The oppression of fat women stems from societal views and attitudes towards fat women, which influences individuals in society. Rhetoric that has fueled the demonization of fat women is echoed throughout all facets of society, particularly through medical biases, as well as the collective perception of fat bodies in America. Fat women within American society are regarded as weak-willed, unattractive, and easy. These views of fat women all frame the ideas of how fatphobia influences American views of the sexual assault of plus-size women. Fat women are treated differently depending on other labels that form their identity such as race, socio-economic status, sexuality, etc. These all are major influences in how someone may identify within certain categories and how they are then treated within an intersectional viewpoint.
The reviewed literature suggests various overarching themes surrounding the influence of fatphobia towards women who have been sexually assaulted. Through the organization of the literature, the themes highlighted are as is; fatphobia and sexual assault are influenced through societal victim-blaming of female bodies as it relates to fatness, the fetishization of fat bodies, gender roles as they influence the standard of beauty, and views of what sexual assault is, and who can be sexually assaulted.
The idea of being wanted is brought into question when accusations of rape surface. Desire, as it relates to sexual assault, is mirrored throughout society, because fat women are not wanted, if on the off chance they are, there should be no objections as fat women are labeled as undesirable (Fabrizio, 2014). Mirroring the logic that if wantedness was present during the sexual assault, then the encounter is automatically deemed as consensual, desire here is seen to equal consent. Like Fabrizio, Hills et. al., ties desire to sexual assault it is used as a way to blame the victim. Through the guise of heteronormativity, the male is expected to initiate sex with the female. Heteronormative sex deems that any aggressiveness that might be present within the sexual encounter will fall into the guise of normal heterosexual sex, which is mirrored throughout rape culture (Hills, et. al, 2021).
As heteronormativeity and aggressiveness relate to common places where sexual assault occurs, women are usually seen as the goal in conquests (Hills, et. al, 2021). Through the idea of desire, if a woman plays into the idea of the conquest, even just slightly, whatever happens consequently she is then considered a faulty party (Hills, et. al, 2021). Desire and sexual assault change further as fatness is added into the mix. It is the societal perception that fat women are to be thankful for any type of sexual attention that is received even if it is wanted or unwanted. Fat women are deemed to be asexual regardless of their sexuality, this enables men to sexually assault and objectify fat women. As asexuality is vastly accepted and assumed in regards to heavier women, creating the rhetoric that excuses violence against fat women. Through the use of asexuality rhetoric, blame is placed on fat women because their bodies deviate from the preferred/ standard, labeling overweight women as unworthy of sexual attention in any form (Fabrizio, 2014).
As presented with the concept of asexuality and disgust which entrenches fat women, plus size women are commonly viewed in ways of a sexual sport, which is presented by, Fabrizio; Prohaska, and Gailey. As overweight women are labeled to be undesirable and easy, many men will take on a group mentality and try to have sex with heavy women in the essence of a joke (Fabrizio, 2014). This takes on the idea of blaming the victim as it demonizes the women’s body through the dehumanizing nature of hogging (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010). Hogging usually only occurs because the larger woman is perceived as deserving as being fat is seen as a choice. In this way, the adoption of the word fat has taken on the same connotation of the word slut (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010).
Prohaska, Gailey, and Fabrizio all discuss the concept of Masculinity, as it meets fatphobia. The intersection of masculinity and fatphobia translates into how men treat women regarding sexual activity. This changes as the masculine sexual gaze takes into account a woman's weight. As a women’s weight gets higher, men are more apt to participate in sex with fat women for sport, and only sport, also known as hogging (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010; Fabrizio, 2014). This plays into the group mentality of men watching men, as you would expect people to hold others accountable as men assume place with their friends it forms a group mentality.
As group mentality applies itself, this usually involves men checking other men, translating into an idea of normative masculinity, which most men cannot meet. As most men cannot meet this they take up other activities to make up for what they are perceived to be lacking. Hogging is defined as a behavior that demonstrates that the proving man can participate in to become a ‘real man’ (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010), usually involving violence towards other men, or fetishizing women in differing ways dependent on weight. A man who is attracted or gets with a woman who is up to the standard of beauty, is expected, to a certain extent, to treat them with respect; while if they are involved with someone heavier, or not considered the standard, they are expected to act differently by, either fetishizing or disrespecting larger women in another way (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010).
Hogging, as discussed earlier, expresses the belief that fat women are easy sexual targets who can help men out of a losing streak, whether it is on the field or in the bedroom (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010). As the label of easy is associated with fatness, men who are trying to prove their masculinity will inevitably participate in hogging. The importance of hogging exemplifies the fact that “real manhood is only achieved when 'real men' acknowledge and approve of other men's accomplishments” (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010). As having sex with fat women is only acceptable under conditions that hogging exemplifies, the indicated is why many men participate and feed into hogging under the conditions of group mentality. Hogging in many ways is usually done with the assistance of drugs and alcohol, as it is also usually done under false pretenses, inherently classifying as rape (Prohaska and Gailey, 2010). Within a more broad fetishization, fat women have been “othered” categorically through the sexualization of porn sites (Fabrizio, 2014). As this relates to the topic of hogging, many times if a man is hogging someone they will take a video to show friends, invite friends to hide and watch, or post videos of the encounter on porn sites to gain further validation from men worldwide (Fabrizio, 2014).
