Mid-size and Fat Rep in my books
As we face the start of a new year, I thought it fit to talk about fat. We’re bombarded with media telling us that this is the year we finally become th!n. New year, new resolution kinda BS. Harmful d!et culture and antifat sentiments. I do not stand for that, so what a better moment than to talk about fat rep in my books?
Owning the use of fat as a descriptor took years. Even though I’m at a point where I use the word liberally, I know there is so much work left to do to change the perception of fat bodies in the world. When I think of my younger self, I imagine how healing it would have been to see fat bodies falling in love. Being desired and celebrated. When I started writing my books, I knew I had to write the books that I needed to find as a young adult. So I did.
I also write mid-size characters. This is a complicated term, as it’s often co-opted by people with a distorted self-view or internalized fatphobia, especially in the body positive movement, to talk about themselves. When I use it, I want to be clear that I mean people who can find clothes in standard stores, but sometimes have trouble. Clothing size is nonsense, since it varies within and between brands, with no consistency at all. Still, to use a measure that may help us situate body size, to me mid-size is someone who typically looks for XL, US16 size clothing and up. They often find those clothes in straight size stores, but not always. And sometimes, they find stuff in plus-size stores. They’re in the middle— they’re mid-size.
So what about my characters? Ana in Seeking Stars is mid-size. Her best friend, Ely, is fat; her hips are powerful. Like her. My current favorite description of Ely walking is this:
Ana tore her attention away from Alex to admire Ely’s entrance, and she had to press her lips together not to smile. Ely walked with confidence, her cover up open and waving behind her. The soft curves of her belly and hips echoed her steps with small earthquakes on her flesh, and her eyes shone with mischief. Curious, Ana studied Alex’s reaction. All he did was lift an eyebrow and sweep a look up and down Ely.
Which is in Love in Times of Contempt, the follow up novella to Seeking Stars. Ely gets her own story, too, of course. Her book is called Done and Done. In this little quote, you also get to meet her person, Alex. But I digress. Did you catch all about the earthquakes on her body?
In my next series, I have fat main female characters as well… and mid-size and fat male main characters, too. I hope you stick around to read how they fall in love and find their happily ever afters.
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For more info on the always-evolving fat spectrum, I recommend this article: Fategories.
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