Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives

by Miguel M. Morales (Editor), Bruce Owens Grimm (Editor), Tiff Joshua Ferentini (Editor)

We're here. We're queer. We're fat.

This one-of-a-kind collection of prose and poetry radically explores the intersection of fat and queer identities, showcasing new, emerging and established queer and trans writers from around the world.

Celebrating fat and queer bodies and lives, this book challenges negative and damaging representations of queer and fat bodies and offers readers ways to reclaim their bodies, providing stories of support, inspiration and empowerment.

In writing that is intimate, luminous and emotionally raw, this anthology is a testament to the diversity and power of fat queer voices and experiences, and they deserve to be heard.

2021 Reads Rainbow Awards Winner in Nonfiction
2022 AASECT Book Award Winner

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Poetry, LGBT, Anthologies, Short Stories, Essays

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2021

Reviews

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fat and Queer is a radical, first of its kind anthology exploring the intersectionality of fat and queer identities. Being fat and being queer can often be tough as individuals are certainly subjected to bullying and shaming for both, which was why I was interested to read this; and it turned out to be an inspiring and wonderfully uplifting book addressing issues not often explored concurrently. Fat queer people experience multidimensional forms of discrimination, not to mention those who identify as BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of colour). Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives is a testament to the feeling “guilty for existing in a world that didn’t want me,” to “exist[ing] as a contradiction,” to the “never manag[ing] to starve myself into heterosexuality.” The varied contributors of this anthology explore two historical forms of othering—fatness and queerness—but they complicate each category, adding energy to their relationship, and offering readers ways to (re) claim their bodies and, arguably, their queer sanities.

Fatness is measured against transness, gender expectations are measured against sexual violence, binders are measured against one’s truth and a fat nude body is measured against surveilled desires. These are bodies “too big / to be held / at once.” These are radical bodies and radical odes to those radical bodies. They can no longer stay in the closet. Instead, they are nothing short of acts of witness for how the human body continues to be an, if not the, ultimate threshold between the now and what the world can be (with continued progression). This is a richly informed and at once heart-wrenching and uplifting read packed with powerful words that pour off the pages and into your heart. It's a book with heart and soul and compassion in abundance and will capture the imagination and emotions of those who are either part of or allied with the LGBTQ+ community. It's a fascinating, courageous and captivating exploration of two, often intermingling, identities that can still today so easily be rejected by society as not conforming to ”usual” standards or ”norms”. Highly recommended.

[Amisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW : Strong language, instances of homophobia and fatphobia, eating disorders, drug and substance abuse, sexual assaults, self-harm.

Summarizing my ultimate takeaway in one sentence – “If being queer is tough, then being queer with a fat body is even tougher.” The representation of LGBTQIA needs to be diverse in all aspects, and I cannot ever emphasize this enough. In the media, we rarely get a glimpse of how fat people lead their lives or what are their opinions or feelings. It seems as if they are intentionally ignored because being fat is associated with being something unacceptable and disgusting. The concept of “health” is very subjective. For some being thin may be life-threatening or unhealthy while some may not be the case. Here the book deals with the intersectional marginalization of fat and queer folks.

It still baffles me how most of us still have a distorted perspective on what is healthy and what is not plus coupled with the constant scorn for whom to love and whom not to love. Here in this anthology, through a wide variety of proses and poetry, the reader comes across the varied and heart-touching lives of the authors.

What I loved that all the literary pieces were written with sheer honesty and concluded with a positive, confident, and hopeful note. The stories were no doubt inspiring and empowering but since it is an anthology, I liked reading a couple of them while others didn’t strike a chord with me. Some of the writing styles were very dry and I had a hard time sticking with them till the end. I enjoyed the poems more than the stories. I think maybe because the poems were very straightforward and expressed all the powerful emotions in a couple of lines.

