Men who love “fat chicks”, masculinity, and women as trophies

This Village Voice article about “guys who like fat chicks” left me pleasantly surprised. The obnoxious title notwithstanding, it offers a detailed, honest, and non-shaming look at the phenomenon of men who like fat women. I especially appreciated prescient, self-aware analysis like this:

Fat Admirers (FA) have historically adopted queer nomenclature for their self-discovery stages and preferences. Men who openly pursue, prefer, and date fat women are “out.” Men who like fat women but more or less hide them from friends and family are “closeted.” Men who say they like both skinny and supersize women ones are “bisizuals,” a controversial term that’s regarded as disingenuous in various online circles.”

It’s also worth checking out the part where they deconstruct common misconceptions, including “Loving fat women is a fetish”, “Fat Admirers pursue fat women because they are vulnerable prey”, “Guys who are sexually attracted to fat chicks are sexually attracted to all fat chicks”, “Sex with a 110-pound woman is preferable to celibacy”, and “It’s easy to pick up a fat chick.”

Also highly recommended: Hugo Schwyzer, a Feministing favorite and a very smart masculinity blogger, sees the profile as “a useful conversation starter”, despite the fact that “the article still centers men’s attraction to heavier women rather than women themselves”. He goes on to make really excellent points about weight, desire, and ego, including this gem:

“So much of men’s focus on thin women, I pointed out, is wrapped up in the desire to gain status in the eyes of other men. One of the most basic tasks for heterosexual men is a simple one: learning to separate what it is that they personally find desirable from their desire to impress others. Our ruthlessly fat-phobic culture doesn’t give fat people “trophy” status, even if (as the article suggests) many men are sexually drawn to heavier women.”

Worth a read!