ABSTRACT
This chapter explores scholarship that brings queer theory and Fat Studies together, forming the sub-field of queer Fat Studies. I argue that queer/ing Fat Studies can offer a means of expanding contemporary, normative conceptions of fatness and a critique of trends within the broader field of Fat Studies. My literature review is guided by three questions: what is the queer potential of fatness? How might queer theory help scholars generate richer accounts of fatness? And what queer theories, methods, and strategies are useful for Fat Studies scholars to draw upon for identifying, negotiating, and eradicating fat oppression? To address these questions, I divide the queer Fat Studies literature into four branches. I ultimately contend that the anti-social branch of queer fat scholarship has offered the most compelling means of queer/ing fatness thus far because it posits “queer” as a critical analytic to interrogate normativity and creates space for a variety of fat embodied subjectivities, rather than privileging one “right” or “best” way to be fat. I conclude by suggesting new directions for queer Fat Studies scholars to pursue in developing the field that address gaps in the existing literature.
