{"product_id":"fat-gay-men-girth-mirth-and-the-politics-of-stigma-1","title":"Fat Gay Men","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo be fat in a thin-obsessed gay culture\u003cbr\u003e\ncan be difficult. Despite affectionate in-group monikers for big gay men–chubs,\u003cbr\u003e\nbears, cubs–the anti-fat stigma that persists in American culture at large\u003cbr\u003e\nstill haunts these individuals who often exist at the margins of gay\u003cbr\u003e\ncommunities. In Fat Gay Men, Jason\u003cbr\u003e\nWhitesel delves into the world of Girth \u0026amp; Mirth, a nationally known social\u003cbr\u003e\nclub dedicated to big gay men, illuminating the ways in which these men form\u003cbr\u003e\nidentities and community in the face of adversity. In existence for over forty\u003cbr\u003e\nyears, the club has long been a refuge and ‘safe space’ for such men. Both a partial insider as a gay man and an\u003cbr\u003e\noutsider to Girth \u0026amp; Mirth, Whitesel offers an insider’s critique of the gay\u003cbr\u003e\nmovement, questioning whether the social consequences of the failure to be\u003cbr\u003e\nheight-weight proportionate should be so extreme in the gay community.\u003cbr\u003e\n This book documents performances at club events and examines how\u003cbr\u003e\nparticipants use allusion and campy-queer behavior to reconfigure and reclaim\u003cbr\u003e\ntheir sullied body images, focusing on the numerous tensions of marginalization\u003cbr\u003e\nand dignity that big gay men experience and how they negotiate these tensions\u003cbr\u003e\nvia their membership to a size-positive group. Based on ethnographic interviews\u003cbr\u003e\nand in-depth field notes from more than 100 events at bar nights, café\u003cbr\u003e\nklatches, restaurants, potlucks, holiday bashes, pool parties, movie nights,\u003cbr\u003e\nand weekend retreats, the book explores the woundedness that comes from being\u003cbr\u003e\nrelegated to an inferior position in gay hierarchies, and yet celebrates how\u003cbr\u003e\nsome gay men can reposition the shame of fat stigma through carnival, camp, and\u003cbr\u003e\nplay. A compelling and rich narrative, Fat\u003cbr\u003e\nGay Men provides a rare glimpse into an unexplored dimension of weight and\u003cbr\u003e\nbody image in American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47677900620120,"sku":"9780814724125","price":26.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780814724125__677313f279065.jpg?v=1741160404","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/fat-gay-men-girth-mirth-and-the-politics-of-stigma-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}