Fat people are monsters. Or, at least, that’s what our society tells us. Lazy, unclean monsters who deserve to be ostracized and left behind. Normally, I like to counter the fat narrative given to us by our culture, but I want to press into it a little before I do that today.
I recently read a fascinating article that combined my interest in bodies with my interest in theology—“Monstrous Bodies in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians”1—and even though this post might lean a bit into theology, I think you’ll be able to follow even if you’re not exactly into that. Let me explain.
Author Valérie Nicolet looks at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the book of Galatians in the Christian Bible to make comparisons about the ways bodies are discussed. I want to share some banger quotes with my commentary as food for thought.
“Monsters are angelic—even prophetic—figures requiring, even demanding, greater attention” (pg. 118).
Nicolet makes the case that people respond to monsters the way that they respond to angels in the Scriptures—with fear and trembling. She posits that monsters are messengers themselves, calling us to pay more attention. Fat bodies have this same role. What message(s) are we carrying? I, for one, carry two banners: ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES and THE PURPOSE OF OUR BODY IS RELATIONSHIP, NOT PERFECTION. Have you considered what banner you are carrying in your monstrousness?
“Monsters have the potential to question the desire for an ideal body” (pg. 120).
The author points out that the disgusting form of the monster poses a threat to the ideal body and makes us question why we want to attain it. Fat bodies, with all their ‘disgusting’ features, do, too. Chin dimples…ample fat rolls…double chins…all of these signify an abundance of life. Normally, these fat features are seen as a negative, but through the lens of the monstrous that Nicolet describes, they are features of abundance, and they force us to question the thin ideal.
“Embracing weakness and physical difference from the norms might be one of the powers afforded to those who occupy the space of the monstrous” (p. 131).
This is what I call “fat privilege.” It is the reality that living on the edge of society gives one a special insight into what it means to be marginalized. Fatness brings us social benefit, one in which we see ‘the least of these’ from a perspective of solidarity rather than white saviorism or colonization.
In conclusion, being able to peer into—or to simply exist within—the “space of the monstrous” that Nicolet describes gives us access to new insight and a fresh perspective on the world. The margins are where we belong, not simply because we have been banished there, but because there are people of infinite worth and value living there in solidarity with those of us who are in fat bodies.
What banners or messages are you carrying in your body?
Peace and love and monstrosity to you,
Amanda Martinez Beck
“Monstrous Bodies in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians” is by Valérie Nicolet in Bodies on the Verge: Queering Pauline Epistles (Society of Biblical Literature, 2019).
I love this spiritual take on fat privilege: the ability to see things that others can’t see. Thanks for this!
Weight is one of the few problems I haven’t struggled with, in my life full of struggle. I guess there is always something we struggle with. Being a “normal size” person means that I am invisible. When I walk in the mall, no one sees me. Is that a good thing? In a way it is, bc it gives one freedom that comes with being ignored and overlooked. No expectations = no pressure. I can walk in peace inside the invisibility cloak which is nice. That said, I’ve never understood why we are so obsessed with other peoples’ looks. Why cannot we just live and let live.