The compilation and editing have been done quite well by presenting the anthology as a mixed bag of prose and poetry, which otherwise would have been usually segregated into two separate sections that could have made the reading experience boring but thankfully the mixed bag format made it interesting. All the serious issues have been presented in their whole and raw form which may be uncomfortable to some, but I felt this unfiltered style is needed for the entire truth. Such anthologies are extremely important in the literary world and ignite the torch of diverse representations. So no matter whether you are queer or non-queer, fat or not fat, this book has something for all its readers and some parts of it are bound to leave an impression in your mind.

A short note to the publisher: Kindly mention necessary trigger warnings in the appropriate places. Putting up some content or trigger warnings won’t have done much harm. Moreover, it will be helpful for the readers to make an informed decision if and when they decide to pick up this book.

A huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me the eARC for my perusal. “Fat and Queer” releases on 21st May, 2021, so be sure to check it out in your nearest book stores!

[思莹 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stunning anthology filled with so many diverse experiences being fat and queer. So many different writing styles and stories that really shine, even those with writing styles that aren't usually for me still feel incredibly raw and genuine. It is so important for more anthologies like this to get published for more readers to enjoy these stories, especially seeing how these communities often get misrepresented or ignored.

"I am neither parody nor ideal.
I am saint and sinner. I exist as a contradiction, I will challenge every petty word and lie you tell to make me smaller in your mind.
Women like me walk with the goddesses."
-Ruth Gibbs

Not all of the stories are tragic or beautiful, often it's a mixture of both. This anthology really succeeds in showcasing the many struggles one faces being both queer and fat while also celebrating the beauty that comes with it. We get stories that are often not seen in popular media, poems and stories about fat queer people having sex, enjoying their bodies and loving their partners, getting superpowers, growing old and loving art, etc etc. So many lovely stories that are deeply personal and often fun to read. I love that this anthology features various authors with different backgrounds and upbringings, no community is a monolith and this expresses that fully. Also this is my first anthology, what a way to start.

Highly, highly recommend to everyone.

Some of my favourites (didn't realize how much I love poems):
- Seven Nights of Noodles by Jay Audrey
- Unnamed poem by Ruth Gibbs
- About My Breasts, Since You Asked by Sherre Vernon
- Unnamed poem by Ninamarie Ochoa

tw: homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, eating disorders, drug abuse, sexual assault
(the first three are more common amongst the stories, the other three are mentioned in a few but not explicitly shown)

Thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review

[Anwen Hayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received in exchange for a review.

I've yet to read a book by this publisher which didn't ultimately change the way I think about things, and that winning streak hasn't changed with this book. Like most anthologies, there are pieces here which resonated more strongly than others, and the poetry in particular often felt a bit lacking, but the book as a whole was full of incredibly varied perspectives and a bunch of authors I'd like to read more from.

There are ideas in here that I know I still need to wrangle with and unlearn; as an example, there were several issues in here on the 'gainer' kink/fetish, which I have to admit I still don't understand, but then I suppose we should again ask ourselves whether we need to understand something in order to accept it. There were several pieces in here that I admit chafed with things I've thought and believed to be true without questioning them for a long time, based on my own experiences and position of privilege as a thin person, and it often made me uncomfortable to confront my own prejudices. This is by no means a complaint, but rather quite the opposite. It's a book which covers taboos and prejudices that are ingrained even in those of us who generally think of ourselves as being pretty tolerant and accepting, and for that reason it was often a tricky read, but I think that makes it more rewarding. I finished this book several days ago but the points raised are still percolating in my brain. I think I need to reread it a few times and then do some further reading on lots of the points it raised.

All of that is to say that this book worked particularly well, in my opinion, because it confronts topics that are so rarely written about from a firsthand perspective; I've never read essays that aren't essentially tabloid pieces about several of the issues here, and I'm glad to have had my existing biases questioned. I hope a lot of people read it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this anthology so much! Every single story or poem is different and brought different things to the book. With any anthology, there were stories I liked better than others, but as a whole I can't recommend this book enough.

