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In Fat Gay Men, Jason Whitesel delves into the world of Girth & Mirth, a nationally known social club dedicated to big gay men, illuminating the ways in which these men form identities and community in the face of adversity. Despite affectionate in-group monikers for big gay men-chubs, bears, cubs-the anti-fat stigma that persists in American culture at large still haunts these individuals who often exist at the margins of gay communities. "To be fat in a thin-obsessed gay culture can be difficult. Includes bibliographical references and index.
FAT GAY MEN SERIES
URL Uniform series Intersections (New York, N.Y.) Notes Titleįat gay men : girth, mirth, and the politics of stigma / Jason Whitesel. He is the author of Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma(forthcoming in July from NYU Press).Request This Author Whitesel, Jason, author. Jason Whitesel is Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Pace University in New York.
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Fat activists put it best when they say, “We’re here, we’re sphere, get used to it!” It requires all of us to embrace a wider range of diversity unremarkably, and without fuss. Therefore, with Pride Month upon us, it’s my belief that the road to accepting those groups that continue to be marginalized within the gay community-people of size as well as transgender folks, people with disabilities, and/or racial-ethnic minorities-must involve more than simply tolerating these groups. Despite acutely feeling the sting of rejection from those who are sizist, big gay men march in Pride parades and put themselves out there something fierce. Jack Halberstam puts it, taking pride in one’s shame is like going to “a place where shame can be transformed into something that is not pride, but not simply damage, either.” Girth & Mirthers take pride in their shame, sometimes going to the extreme to present a fun, larger-than-life persona. When Girth & Mirthers participate in Pride celebrations, they not only gain visibility, but also communicate an alternate message: not all gay men are pretty-perfect and chiseled. Sister Dana’s remarks point out the contradiction that if gays are open to making fun of themselves in campy-queer drag, they need not be so threatened by Girth & Mirthers’ presence in the gay community. After all, we would not want the public to think that a bunch of happy, chubby gays represented our community, now would we?!” Thus, this author affectionately acknowledges the existence of big men in the gay community. In a 2006 San Francisco Bay Times article, Sister Dana Van Iquity quips tongue-in-cheek on the homogenization of Pride: “The Girth & Mirth club will be asked to either not be fat or at least not show a sense of humor about their stout state. For some, being in the Pride parade means they come out twice: for being gay and for being fat.
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With the protection and backing of their fellow sufferers in Girth & Mirth, members move toward reconfiguring their shame. pride may lead to expansive behaviors in public space.” The growing sense of pride Girth & Mirthers feel parallels their ample body size, which is even reflected in our language when we say: “He swelled with pride.” Indeed, pride makes one feel bigger and stronger and stand taller. As Lory Britt and David Heise put it so aptly, while “shame may lead to hiding. Girth & Mirthers are often left out of Gay Pride media coverage yet they persist despite their invisibility, seeking group recognition. I have witnessed these men being chastised for wanting to participate in annual Pride parades and being told they are embarrassments to the gay community. As a gay man who participated in Girth & Mirth-therefore as a partial insider, yet admittedly with thin privilege, white privilege, and a professor’s privilege, among others-I want to share my critique of the wider gay community’s sizism.Īs Marcia Millman observed almost 35 years ago, in Such a Pretty Face: Being Fat in America, “when a homosexual man is fat, he is often viewed in the gay community as not having sufficient ‘self-pride.’” Indeed, fat gay pride is a difficult subject position to sell and when the Girth & Mirthers I studied invited other big gay men to join their cause, they opened themselves up to public rejection, as if it weren’t already difficult to be personally rejected because of their size and sexual orientation. I recently finished my first book, Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma, which offers an inside look at “Girth & Mirth,” a gay social club where members nurture each other’s joy in being fat and happy.