Women are expected to be thin to be pretty, which is one of the standards of beauty that women are subjected to. Fatness is similar to other stigmas and oppressions that people in society might face but is considered to be fluid and fixable, as someone can lose weight. Because of this fatness is perceived to be a marker of someone's personality labeling them as weak-willed because they don’t lose weight, this inherently becoming a part of someone's identity (Fabrizio, 2014).
Fatphobia concerning women creates the fear of fatness that follows women, thin included as the majority of women within society are fearful of being or becoming fat, as being thin is the standard of beauty (Wright, 2018). Fatphobia creates a fear associated with anyone fat, leading to fat women being demonized by thin women as well as men. This then translates into thin women not believing fat women when they are sexually assaulted. In the eyes of thin women, fat women are not labeled as competition because they are perceived to be undesirable to both men and women for not being the standard (Holland and Haslam, 2013). Within Puria and Vaes’s argument, they focused on the idea that female sexuality is centered around the idea of a man. This is echoed into how women see themselves in the world; being a male-centered point of view. Leading many women to devise themselves in various ways in hopes of being desirable or the norm. The article points to how society changes the individuals' perspectives on themselves and their sexuality but lacks the lens on how this viewpoint changes once fatness is added into the equation (Puvia and Vaes, 2013), creating the assumption that the objectification of fat and thin women are the same (Holland and Haslam).
Once the lens is shifted to a view of how women view their bodies, their views of their bodies turn sour once they see someone of the standard (Hamilton, Mintz and Kashubeck-West, 2007). As people start comparing themselves to others whom they perceive to be better than them, a competitive mindset will develop. Creating a community of women bringing down other women, largely feeding into the stereotype of “catty women '' (Hamilton, Mintz and Kashubeck-West, 2007). Following this mindset, if a woman is sexually assaulted and looked at as ugly, fat, etc. This creates a new layer of competition between people who subscribe to a “catty” mindset.
The collective definition of how sexual assault happens largely involves the idea that the perpetrator is someone at random, and is followed by the assumption that sexual assault occurs in a back alleyway. Most sexual assaults occur within familiar places and familiar people, making the stereotypical far from the truth (Chasteen, 2001). The collective idea of who can be sexually assaulted also has a collective definition of being someone who is stereotypically desirable. As fat women do not meet the standard of being desirable, it is therefore seen as impossible that fat women can be sexually assaulted (Puvia and Vaes, 2013).
The entwining of who society finds desirable and sexual assault constricts who can identify with the experience of being sexually assaulted. Rhetoric like this mirrors pre-1990’s rhetoric that believed the existence of rape in the general sense was not prevalent (Chasteen, 2001). As rape is being widely recognized for people who are perceived to be desirable, it is not allowed the same validation for women deemed undesirable. Holland and Haslam’s piece, on the objectification of fat versus thin targets, exemplifies the denial of sexual objectification of fat women. Holland and Haslam missed the point of view that fat women and thin women are objectified in differing ways. They suggest that the objectification of fat women does not exist, and if it did it would not be as bad or dangerous, echoing societal views that lead to the erasure of fat women’s sexual assault experiences. Conversely with how Fabrizio (2014), Prohaska (2010), and Gailey discussed how hogging is an example of how fat women are objectified for sport.
Following the external denial of experience that women in general face, women are likely to invalidate their own experiences, or not define themselves as being sexually assaulted because they see themselves at fault ( Kilimnik, et. al., 2018). Women who are sexually assaulted, and do not see themselves as being sexually assaulted, largely do so as a result of society dictating who can and cannot be sexually assaulted. The views outlined are not inherently defined as exclusively happening to larger women, but who is considered desirable is correlated to the reluctance that women find themselves in, when defining their experiences ( Kilimnik, et. al., 2018). Women who define their experiences through the labels of sexual assault are found to have lower levels of sexual functioning, than women who have been sexually assaulted but do not define themselves as such. Showing that there is a psychological effect of identifying within differing labels (Kilimnik, et. al., 2018).
The reviewed literature is not centered around causal effects to the rhetoric discerned around fatness but is more centered around what happens after someone is sexually assaulted. More research should focus on the prevention of sexual assault as this is the goal, most research is victim-centered and not centered around those who commit sexual assault. As research is victim-centered, this in turn reads as if it is the victim's fault. The objectification and sexual assault of fat women are pressing issues that are denied and invalidated by society, resulting in the erasure of fat women’s experiences.
Shown within the research as the research presented is limited and mainly pertains to thin bodies. Through the research, it becomes pertinent that society does not care or believe that fat women are survivors of sexual assault. When looking for research to read there was limited research concerning fatness, sexual assault, and women; conversely research was bountiful when looking for research about women and sexual assault, as it is largely centered around people who are perceived to be sexually assaulted through my research it became evident that society is more likely to believe thin women who are sexually assaulted. The literature did help in reviewing common attitudes of sexual assault and rape as it pertains to the collective, or those thought to be victims of sexual assault, but glossed over or didn’t talk in-depth about the sexual assault of larger women. Further research should be done concerning fatness and different intersectional viewpoints concerning, race, socio-economic status, sexuality, etc. As the reviewed literature lacks an intersectional viewpoint.
Bibliography
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