I read a lot of books, and engage with them critically. Lately, I have found myself back into the Horror genre, and that is what sparked this article. The representation of fat people in the horror genre (and often in the thriller genre) specifically is truly horrendous. Not only is it offensive and vile, it is also just…boring and overdone. I cannot tell you how often I see a description such as “their belly hangs over their belt and their breath stinks” as a substitute for creating a well rounded villain. It’s not creative and it shows a lack of actual storytelling ability.

Before anyone jumps on me to say “it’s just a book” and I’m “being too sensitive”, you can save that argument for someone else. I am far less sensitive about being fat than I was years ago, and that is largely because I have deconstructed my own fatphobia and started stepping into the fat liberation movement. I am mostly unfazed by the characterization of people who look like me, but after reading at least five Horror Books with violent fatphobia in the last two months, I felt the need to talk about it and make it clear that this is not okay.

A lot of people seem to think that the “body positivity movement” is making things better for fat people, but when we look at who is actually participating in the movement, we see that it is primarily filled with thin, white, able bodied cis women assuring each other they aren’t fat; pushing their stomach out and folding their body into ridiculous positions to create rolls. “Body positivity” is just as toxic to fat people as the gym bros are. 

This is a real life example of why we see these overplayed tropes in the media: we demonize fatness. There are people in this world whose literal worst fear is being fat. People genuinely think they are morally superior to fat people simply because they are thin. It’s mind boggling how one can think they have the upper hand and are better than us while at the same time they actively bombard us with insults and tell us we are going to die young. 

With the real world being so demeaning to us and making us the enemy, it’s no wonder that horror books, which seek to instill fear, would use this within their pages. But I am not a villain, and neither is anyone else solely by virtue of being fat. Fatness is a part of natural human diversity. If anyone is a villain here, it is the society that convinced you that being fat was a bad thing, or that being fat meant you are less than, unlovable, or that you shouldn’t be here. 

I would Love to see horror books show how evil anti-fatness is instead of making us the bad guys. I would love to see a love story with a fat lead where their fatness has nothing to do with their character arc. I want to see fat people being allowed to just go outside without being treated like a zoo animal. That is not too much to ask for. 

Even if fat people are not explicitly villainized, most other fat representation is reliant on us being the butt of the joke. If you are a fat actor, the roles you get cast in are often demeaning and make you out to be a clumsy, bumbling oddball who “doesn’t fit in.” You are the side character, never the lead. The funny best friend, never the confident protagonist. The last resort, never the first choice. We see this time and time again with characters like Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect, James Corden and Rebel Wilson in Cats, and more. That is wrong. We deserve more than that. We deserve more than the choice between villain and punchline.

I mean this from the bottom of my heart: unlearning fatphobia is one of the best things you can do for yourself and those around you. We do not need to hate ourselves. We do not need to hate fat people, and I am sorry we live in a society that convinces us that there is only one way to be. 

To my fellow fat readers and consumers of media, I see you, I love you, and I wish for better representation for us. And I will keep fighting for that. It is exhausting, and I hope you rest and find people who replenish you. You deserve to eat, dance, smile, laugh, love and EXIST. Because you are a person. It really should be that simple, and I hope someday it is.