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Fat heroines, body positivity and romance: session pre-reading

Warning: Please note that the extracts and questions below, as well as the reading session, will deal with the representation of fat women, and body image issues in romance, and you may therefore find them emotionally and mentally disturbing. If you believe that reading/participating may be traumatizing or a trigger for you, please do not read/participate.


The title of this session as well as the extracts and questions use the word “fat”. That’s because I’m following both the vocabulary choices of the authors/books mentioned, the academic community of Fat Studies, and the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance which started the size acceptance movement.


Spoiler Alert (2020) by Olivia Dade


Blurb


Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own.


Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster. Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.


April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.


Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her.


With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?


Questions to consider:


  1. How are the following aspects correlated and framed: JoAnn’s advice; fashion choices; women and space; fat people and space; presence v absence; fatness as sin?


Extract 1: conversation between the heroine and her mother before the first date


“They showed us part of that conversation on Twitter.” JoAnn’s voice dropped to a near-whisper. “I’m not sure posting pictures there is a great idea.”

It was more or less the same advice April had received for more than thirty years: If people are cruel, make yourself smaller and smaller, until you’re so inconsequential no one can target you.

But April was done cringing and hiding. The opinion of fat-phobic randos on Twitter didn’t matter, and she wouldn’t make herself small just to avoid their notice. “I like showing everyone the costumes I’ve put together.”

JoAnn responded carefully, worry and good intentions in every syllable. “That dress…” She hesitated. “It didn’t show your figure to its best advantage. Maybe you can make one that doesn’t cling to --”

It could be anything. April’s arms. Her back. Her stomach. Her ass. Her thighs.

“I’m good,” she repeated, her tone more curt than she’d intended.

[...]

“I imagine people will take pictures of you during your dinner tonight.” JoAnn’s faux-cheer lodged under April’s skin like splinters. “A black dress is always in style, you know. And the color disguises so many sins, especially if you find a design that doesn’t fit too tightly.”

Black to disappear. Extra fabric to disguise.

As always, fatness was a sin, most likely mortal rather than venial.

Bowing her head, April didn’t respond for fear of what she might say.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about the date,” JoAnn continued. “Other than your father, of course. But I’m sure he won’t spread the --”

Okay, they were done. “I’d better go. I need to take a shower now so I have enough time to get ready for dinner.”

“All right. Have fun tonight, honey,” JoAnn said, although she didn’t sound as if she expected fun to be had by anyone involved. “I love you.”

Her mother meant it. April never questioned that.

“Thanks, Mom.” Her nails were biting into her palms so hard, she was surprised she hadn’t broken the skin, “I love you too.”

And that was the hell of it. She did.


Questions to consider:

  1. What statement is April making about representation of fat people in the arts (films, books etc.?)

  2. Why is positive, or non-negative, fat representation in cultural texts important?

  3. How is fat-phobia or fat-shaming framed in this extract?

  4. How are her linguistic choices (e.g. use and repetition of “fat”) intentional and/or political?

  5. How is this text meta-textual/meta-fictional?


Extract 2: online post by April titled “A BIG FAT SHAME”


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: So here’s the thing: I’m fat. Very fat, in fact. Not chubby or merely curvy. FAT. A good part of the reason I was originally drawn to this particular OTP was, I think for that reason. Lavinia’s story resonated with me. Her character isn’t fat in either book!canon or show!canon, but in book!canon, as you know, she’s described as unattractive in terms of conventional beauty. Several of Aeneas’s men even call her ugly. As we’ve discussed many times, the choice of Summer Diaz - who’s gorgeous even without makeup and in dull, unflattering clothing - to play Lavinia undercut the resonance of that story line, but echoes of it are still there in the show, even so.


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: I think I desperately needed to read and watch the story of how a woman most considered homely or downright hideous could earn respect, admiration, desire, and eventually love from the man she desired and loved herself. (Aeneas, of course.) I needed to witness how her character, her choices, and her words would come to mean more to him, in the end, than whether the rest of the world would call her pretty.


