Being Fat: Women, Weight, and Feminist Activism in Canada
© 2020
It is okay to be fat. This is the basic premise of fat activism, a social movement that has existed in Canada since the 1970s. Being Fat focuses on the earliest strands of the movement, covering the last decades of the twentieth century. The book explores how fat activists wrestled with feminist issues of the era, including femininity, sexuality, and health.
Showcasing the earliest efforts of fat activists in Canada, such as the growth of social initiatives “for fat women only,” Being Fat helps us recognize the long reach of second-wave feminism and how it shaped activists’ approaches to everyday experiences like shopping, exercise, and going to the doctor.
Product Details
- World Rights
- Page Count: 296 pages
- Illustrations: 16
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.0in x 9.0in
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Reviews
"Being Fat is a very thoroughly researched, lively, and engaging read."
Jacqui Gingras, Department of Sociology, Ryerson University"Based on an enormous amount of primary research, Being Fat is a tremendous piece of Canadian feminist history. It presents a well-contextualized discussion of women’s own understandings of what it meant to be fat in late twentieth-century Canada. Ellison also documents an impressive and not well-known history of fat activism and other efforts of resistance. Being Fat offers new insights about lesbian feminism and the feminist movement in Canada, and it will give readers a better understanding of the politics of weight and body size."
Mary Louise Adams, School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen’s University -
Author Information
Jenny Ellison is the Curator of Sport and Leisure at the Canadian Museum of History, and co-editor of Obesity in Canada: Critical Perspectives, also published by University of Toronto Press. -
Table of contents
List of Figures and Tables
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Fat Women Are Not Few
1. FIFI: Feminist Approaches to Being Fat
2. Between Women: Fat Acceptance Organizations
3. “If Only You’d Lose Weight...”: Femininity, Sexuality, and Fat Activism
4. Dr Fullovitt, MD: Fat Women’s Experiences with Doctors and Dieting
5. “Let Me Hear Your Body Talk”: Aerobics for Fat Women Only
6. Bodies in Fashion: Buying and Selling Plus-Size ClothingConclusion: When We Rise the Earth Will Shake
Appendix A: Research Methods
Appendix B: Detailed List of Research Participants
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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Subjects and Courses
