So, Keb started a thread over on the main board asking why people found fat beautiful. I'm reading this thread while eating my dinner and wanting to respond so bad with something I wrote a while back for one of my classes. However, I don't know that I want to share it publicly, because I'm sure someday parts of this paper will be useful to me in some other public venue, and thus I'd like to keep it somewhat private for now. Also, I'd like to hear your responses to Keb's query, especially those of you who are artistic, because maybe you'd be willing to share any visual images that define, for you, why fat can be beautiful.
Rashly and pompously, maybe, I decided to share part of that paper here, if for no other reason than to dispel my urge to speak my opinion about why fat is beautiful. I'm only going to share the first paragraph or so of the paper, and thanks for humoring me here. One other thing: the paper begins with an image of Supersize Betsy, and in light of the recent concern about veryfatwomen, I'm not going to copy the picture into this post, but give you the url where you can see the image (as it is intrinsic to the paper). It's at the deviant desires website:
http://deviantdesires.com/profiles/profmain.html
scan to the bottom of the page for the image of Betsy
The paper is called "Supersize Fetish" and was my attempt to use psychoanalytic theory about fetishism to dispel the belief that fat sex and fat desire is a fetish practice. I've included the footnotes that accompanied this part of the paper, also. I must warn you, I designed this paper to be experimental and 'playful,' and reading it after all this time, I'm not sure what I think of the approach I took. I do appreciate you taking the time to read it, and for (hopefully) forgiving the clumsiness of the prose. It's funny, too, the only person who has read this paper is my professor, and even though I'm overtly writing to an imaginary reader, I didn't have him in mind when I was crafting my direct addresses in the paper. And, even though I'm using Freud, Lacan, and the like in the paper, I still don't have a strong grasp of psychoanalytic theory, so another warning is needed!
What is your first reaction to this picture? Is it disgust? Amazement? Fear? Maybe you wonder how anyone could get so fat. Probably youre dismissive of the smile on her face and the see-through lingerie that barely covers her breasts. Youre also wondering, if youre honest, about how she even has sex. But how many of you are having a hard time putting a name on exactly how this image is affecting you? Could it be that for some of you, the first reaction to Supersize Betsy is desire?
And why wouldnt Supersize Betsys body produce feelings of desire? She exemplifies the round curves, soft flesh, and smooth, creamy skin of any pin-up girl, never mind that the curves are in the wrong places, there are no flat muscular planes to counterbalance that roundness, and the creamy skin covers what seems like acres of human flesh. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I think it would be hard not to classify this image as beautiful. Other than the unfortunate cropping of the left side of the photo, which cuts off the farthest reaches of Betsys enormous belly, the image perfectly fills the frame. The tapering of Betsys body from top to bottom offers a sensual S-curve which creates a sense of flow inside the frame, and the perfect spherical belly counterbalances the epic globes of the buttocks, which merge seamlessly into the oblong sleekness of fleshy thighs that cascade languidly into the triangular fatness of monumental calves. The reference points of obscured face and dangling arms give the viewer something human to anchor themselves to, lest they get lost in the oceanic enormity of Betsys flesh, and the flimsy negligee and the busy pattern of the blanket underneath serve as tactile contrast to emphasize the supple tenderness of plump skin. The various geometrical shapes of Betsys body arent too dissimilar from that historic trope of painting, the fruit assortment. And, in spite of the virtual nakedness of the subject, the obscuring of the breasts (as well as the undecidability of the true dimensions of that wondrous belly-wherever does it end!) leaves much to the imagination and intimates sensuous pleasures still unknown. It is an image that arrests the eye and halts the breath, interrogating what we mean when we speak about the erotic.
At this point, I wonder what you, the reader, might be thinking. If I know anything about human nature, Im sure youre still hung up on how much she weighs (in this photo, 470 pounds; did that come close to your guess, and could your imagination even conjure up someone that fat?). Youre also probably denying everything Ive claimed about Betsys beauty, rejecting any claims to her body as art, and quite possibly the idea that Betsy might be physically attractive to anyone makes you queasy. Furthermore, the thought that Im claiming that you find Betsy desirable in any way doubtless makes you angry, so Ill give you a moment to relieve some tension by transference- ________________________________________________________________________ (I hope you used that space respectfully, but in order to dispel my tension about ceding my authorial control to you, Im compelled to fill in those blanks with what I think is a good guesstimate of what you said-You disgusting perv, Ill bet youre fatter and uglier than her and even she wouldnt screw you. To that I can only reply, Well, no, I dont think Im fatter than her, but, yes, she is prettier that I am, and no, I have no idea if Betsy would have sex with me. footnote 1 Does that make me a disgusting pervert? footnote 2). While none of those reactions surprise me, what does surprise me is the ease in which most people would classify anyone who did find Betsy beautiful and sexually desirable as a pervert, or, more precisely, a fetishist.
1
Im pretty sure that Im not as fat as Betsy (I have no dependable way to quantify my own weight), but I must admit Im somewhat dismayed to realize, looking at Betsys picture, that while Im much closer in size to her than to the standard American centerfold, my own body in no way embodies the aesthetic beauty that Betsys does. If fat and beauty are two terms that our society claims can never be linked, then the fact that I can discern a difference in bodily attractiveness between two very fat bodies implies that some very fat bodies must be beautiful, both in the abstract world of images and signs, and in the very real materiality of the body. My hope is that such a comparison is not read as an instance of low self-esteem on my part, but rather a support for the claim that this image is beautiful no matter what body one inhabits or what opinions one has about fat people.
