We’re thrilled to launch our #FatJoy campaign, highlighting the lived experiences of fat individuals in urban India. This campaign is a space to share, reflect, and challenge the dominant narratives around fatness—centering joy, resistance, and collective care.
What is #FatJoy?
Built off of our research (launching soon!), #FatJoy explores how fat bodies navigate urban spaces—from inaccessible infrastructure and medical discrimination to harmful social stigma. Through interviews and focus group discussions with our community, we’ve uncovered both the challenges of being fat in urban India and the profound moments of fat joy that emerge parallelly.
Fat joy is a term describing positive emotional experiences and expressions specific to individuals who identify as fat. It encompasses feelings of happiness, pride, empowerment, and contentment related to one’s fat identity. The term ‘fat joy‘ in the context of the study suggests that despite pervasive anti-fat bias and stigma in various societal structures (such as institutions, relationships, and cultural norms), individuals still find moments of joy and positivity related to their fatness. This could include feeling comfortable in their own bodies, finding joy in community and support networks of other fat individuals, or celebrating cultural aspects associated with fatness that are positive, such as cultural identity or affluence in certain contexts.
Our Research on Fatness in Urban India
Our #FatJoy campaign stems from the narratives we uncovered through our research study on fatness in urban India. The genesis of conducting a research study that explores the experience of fatness in urban India was the professional, and sometimes personal, experiences of our team members, in providing healing and access to justice services against discrimination, bias, and violence. Here, we uncovered specific unique forms of hidden violence and discrimination against fat people that were often not articulated or recognized due to a persistent sense of shame and stigma alongside a deep sense of internalized fatphobia.
This research study aims to document narratives of living as a fat person in urban India, develop recommendations for built environments, medical infrastructure, and interpersonal relationships, and influence a shift in the treatment and perception of fatness.
We will be launching our research study soon–stay tuned!
Is fatphobia just a personal bias? How does it show up in everyday life?
📖 Read more about this in our blog here:
Fatness Liberation Circle
What does it mean to be fat in India? How do we navigate joy, desire, belonging, and resistance in a world that tries to shrink us? Let’s talk about it—together. We’re creating intentional spaces to engage in these conversations.
📅 18th February
⏳ 7:30PM to 8:30PM, IST
📍 Zoom
Come as you are. Your body is welcome here. This is a free community space for fat folks! Write to us at info@onefuturecollective.org to save a spot.
Panel on Fatness in Urban India
We are also thrilled to announce an upcoming panel discussion on Fatness in Urban India! Featuring speakers from across sectors, this panel will deep dive into the intersections of fatness, urban design, public health, and social perceptions. Look out for this panel–it releases soon!
Is desire really personal, or is it shaped by the world around us?
📖 Read more about this in our blog here:
The Fat Joy Archive
Whose stories about fatness do you see more often? Whose voices are heard when it comes to fatness in South Asia? Welcome to the Fat Joy Archive – a space dedicated to preserving and showcasing the lived experiences of fat individuals across South Asia. This archive is dedicated to creating a space where fat people get to tell their own stories. By documenting these stories authentically, this archive aims to highlight the diversity of fat experiences and ensure that fat people get to to narrate their own journeys.
⭐️ Our goal is simple: to contribute to a more complete understanding of fatness in South Asia through the voices of those who live it.
💌 DM us at @thefatjoyarchive on Instagram to share your story of living as a fat person in South Asia today, to get featured on the archive!
Join the conversation. Engage. Resist. Celebrate. Because fat joy is radical, and we’re claiming it.