Athletic fat and disidentification: reading gender, sport/exercise, and fatness on YouTube
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Date
2025
Authors
Choi, Yeomi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sage
Abstract
Considering the gendered, fatphobic cultural assumptions shaping media representations of fat female bodies, alongside the increasing influence of online media on individuals’ lived experiences, this study examines Athletic Fat Starting Today, a South Korean YouTube channel, to illuminate the discursive construction of fat bodies within the contemporary digital media landscape. Drawing on insights from theories of disidentification and affect, I specifically discuss how social media operates as a space for rearticulating meanings at the intersection of fatness, exercise/sport, and female bodies. Analysis suggests that, through the interplay between bodily representations and audience engagement on the platform, normative ideals of femininity and acceptable bodies are unsettled, opening up possibilities for envisioning new, plural (athletic) femininities.
Description
Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) applies
Keywords
YouTube , Disidentification , Affect , Fat bodies , Media representation
Citation
Choi, Y. (2025). Athletic fat and disidentification: Reading gender, sport/exercise, and fatness on YouTube. Journal of Sport and Social Issues. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01937235251356991