Dominant discourses about fat bodies construct the fat body as undesirable, a failed thin body, and immoral. Similarly, the culture of the United States constructs the queer body in very particular ways. This thesis explores how normative discourses and ideas about fatness and queerness come together to impact fat queer people's experience with their gender expression. A thematic and discourse analysis of fat queer people's personal narratives shows that fat queer people are impacted by how others view their gender, that finding community can create space for new imaginings of their bodies, and that for some, the most liberatory thing to do is to reject all categorization.
","abstract_html":"<p>Dominant discourses about fat bodies construct the fat body as undesirable, a failed thin body, and immoral. Similarly, the culture of the United States constructs the queer body in very particular ways. This thesis explores how normative discourses and ideas about fatness and queerness come together to impact fat queer people's experience with their gender expression. A thematic and discourse analysis of fat queer people's personal narratives shows that fat queer people are impacted by how others view their gender, that finding community can create space for new imaginings of their bodies, and that for some, the most liberatory thing to do is to reject all categorization.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mulder, Gabriella Ann"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Women's & Gender Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:05Z","subjects":["fat studies","gender identity and expression","queer studies","discourse and counterdiscourse","embodiment"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/309","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mulder, Gabriella Ann"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-07-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Women's & Gender Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["fat studies","gender identity and expression","queer studies","discourse and counterdiscourse","embodiment"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/309"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Dominant discourses about fat bodies construct the fat body as undesirable, a failed thin body, and immoral. Similarly, the culture of the United States constructs the queer body in very particular ways. This thesis explores how normative discourses and ideas about fatness and queerness come together to impact fat queer people's experience with their gender expression. A thematic and discourse analysis of fat queer people's personal narratives shows that fat queer people are impacted by how others view their gender, that finding community can create space for new imaginings of their bodies, and that for some, the most liberatory thing to do is to reject all categorization.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Navigating the fat queer body: the impact of cultural discourses on identity construction and belonging"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Mulder, Gabriella Ann"],"dc:date.available":["2021-07-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Dominant discourses about fat bodies construct the fat body as undesirable, a failed thin body, and immoral. Similarly, the culture of the United States constructs the queer body in very particular ways. This thesis explores how normative discourses and ideas about fatness and queerness come together to impact fat queer people's experience with their gender expression. A thematic and discourse analysis of fat queer people's personal narratives shows that fat queer people are impacted by how others view their gender, that finding community can create space for new imaginings of their bodies, and that for some, the most liberatory thing to do is to reject all categorization.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/309"],"dc:subject":["fat studies","gender identity and expression","queer studies","discourse and counterdiscourse","embodiment"],"dc:title":["Navigating the fat queer body: the impact of cultural discourses on identity construction and belonging"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Women's & Gender Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:05Z"}