The intersection of fatness and queerness is one that is so unique yet also experienced by so many. While I wish there were at least one story that discussed how asexuality affected it, there are two stories with aspec rep where it's barely mentioned in one and kinda mentioned in the other. I do realize that it's impossible to cover every experience with an anthology and really appreciated the diverse queer rep we did get.

[Anniek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being fat and queer myself, I have to admit I didn't get as much out of this as I would have hoped. Like I hope for from any non-fiction anthology, this had some relatable parts and some parts that helped me understand others better, which I always find valuable. Ultimately though, I found I didn't read much that felt like very new perspectives to me, which probably says more about myself, and if you're newer to fat positivity you might enjoy this more. I also found the writing to be quite lacking in most essays, which always does influence my reading experience.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

typical for an anthology: i really enjoyed some of the pieces, but others not so much. especially toward the later third of the book, i didn't enjoy many of those essays.
I went into this book looking forward to read about the experiences of being queer and fat, falling somewhat into that category, and to gain insight into these experiences and if anything could resonate with me - both pertaining to weight and to sexuality and gender identity.

The authors have a very diverse range of experiences and lives, and while most pieces are memoir-like, some of them get fantastical.
The essays that I enjoyed most were the non-fiction ones, particularly if that mused about fatness and queerness from a societal perspective. I also really enjoyed reading the essays from non-binary authors and what they had to say. eg. The Gender Nonconformity of my Fatness; A Fat Lot of Good that Did; Soft Butch.
I didn't notice any particular sort of organization of the pieces, which my brain would've appreciated.
The theme of the book is really important, and i recommend it as a way to learn from the perspectives of different people that fall under this umbrella.

[Derek Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great range of experiences at the intersection of fatness, queerness, and transness. People discussed their identity development, their sex lives, their lived experiences of fat/queer/transphobia, and the joy and community they have been able to build for themselves. There were a lot of memorable moments. One moment that sits with me is how an author recalls feeling discredited in activist spaces for naming fatphobia as a structure of oppression, which speaks to how normalized fatphobia is in our spaces, inflicted casually by even those who claim to be our biggest supporters.
We can and need to discuss fatphobia in relation to white supremacy, patriarchy, etc (which the authors do). I'm just grateful to the editors for doing such a good job compiling these essays, poems, and stories. So often anthologies can feel overwhelming, but this you can really read straight through. Aaaaaaand there's an essay by Carmen Maria Machado at the end !!!

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

An important collection both for fat people who are looking for experiences they can relate to and thin people who want to try to understand the various ways that fatphobia can affect people's lives. Unfortunately for me as a fat asexual cis woman a lot of these were difficult to read on a personal level since many of them focus so much on the authors' need to feel sexually attractive to other people, their own sexual experiences, or how being fat contributed to their gender presentation to the point where many of them made me feel actively worse about myself instead of better or more seen. Definitely some thought provoking stuff in here but if you are looking for experiences you can relate to I think this is definitely a better book to read if you are allosexual and nonbinary or male / masc-presenting.

[Lien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not everything was for me but this book is full of thoughtful and insightful writing. Such an important book to exist.






…I need some fat friends…

[H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I read Aubrey Gordon's What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat last year and I'll now probably read every word of hers that I can for the rest of time. But this anthology also has contributions by writers like Edward Kelsey Moore (!!! one of my favorites novelists) and Carmen Maria Machado, so it's a really excellent line-up.

Most of my favorite pieces were actually by new-to-me writers. Hannah Propp's short story "Fat Queer Freaks" was a surprising and lovely way to ease into the collection. I won't give anything away, but I could have read an entire novel built around the premise of the story.

Leah Harris's "Sweet Revenge" was probably, in terms of craft, the best essay in the anthology. Like a lot of the other essays in the anthology, it focused on the hardships of growing up queer and fat, but it covered so much in a short time while simultaneously feeling entirely coherent and cohesive in its themes: institutionalization, parallels between mother and daughter, the utter lovelessness of heternormativity and ableism.