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: I wanted that because of my family history. I wanted that because of my personal and romantic history too. I can’t tell you how many times a date, a boyfriend, or someone I considered a friend, has shamed me for my size. Sometimes they do so directly, but more often in ways I’m sure they consider subtle or don’t consider at all. They do it by urging me to work out or take a walk with them every time I see them, or by discussing their ostensible concern for my health, or by pushing me toward what they consider more nutritionally sound food choices.


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: But I’m not looking to be fixed. I want to be loved and liked and desired not because of my size, not despite my size, but because I’m ME. My character, my choices, my words.

[...]


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: To be clear, I don’t think fat-shaming is usually a conscious choice in our fics. Hatred of fatness, disdain towards fat people, is so widespread in our culture, it comes out in ways we don’t intend, and I include myself in that statement. Being fat myself doesn’t exempt me from having to consider my words and actions thoughtfully when it comes to fatness, because I’m part of this culture too.


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: I’m not asking you to celebrate my fatness or make Lavinia fat in your stories or go back and change any fics with fat-shaming in them. I AM asking, though, for you to be thoughtful any time you reference fatness in your writing. I want you to think of me and ask yourself, “Would the implications of this hurt ULS?” If the answer is yes, please do better - for me, for yourself, and for everyone else.


[...]


Unapologetic Lavinia Stan: P.S. When I say I’m fat, I’m not insulting myself. I don’t use fat as a pejorative, as some do. For me, it’s merely an adjective, like blond, or tall, or (TopMeAeneas’s favorite) TUMESCENT. Whether it’s offensive depends entirely on context, as with many descriptors.

Dangerous Curves Ahead (2013) by Sugar Jamison


Blurb


Ellis Garrett is dumping her critical boyfriend, opening a plus-size clothing store, and starting a blog—all to spread the word that fashion shouldn’t require a size-two body, and happiness should allow for the occasional cupcake. Or two. But is indulging fantasies about her sister’s long-ago ex, the still-hunky Michael Edwards, biting off more than she can chew?


Mike must be losing his detective’s touch. He doesn’t recognize Ellis when he bumps into her at Size Me Up, and he certainly doesn’t remember his ex-girlfriend’s outspoken sister being so irresistible. Her curves are indeed dangerous—and so is her wit. Could it be that Ellis is his Perfect Fit? One thing’s for sure: Mike will make it his sworn duty to find out…


Questions to consider:

  1. Why is the text opening with a list of words?

  2. Would you characterize this text as “body-positive”, “fat-positive”, both, neither?

  3. How is bodily difference contextualized in the economy, i.e. the coffee-shop setting, the weight-loss clinic, the clothing store?

  4. How is Mrs. Toomey represented and why?


Extract 3: Opening chapter - in a coffee shop

Big Fat Fattie and Other Words for “Fat”

Plus-Sized

Zaftig

Big

Overweight

Plump

Chubby

Portly

Fleshy

Curvy

Chunky

Heavy

Rubenesque

[...]

“Yes, Mrs. Toomey. It is me,” Ellis said, plastering a smile on her face that she hoped looked genuine. She turned to face the annoyingly slender woman holding a cup of green tea. Is that you? Mrs. Toomey asked the question as if she didn’t know. Well, duh. Ellis wasn’t one of those girls who were easy to miss.

“I’m a little surprised to see you. What are you doing here?” Mrs. Toomey looked Ellis up and down with her judgmental eyes, seeming to know already why Ellis was there. Fat girls shouldn’t eat cookies. “Have you patched things up with Jack yet?”

Ellis had known the woman half her life. Agatha was her mother’s longtime friend, and the owner of a very successful weight-loss clinic. She also happened to be Jack’s aunt.

And she’s an undernourished hag.

[...]

[Mrs. Toomey:]“I guess we were. You really should come down to the clinic. We have tons of other healthy goodies all containing a day’s worth of fiber. I’m sure you could use some more fiber in your diet.” Her eyes traveled to Ellis’s midsection. “It helps with the bloating.”

“I’m sure it does.” Ellis wanted to bite her tongue as she looked down at her relatively flat belly. But she couldn’t. “What a nice offer, Mrs. Toomey but I would get kicked out of my fat girls club if I didn’t eat at least two teaspoons of butter a day. They are super strict about cholesterol intake.”

