Fatphobia

Nia King’s interview with Virgie Tovar touched on many topics that I feel tie into many of the readings we have had in class. Tovar talked a lot about fatphobia which I thought was a very interesting topic to discuss since so many people in America are fatphobic and do not even realize it. Many American’s are racist and do not know this, which would tie into the painting of Heaven and Earth from the GLQ article. This article stated that the painting challenged “racial hierarchy” in the sense that the Indian was on top of the white man. There was debate over whether or not this painting showed two lovers, or two men fighting? This picture also had homoerotic subtext which was really not an issue to those who were viewing the painting as having more symbolism than just a penis in the air. I felt like the painting was very complex and it really made me think about what was happening. Why was there a buffalo in the background when so much was already happening with the two men in the picture? So much to think about! I do not think that this picture is scandalous in any way, and that is why it is annoying to hear that a school as prestigious as Duke cannot print a picture like this for fear that they are going to upset people.  

One thing that Tovar said that I thought was very meaningful was that fatphobia is a system that has a lot of different elements within it. Not only is this true when it deals with fat phobia, but it is true for the painting in the GLQ article. The painting stood for much more than just the white penis that was showing, yet this is what caused the controversy. Same goes with Tovar and the treatment that she went through at grad school with the other student stealing her thesis. It was not just the fact that she had her thesis stolen from her and it was not acknowledged, Tovar took this lack of action on the universities part as a bit sexist and racist. As a woman of color, and queer for that matter, she felt as though she has grown up knowing how to defend herself because nobody else was going to stand up for her. This made her a stronger person, but she still has to fight her own battles in many different areas of her life, academia included. 

Tovar spoke about how she got her first book deal through a flirting work shop and before she made out with the book publisher she told him that she would pick the book deal over a relationship. This comment made me admire how direct and determined she was to get her beliefs out for the public to read. I really enjoyed how Tovar identified as a “fat latina femme” who is also a writer, because she sees that as a part of her identity. She said that she does not write in a literary way and that she just writes what “feels right and real” to her. Tovar just seems like she has lived a very interesting life, with the radio show and the multiple books that she has produced. It is just really nice to hear about a fat, queer, latina who is making her way through the world without taking shit from anyone. I think it is important that she is fat and talks about fatphobia because she can speak personally about it and the ways that she has received judgement from being fat. I feel like she would have a lot of insight on the many different categories that she identifies with, but I feel like fat would be the most important one. Since many American’s are overweight, I think the issue of fatphobia should be addressed more than it is, because people do get judged for their weight. Tovar made me realize that not enough people talk about weight and how there is loads of judgement on others for thier personal appearance. I think many people are so tied up with the things that we cannot see with our eyes, like sexual orientation and ethnicity, that we choose not to deal with what is right in front of us.