Jay Audrey's poem "seven nights of noodles" combined food and body descriptions so sensually that is was absolutely molten; as I was reading I just wanted to live in its world, and according to its values, forever. Then she did it all over again with her poem "cherry popsicles." I was overall really impressed with the quality of the poems in this anthology. In most anthologies, I find only one or two poems really catch my attention. In this collection, most of them were excellent.

The quality trailed off after the first excellent pieces. I felt there were too many essays that focused on growing up, and unlike Leah Harris's, they lacked the specificity or themes that would have made them notable.

I suspect the writers overall skewed young and it showed; some of them talked about themselves like they were ancient but then turned out to be 27. It felt like maybe they were writing about something they were still living through, and their experiences actually weren't ready for the published page yet. Some of the pieces just read like inconclusive, meandering blog posts, including some of those by the editors. I agree with another reviewer who said these pieces focused too much on an obsession with being sexually desirable. It would have been nice to hear from asexual writers or people who valued desirability less. I felt some authors were double-featured who did not need to be, and wondered who got left out as a result.

I still highly recommend the collection. Right now I'm in the mood to read more like this, queer anthology after queer anthology, so clearly it did quite a lot very well.

[Elaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions below are my own, unbiased thoughts.

As someone who is both fat and queer, I really wanted to love this book. However, I didn't. I tried several times to read and reread certain sections but I just could not connect with it. Sitting down to write this review, I realised that this book would be much more valuable as an educational tool for someone who is unaware of the intersection between queerness and weight prior to reading. I'm glad this book exists, as it has such merit, especially for young people who are learning how to navigate the world as both fat and queer. For someone struggling with this, reading this anthology is a good way to self discover along with the individuals represented in the book. It might also be helpful for queer people who have never been fat to read, in order to realise that living as a fat, queer person brings its own unique struggles that they may not have considered. The fact that a title like this is being published is a win for all queer people.
Some of the things that stopped me from loving this book are focused on how the anthology is structured. For example the shift between each perspective was abrupt and in my opinion needed more clarity. It was difficult to tell whether some of the pieces were fictional or not and at times the extreme difference in tone between some pieces forced me to stop reading and come back later after I had processed the section I just read.
My biggest issue was that despite the diversity represented in the book, I didn't find any of the stories, poems or essays reflected my own experience of growing up fat and queer, making it difficult to connect with them.
Overall it's exciting to see queer voices, particularly those from a marginalisation within the queer community, being amplified. As someone who teaches high school students, I will recommend this book to young people struggling with their identity, despite not loving it myself.

[Alexx (obscure.pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, y'all. This book.

At first, I thought this was going to be a quick, easy read, instead I got an incredible, moving anthology. There are personal essays and anecdotes, poems, and pieces that just really dive into fatness and gender and how these two impact each other. As another queer, fat person, this was both amazing and overwhelming--taking all these personal experiences and opinions and stories that I never thought I'd connect with but turns out they're exactly what I needed.

I love how diverse the contributors and the pieces are. I love how every part criticizes and challenges the fatphobic society and perspective most people have. I love how every piece also talked about gender and sexuality and their fluidity.

I don't have any more words (I don't even think I can explain it properly *cries*), but this was truly impactful. I hope many more fat and queer people find this book.

Exact rating: 4.5

CW: fatphobia, body shaming, bullying, racism, rape/sexual assault, anxiety/panic attacks, sexual content, suicide/suicidal thoughts

E-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This, of course, did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog

[Solange]

Quand j’ai vu le titre de cette anthologie et cette jolie couverture, je n’ai pas hésité longtemps à demander ce livre sur Netgalley. Et je n’ai aucun regret parce que je pense que c’est un livre nécessaire ! Au total, ce sont 38 histoires, sous la forme de poèmes, d’essais ou de mémoires qui sont proposées, le tout à propos du fait d’être gros·se et queer et des liens qu’il peut y avoir entre les deux. Pour les personnes qui sont effectivement grosses et queer, je pense que ce livre leur permettra de se sentir moins seules et de lire des gens qui ont des expériences similaires. C’était vraiment intéressant et enrichissant de lire à propos des expériences de personnes qui sont habituellement invisibilisées par la société. Je recommande donc vivement ce livre lorsqu’il sortira !

