ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that fat sexuality is regarded as deviant by the general public. The study of fat sexuality is rooted in the sociology of sexual deviance. Individuals who participate in deviant sexual behaviors are only viewed as deviant because of the responses of others who attach meanings to their actions. The stigmatization of fat women is particularly problematic due to the thin beauty ideal. Women who are fat are labeled not only as deviant, lazy, out of control, and unattractive, as are their male counterparts, but also as nonsexual. Most of the research on fat sexuality and deviance focuses on women's victimizations due to their stigmatized appearances. Bear culture is also a haven for the admirers of those bodies who were otherwise doubly oppressed by society, not only for being gay but also for being fat. Although the dominant discourse is that fat bodies are unhealthy, undisciplined, and unattractive, more recent research has conceptualized fat as another marginalized status.
