Cultural Representation of Fatness: Exploring the Cultural Narratives in India

Abstract

Cultural Identity is part of an individual’s self-conception and it is mostly influenced by various factors like region, religion, and belief system that one follows. One’s cultural identity holds an impact on how one perceives the world they live in. The representation of fatness is also highly dominated by cultural perceptions. This study aims to look at the locus of fatness in society based on cultural representations in India. Fatness in Indian culture is understood in various means of social perceptions depending on religion, caste, beliefs, health and beauty standards. Fatness is discursive and has been portrayed under various lenses like traditional, colonial, spiritual, mythical, and health consciousness. Fat body types were considered as a symbol of negativity in myths. Most of the demons are given a fat body. Fatness is related to riches, luxury in tradition where people see Lord Kubera, god of wealth in Hindu religion, as a fat figure. In the colonial period, fatness was related to laziness and most of the working class people were thin. Medically fatness is seen as a disease. Post-Independence, fatness is related to ugliness. Media treats fat people as aliens. Fat characters in movies are used as comic relief and it reduces the value of fat people. Fat people in the modern era are fighting for proper recognition. Social media has made it harder for fat individuals to survive. The online platform judges individuals without proper understanding and provides space for prejudices and stereotypes. This study aims at proper understanding of cultural influences of representation of fatness in India. Also the paper aims at examining the intersection of fatness with categories such as class, caste, and gender. The paper calls for a more nuanced understanding of fatness reevaluating the Indian cultural narratives.