[Cody | CodysBookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t really review nonfiction, so I won’t review this except to say with an anthology spanning as many voices and styles and forms as this—it encompasses poetry, essays, and even a couple fictions—there’s bound to be some entries the reader likes more than others. Overall a solid and thought-provoking read. Also, Carmen Maria Machado is a queen.

[Sarah A-F · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely stunning anthology, these authors have poured their hearts and souls into these pieces. the range of experiences here is vast and i'm sure many fat queers will find a reflection of themselves in here.

[Gillian]

As a smallfat who has experienced fatphobia-based bullying, critiquing and berating from classmates, fellow summer campers, family members and strangers alike since about age 10... who has tried dieting, calorie-tracking and restricting... who has binged... who has lost weight and gained weight and lost weight and gained weight... whose parents did Weight Watchers, have experienced similar weight fluctuations, and father has always projected his internalized fatphobia on others... who has been brainwashed by fatphobic advertising, apps, jokes, representation in media... it feels so good to read a book entirely written by and for and about the varying experiences of fat people

This book touches on fatphobia, homophobia, transphobia as well as fat, queer, trans, gay, Black, Latine, Indigenous, joy and the many intersections of these experiences, identities and systems of oppression.

So much of my experiences with compulsory heterosexuality/coercive heteronormativity, internalized homophobia and lesbophobia, internalized fatphobia, self esteem issues, gender nonconformity, genderqueerness, lesbianism, femme identity, internalized misogyny, struggles with femininity and masculinity and androgyny, cannot be parsed out, and are so deeply intertwined. It was an indescribable experience being able to read these things that I've barely been able to put into words and only recently realized about myself reflected onto these pages in so many different, beautiful, tragic and complex ways.

I found myself wanting to take pictures of and write quotations down from so many different sections so often that I didn't even bother, because this entire book is just a masterpiece and reducing it down to a few quotes or passages would not adequately capture it. Overall, I recommend that every fat 2SLGBTQ+ give this book a chance; I believe there is something in here for all of us.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free anthology*

First of all: this book should have content or trigger warnings. Not only can the eating or diet stuff be immensely triggering, but there are also instances of sexual abuse and other heavy topics.

Having said that, this intersectional take on queerness and fat bodies (and being BIPoC) was needed and is empowering. It shows how harmful diet culture is, how much identity is falsely derived from weight, how much harm people can do, how hard it is to come to terms with one's weight and sexuality.

I didn't like all stories or poems, but some were brilliant and really spoke to me. The variety of topics is immense: from harmful eating habits, disorders, Weight Watchers, harassment, hate, body and sex positivity, dieting, buying clothes, feeling comfortable in one's queer body, or being a gainer. (I personally couldn't relate at all to the last topic, but it belongs in this anthology and it was fascinating to read about it.)

It is striking how one always needs to be less (or told) to be allowed to take up more metaphorical space because taking up actual space is wrong. And what kind of queer body is allowed to look like... Fascinating.


Here's a quote, going back to why this book needs trigger warnings:
"The more I dieted, the more I began to enjoy the sensation of depriving myself. There was a certain masochistic, authoritarian pride in restricting calories."

4 Stars

[rafs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher/authors for kindly providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warning: fatphobia, transphobia, homophobia, and abuse.

I don't normally read nonfiction, but when I saw this on NetGalley, it immediately caught my attention (not just because of the gorgeous cover), because I care so much about LGBTQ+ causes (being part of the community myself), however, the least represented letter in my reads is T, so I was drawn to this. And what a way to start, the intersectionality in this is amazing, and not just for fat people, which is already clear on the title, but for people of color too!
The book has several different formats, like essays, short stories, and poems, so I found it very dynamic and entertaining.
Like all anthologies, I had my favorites, but for me the golden piece was Carmen Maria Machado's, I already had a couple of her works in my tbr, but they will certainly be moved to the top of it!

