Fat Kinship examines the transformative power of self-selected relationships among fat people, exploring how fatness intersects with identity, intimacy, and community to challenge societal stigma and foster belonging. Through diverse pieces, the book highlights the resilience and solidarity found in fat-positive connections across personal, cultural, and political landscapes.
The chapters in this volume examine how fatness intersects with race, gender, sexuality, and disability to shape experiences of intimacy, community, and selfhood. Through essays spanning topics such as fat-forward sexuality, fat representation in media, and the unique dynamics of fat therapist-client relationships, contributors illuminate the complexities and possibilities of self-selected kinship as a form of resistance and resilience. Drawing on critical race theory, queer theory, and fat studies, Fat Kinship underscores the importance of relationships that nurture and affirm fat identities in the face of societal stigma. From romantic fiction to digital spaces, the book reveals how fat communities reimagine intimacy and belonging, fostering solidarity and healing.
This book is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the radical potential of human connection in defiance of a world that often devalues fat bodies. It was originally published as a special issue of Fat Studies.
Edited by:
Cindy Baker
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 178mm,
Weight: 460g
ISBN: 9781041068129
ISBN 10: 1041068123
Pages: 154
Publication Date: 16 June 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Fat Kinship: an introduction 1. Fat politics as a constituent of intersecting intimacies 2. Fat beyond the fetish: toward a theory of fat-forward sexuality 3. Comfy fat queer love: affective digital resistance through kinship 4. Self-conscious, unapologetic, and straight: fat protagonists in romantic fiction 5. Psychological kinship between fat therapists and fat patients: healing and solidarity around stigma, family relationships, and body image 6. Closer. Fatness, desire, and seeing as touching 7. Hollywood’s slim pickings for fat characters: A textual analysis of Gilmore Girls, Sweet Magnolias, This is Us, Shrill, and Dietland 8. Fat bodies, intimate relationships and the self in finnish and American weight-loss TV shows 9. Successfully and deliciously fugacious: re-interpreting the “failed” fat relationship in Percy Adlon’s Zuckerbaby (1985) 10. “It has literally been a lifesaver”: the role of “knowing kinship” in supporting fat women to navigate medical fatphobia 11. Fat kinship for love and liberation: a dialogue across difference
Cindy Baker - Canadian artist Cindy Baker’s interdisciplinary, research-based practice engages with queer, gender, race, disability, fat, and art discourses. She has exhibited internationally, co-founded important advocacy organizations, and received awards for her community-driven work, including the Body Confidence Canada Award and South Asian Visual Arts Collective's Collaborator of the Year Award.
