the sum of its parts. I thought you did a great job on the report–keep up the good work!