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can say that I really enjoyed this book! This was something that I didn’t know I needed to read but am very glad that I had the opportunity to. This was a compilation of essays and poems about being fat and queer. I loved how each one was written by different people with different identities. They each told a story that you can gain something from and I definitely did. I learned so much more about others and what it means to be fat and queer, and how it can be different for each person. I finished reading this feeling understood and more comfortable with my own identity.I will for sure be ordering this book when it comes out. As well as looking further into the writers that have now hooked me due to this book.

[Marijne Van Boeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book. Reading ‘fat and queer’ was like a breath of fresh air. It brought me back to how I dealt with being fat and queer while I was a teenager and the times I struggled with it. It gave me insights in how I view being fat and queer now.

The testimonies and poems of fat and trans people made me understand their experiences better. I’d highly recommend this beautiful book to anyone who’s involved in fat acceptance and activism. The intersectionality between fat and queer is one that’s not often talked about enough.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really didn’t land for me as a fat queer person - “The Trash Heal has Spoken” and “Him” were great essays, and a poem early on by Ruth Gibbs has this wonderful line that really stood out for me: “There is no evangelism to the art of fatness / There is only the pagan celebration of the things that are.”

the rest was meh or bad - using “gay” and “queer” interchangeably, a lot of FEELING fat from folks who are well under 200 lbs, and 3 of the dozen or so non-poetry chapters were from cismale gainers. My expectations were way off from where this book stands so it was a big disappointment for me.

[Basil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wildly inconsistent in quality, but a lovely topic to read about. Very much written from the heart from a lot of the writers, however some of the essays are very low quality. I loved it though, would highly recommend if you are fat and/or queer.

[Holy · Rating 5 out of 5]

★Click to read this review and others on my blog! ★

TW// Fatphobia, Homophobia and Homophobic Slurs, Drug Use, Mentions of Rape

CW// Slightly Explicit Sex Scenes, Talk of Suicide, Talk of Self-Harm, Eating Disorders

Wow. This is the book I never knew I needed. Fat and Queer is an intimate collection of personal stories and poems, an ode to fat and queer people all over the world. So many different writings and ways to express oneself came together in this book, all united in feeling of being both a fat and queer person. This book one hundred percent succeeded in its aim to empower and inspire self-love in all who read it and share this particular experience.

There were so many different pieces of writing to love and different things to love about each piece, but I managed to narrow it down to my favourites, ones that made my heart seize with the amount of love I had for fat queer bodies, bodies that looked like mine:

-Faithful Food by Ruth Gibbs, a poem which depicts fat women as exquisite holy beings, women who ‘’walk with the goddesses.’’

-seven nights of noodles by Jay Audrey, who writes that their partner ‘’held my round woman hips and thanked me for my abundance’’ and pointed out that ‘’my stomach rolls like Aphrodite’s’’.

-Cherry Popsicle by Jay Audrey, a poem that expresses how sensual an experience it is to see a beautiful fat person eat a cherry popsicle, ‘’cherry juice drips on her skin,’’ ‘’she is all red and sticky and sweet.’’

-cantaloupe season by LJ Sitler, a poem that makes beautiful the love that a fat person has for food, and how that fat person is still absolutely worthy of love from their partner. ‘’My lover feeds me musty cantaloupe in bed after fucking,’’ ‘’I am warm, I am sated, I am full,’’ ‘’We are together.’’

-Legacy by Miguel M. Morales, an ode to all the fat and queer activists of the past who protested for our right to be worthy and respected like anyone else.

