Fat Spirit: Obesity, Religion, and Sapphmammibel in Contemporary Black Film

Alterity In/Of Happiness: Reflecting on the radical possibilities of unruly bodies

“…According to LeBesco, the subversive power and possibility of fat drag that comes in "denaturalizing the thin original body of the actor" (p. 233) is missed within the fat drag genre in these types of popular films since typically the lead actor's fat embodiment is highly exaggerated and played for cheap laughs. Produced within a social context that frames obesity as a frightening disease, such fat ridicule may work to diffuse audience fears of engulfment and contamination in the face of an imagined menace (Campos, 2004;Manigault-Bryant, 2013). Since many of the most recent fat drag films feature slim Black male comedians parodying fat Black female characters, some critics have argued that these representations also function to unite men across the so-called races against a common enemy: feminizing fat (Campos, 2004;LeBesco, 2005;Manigault-Bryant, 2013).…”

“…Produced within a social context that frames obesity as a frightening disease, such fat ridicule may work to diffuse audience fears of engulfment and contamination in the face of an imagined menace (Campos, 2004;Manigault-Bryant, 2013). Since many of the most recent fat drag films feature slim Black male comedians parodying fat Black female characters, some critics have argued that these representations also function to unite men across the so-called races against a common enemy: feminizing fat (Campos, 2004;LeBesco, 2005;Manigault-Bryant, 2013). This does not mean that marginalized groups' own use of self-deprecatory humor necessarily lacks subversive power.…”