2
An honest answer to this question would have to be yes, regardless of whether I find Betsy desirable, since as a fat person, any sexual behavior I exhibit is typically construed as perverse in our culture. This paper is a critique of such constructs
Oh, one more note-at the time, I didn't know how much I weigh. I do today, as I'm not hung up on the fear of knowing what I weigh anymore.
Rashly and pompously, maybe, I decided to share part of that paper here, if for no other reason than to dispel my urge to speak my opinion about why fat is beautiful. I'm only going to share the first paragraph or so of the paper, and thanks for humoring me here. One other thing: the paper begins with an image of Supersize Betsy, and in light of the recent concern about veryfatwomen, I'm not going to copy the picture into this post, but give you the url where you can see the image (as it is intrinsic to the paper). It's at the deviant desires website:
http://deviantdesires.com/profiles/profmain.html
scan to the bottom of the page for the image of Betsy
The paper is called "Supersize Fetish" and was my attempt to use psychoanalytic theory about fetishism to dispel the belief that fat sex and fat desire is a fetish practice. I've included the footnotes that accompanied this part of the paper, also. I must warn you, I designed this paper to be experimental and 'playful,' and reading it after all this time, I'm not sure what I think of the approach I took. I do appreciate you taking the time to read it, and for (hopefully) forgiving the clumsiness of the prose. It's funny, too, the only person who has read this paper is my professor, and even though I'm overtly writing to an imaginary reader, I didn't have him in mind when I was crafting my direct addresses in the paper. And, even though I'm using Freud, Lacan, and the like in the paper, I still don't have a strong grasp of psychoanalytic theory, so another warning is needed!
What is your first reaction to this picture? Is it disgust? Amazement? Fear? Maybe you wonder how anyone could get so fat. Probably youre dismissive of the smile on her face and the see-through lingerie that barely covers her breasts. Youre also wondering, if youre honest, about how she even has sex. But how many of you are having a hard time putting a name on exactly how this image is affecting you? Could it be that for some of you, the first reaction to Supersize Betsy is desire?
And why wouldnt Supersize Betsys body produce feelings of desire? She exemplifies the round curves, soft flesh, and smooth, creamy skin of any pin-up girl, never mind that the curves are in the wrong places, there are no flat muscular planes to counterbalance that roundness, and the creamy skin covers what seems like acres of human flesh. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I think it would be hard not to classify this image as beautiful. Other than the unfortunate cropping of the left side of the photo, which cuts off the farthest reaches of Betsys enormous belly, the image perfectly fills the frame. The tapering of Betsys body from top to bottom offers a sensual S-curve which creates a sense of flow inside the frame, and the perfect spherical belly counterbalances the epic globes of the buttocks, which merge seamlessly into the oblong sleekness of fleshy thighs that cascade languidly into the triangular fatness of monumental calves. The reference points of obscured face and dangling arms give the viewer something human to anchor themselves to, lest they get lost in the oceanic enormity of Betsys flesh, and the flimsy negligee and the busy pattern of the blanket underneath serve as tactile contrast to emphasize the supple tenderness of plump skin. The various geometrical shapes of Betsys body arent too dissimilar from that historic trope of painting, the fruit assortment. And, in spite of the virtual nakedness of the subject, the obscuring of the breasts (as well as the undecidability of the true dimensions of that wondrous belly-wherever does it end!) leaves much to the imagination and intimates sensuous pleasures still unknown. It is an image that arrests the eye and halts the breath, interrogating what we mean when we speak about the erotic.
At this point, I wonder what you, the reader, might be thinking. If I know anything about human nature, Im sure youre still hung up on how much she weighs (in this photo, 470 pounds; did that come close to your guess, and could your imagination even conjure up someone that fat?). Youre also probably denying everything Ive claimed about Betsys beauty, rejecting any claims to her body as art, and quite possibly the idea that Betsy might be physically attractive to anyone makes you queasy. Furthermore, the thought that Im claiming that you find Betsy desirable in any way doubtless makes you angry, so Ill give you a moment to relieve some tension by transference- ________________________________________________________________________ (I hope you used that space respectfully, but in order to dispel my tension about ceding my authorial control to you, Im compelled to fill in those blanks with what I think is a good guesstimate of what you said-You disgusting perv, Ill bet youre fatter and uglier than her and even she wouldnt screw you. To that I can only reply, Well, no, I dont think Im fatter than her, but, yes, she is prettier that I am, and no, I have no idea if Betsy would have sex with me. footnote 1 Does that make me a disgusting pervert? footnote 2). While none of those reactions surprise me, what does surprise me is the ease in which most people would classify anyone who did find Betsy beautiful and sexually desirable as a pervert, or, more precisely, a fetishist.
1
Im pretty sure that Im not as fat as Betsy (I have no dependable way to quantify my own weight), but I must admit Im somewhat dismayed to realize, looking at Betsys picture, that while Im much closer in size to her than to the standard American centerfold, my own body in no way embodies the aesthetic beauty that Betsys does. If fat and beauty are two terms that our society claims can never be linked, then the fact that I can discern a difference in bodily attractiveness between two very fat bodies implies that some very fat bodies must be beautiful, both in the abstract world of images and signs, and in the very real materiality of the body. My hope is that such a comparison is not read as an instance of low self-esteem on my part, but rather a support for the claim that this image is beautiful no matter what body one inhabits or what opinions one has about fat people.
2
An honest answer to this question would have to be yes, regardless of whether I find Betsy desirable, since as a fat person, any sexual behavior I exhibit is typically construed as perverse in our culture. This paper is a critique of such constructs
Oh, one more note-at the time, I didn't know how much I weigh. I do today, as I'm not hung up on the fear of knowing what I weigh anymore.