”Essentially, my fatness sometimes betrays me, and allows others to misgender me”

Alyssah Roth, ‘Incorrect Attribution: A Collision of Fatness and Gender’

Aside from loving this book because it speaks love and praise to my fat queer soul, it also draws my attention to the particular intersection of being fat and queer. In The Gender Non-Conformity of my Fatness, Caleb Luna defines being in a public space as being ‘’in a space that left my body vulnerable to the interpretations of those around me and their responses.’’ Luna identifies with the title of man, however, because of their fat body, in the public eye he is seen as less ‘manly’ that those with the ‘masculine’ features of hard muscles and toned abs. They explain that this is because fatness is seen as inherently feminine, and so a fat, nonbinary or genderqueer person will essentially be seen as female or at least more feminine in a public space. Reading about Luna’s experience made me think about my own. Being a genderqueer person, people are naturally going to find it hard to refer to me as genderqueer and use my correct pronouns. But because I’m also fat, it’s going to be even more difficult, as my fat body somehow represents femininity. In the eyes of the public, thinness equals androgyny, and androgyny equals nonbinary. Because we don’t have thin bodies and are not androgynous presenting, people like Caleb Luna and I will not be held to the same standard of nonbinary or genderqueer as other thin nonbinary people. I never thought much about this issue until it was brought up in this anthology. Drawing attention to it also gives non-fat queer people the chance to realise they are privileged just for being thin.

”I want people to know that the size of my body isn’t an accident. I am in control of this. Being fat is what I want.”

Bruce Owens Grimm, ‘Dropping Fictions and Gaining Visibility’

While the pleasure of reading is a gift in itself, nothing brings me more joy than reading a book that gives me knowledge, in this case, a new way to see fat queer bodies. The concept of ‘gaining’ is one I was not familiar with until I read this anthology. Reading how Bruce Owens Grimm loved his fat body so much he was happy to gain as much weight as he wanted was such an enlightening perspective to see. I feel like gaining is a system of further liberation for the gainers in terms of their fat bodies, taking self-love to another level. It was such an illuminating experience to be able to read about.

This book was written very well, I had two minor problems, however: a few typos made some sentences hard to understand (but they could be fixed with just a little more editing), and the lack of trigger and content warnings. There were a lot of dark topics mentioned in some pieces, and there were no warnings given at all. I would suggest that the appropriate warnings be given at the start of each new piece.

Overall, this anthology is most definitely worth a read. I would like to say, to any fat queer people who feel like they aren’t worthy of being loved and respected, I gift you this book, in the hope that as you turn the last page, you yourself will open on a new chapter in your life, one where you’re full of love for yourself, your queerness, and your beautiful fat body.

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Lellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
In typical anthology fashion, I really loved some of the pieces, liked some, and really disliked some. Admittedly, I felt like a lot of the poetry pieces were more resonating than the prose pieces. "Heretic Body," "Soft Butch", "F-Words", "Legacy", and "Land Acknowledgement for my body" were my personal favorite pieces and I think good examples of what the whole anthology is about overall.

Queer is more than just think cis white people, so I think this book has a lot to offer, especially to plus sized and poc queer folks. Fat people deserve respect and to take up all the space they want. Diet culture is harmful to everyone and I certainly don't encourage dieting, but several pieces in here did seem to glorify and almost encourage overeating which I personally didn't like either. Overall, I think there are a lot of people out there that need this book and will find solace in it.

One thing to note: I'm sure this was written before he came out, but there needs to be a name change for Elliot Page

Content Warnings: While this is a celebration of fat and queer people, some of the stories include ranges of homophobia to fatphobia to mental illness/suicidal thoughts, to self loathing, etc. but mostly within the confounds of rising up from it.

[Tyna the Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Screams in Fat, Queer joy* GOD, this was excellent!

Review/list of fave essays to come.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The power of recognizing that one’s feelings and experiences aren’t unique and that no one is ever alone in theirs is unmeasurable.

[ash ☁️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the vignettes are not very good but some are spectacular

i particularly enjoyed the very last one

recommend

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and engaging essays and stories about the intersection of fatness and queerness and much more.

[Talia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was very good