ABSTRACT
Although fat studies and activism had been gaining traction, it fully blossomed in the 1990s. Photographing different types of bodies—in particular, larger bodied women—not only validated their bodies and its experiences but also made the case that women outside the conventionally accepted standards of body size could be beautiful. Debbie Notkin and Laurie Toby Edison worked together as model/writer and photographer respectively to produce Women En Large: Images of Fat Nudes (1994), a book of photographs of nude women of all different sizes and races. Not only did this book show women who often went hidden, but also the creation and promotion of the book mirrored activist practices. Building upon this early work, Ariane Lopez-Huici and Leonard Nimoy continued similar practices, focusing on untraditional bodies either in a carefully composed studio setting (Lopez-Huici) or a reinterpretation of famous art historical images (Nimoy). By contrast, Laura Aguilar used her own body and explored her insecurities in a series of nude self-portraits in the 1990s. Haley Morris-Cafiero photographed herself but managed to capture bystanders and onlookers staring at her or mocking the way that she looks. Through the evolution of images of fat women, as well as fat activism, it becomes apparent that including fat bodies in art is a way of reacting to and protesting fat prejudice and discrimination practices that are happening across the United States.
