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The Dys-appearing Fat Body: Bodily Intensities and Fatphobic Sociomaterialities when Flying Whilst Fat

Colls, R; Evans, B; Bias, S

The Dys-appearing Fat Body: Bodily Intensities and Fatphobic Sociomaterialities when Flying Whilst Fat Thumbnail


Authors

B Evans

S Bias



Abstract

This paper offers an exploration of the embodied experiences of flying whilst fat, based on research with a significantly larger group of people than any previous research on this topic (795 surveys and 28 interviews with fat people largely, though not exclusively from the USA). Theoretically, this paper advances geographical understandings of fat embodiment and the embodied experience of transport spaces which attend to micropolitical encounters and comfort (Bissell, 2016; 2008). In doing so, we develop an approach to understanding the hyperpresence of the fat body within plane space, drawing together Leder’s (1990) work on embodied ‘dys-appearance’ with Ahmed’s work on bodily intensities (2004) and queer phenomenology (2006). The paper explores how material and social aspects of plane space combine to make fat bodies hyperpresent in ways that, for some, limit self-advocacy. We set this in broader political and economic contexts which frame fatness as mutable and which govern access to air travel in ways that are exclusionary for many fat people.

Citation

Colls, R., Evans, B., & Bias, S. (2021). The Dys-appearing Fat Body: Bodily Intensities and Fatphobic Sociomaterialities when Flying Whilst Fat. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 111(6), https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1866485

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 18, 2020
Online Publication Date Mar 2, 2021
Publication Date Mar 2, 2021
Deposit Date Dec 16, 2020
Publicly Available Date Dec 16, 2020
Journal Annals of the American Association of Geographers
Print ISSN 2469-4452
Electronic ISSN 2469-4460
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 111
Issue 6
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1866485
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1255345

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, available online:
http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/24694452.2020.1866485

The Author’s Original Manuscript of a paper, subsequently submitted to Taylor & Francis for publication in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers( https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/raag20/current) is also provided.





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