Getting fuller-figured women in the picture: from stigmatised consumers to embodied authors

Whilst the idealisation of extreme slenderness is widely recognised as a problematic issue by cultural critiques, psychologists and marketing researchers, the negative portrayal of larger individuals - which can be seen as another side of the same problem - is rarely criticised for its link with stigmatisation and problems with self-esteem. In fact, the representation of larger individuals in dehumanising terms is generally regarded as a necessary means to keep individuals on track towards the pursuit or maintenance of body 'normativity' and consequently, 'health'. This presentation will point to an alternative way of considering the 'problem' of fatness, and will argue for the necessity of rehumanising fuller-figured individuals in representation. Presenting the results of a portrait-based feminist inquiry, Annie will give some insights into what could be if we started considering fuller-figured women as embodied authors of their visual depictions.