[...]

“What would all the women think who came to my store and read my blog if I lost weight for a man?”

Mrs. Toomey frowned. “That you would inspire them to stop eating cheese puffs and get off the couch and exercise. Don’t you see that by selling them clothes, you are contributing to their obesity? If they don’t fit into normal sizes, they’ll have to get their behinds in the gym and out of the drive-thru.”

Ellis saw red. And like a bull she was ready to charge. She’d opened her shop because she was tired of going into stores that only catered to average women. What about the above average? The tall girls? Or the ones with the big feet? Or long arms? Or the women who couldn’t find anything cute in their size? Or the women who just needed a place to shop without being judged? How dare this pompous, wheatgrass-drinking, gluten-free-eating, horse-faced woman talk about her customers like that? Ellis didn’t cater to fat women, she catered to all women with unique figures. She opened her mouth to let Agatha Toomey know how it really was.


On the Plus Side (2013) by Tabatha Vargo


Blurb


Big girls need love, too, but at what cost?


Lilly is loaded, not only with money, but with weight. Both things she could do without. But even with her undesired millionaire status, she doesn’t hold on to false hopes of finding true love. So when a sexy stranger comes into her life dripping with seduction, she finds it hard to resist. The bigger they are the harder they fall and Lilly falls straight through the floor in love with Mr. Sexy. Too bad he’s there for all the wrong reasons.


The chance of losing it all will make you do some crazy things and Devin’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep his life together. All seems lost when out of nowhere he’s approached by a Millionaire Momma with an offer he can’t refuse. But even a womanizer like Devin has a heart and when the short, chunky girl with the carefree attitude breaks through his icy façade, he finds that losing everything takes on a whole new meaning.


***Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Mature readers only. Not intended for young adult readers.***


Questions to consider

  1. How does the commentary on fashion in this text resemble or differ from the Extract 1?

  2. How is fantasy (i.e. the heroine’s inner thoughts) and reality contrasted?

  3. How is space discussed and interrogated in this extract?


Extract 4: heroine’s first chapter


There are few things in my life that you’d have to pry from my cold, dead fingers before they were ever taken from me. The first thing is my Spanx. Which, in my opinion, are the best man-made contraptions ever, better than electricity or chocolate. The creators of these life changing pieces of cloth should be put on a pedestal for all the chubby girls of the world to worship. Spanx, the body shaping devices of the fatty girl world… I bow down to you.

I don’t know what they’re made of, or who came up with this fantastical idea, but they’re a godsend. If it wasn’t for my Spanx, every fat roll I own would spill forth like frothy white volcano lava. It keeps the back fat to a minimum, too. Everyone with extra poundage can appreciate that.There’s just nothing like walking around feeling like you have an extra pair of double D’s strapped to your back.

[...]

Needless to say, the amount of suckage in my life was mind blowing for a girl with more money than she could count. I should’ve been happy. I should’ve been lying on a warm beach somewhere while my newly liposuctioned body was being massaged by my sexy boyfriend who had a really hot name like, Damon. I wasn’t. Instead, I went to work. I sat behind a jewelry counter working for money that I didn’t need in an attempt to achieve any form of normalcy.

[...]

My inner ranting was cut short by the bell over the door to Mirabelle’s, my favorite little cafe. My mom was already seated as she sipped her vanilla espresso. I hated the fact that she chose to sit in a booth instead of a table. I’d pull my fingernails out before I admitted that the booths were too small for me.

Guess who gets to play squeeze the fat girl in the tiny booth today?



Other questions to consider:

  1. “Any publicity is good publicity.” Can that be applied to fat representation in popular romance?

  2. Is popular romance body positive?

  3. What sort of woman-woman interactions do these excerpts present?

  4. Are fat heroines in popular romance commodified? Trangressive? Essentialized? All the above? None of the above?



Note about use of passages

The excerpts above have been posted to inform discussion around different topics in popular romance for the Romance Reading Group community. They are framed by notes and/or discussion questions for the purposes of criticism and scholarship, under the guidelines of Fair Use. We have respect for the authors and their intellectual property, and we encourage our community to buy the books. Passages that may spoil the book plot have not been included.



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