“I Like The Way I Am”: Invisibility And Activism In Children’s Picture Books With Fat Protagonists

• In Event: It's About Damn Time: Loving and Learning From the Fat Frame

Abstract

Early childhood and early elementary years are crucial for the development of internal and external anti-fat attitudes, making it essential to understand the available children’s literature on fatness. This paper examines children's picture books featuring fat protagonists to better understand the current landscape of children's literature. Drawing on literature related to fat characters and the fat studies movement, this critical content analysis focuses on five children’s books with fat protagonists.

The study employs critical content analysis, involving two rounds of initial reading and analysis, and uses lenses of critical literacy and critical multicultural analysis to identify common themes, silences, and absences in the texts, images, and peritext.

The findings reveal that characters often initially internalize anti-fatness but later resist these biases, existing with joy and without stigma. Some texts draw on the history of fat activism, highlighting societal critique and the potential activist role of children's literature featuring fat protagonists.

The study is limited by the small number of books that fit the study parameters. The paper provides examples of how teachers and parents can scaffold conversations with young children about anti-fat bias while noting notable absences, particularly boy protagonists.

These themes illustrate the potential for young children to challenge anti-fat bias and critique oppressive social structures. With a limited number of studies on anti-fatness in children’s picture books, this research offers insights into current themes and emphasizes the need for an intersectional approach to literature featuring fat protagonists.

Author

• Anne Valauri, Georgia Southern University