Fat chance! Digital Critical Discourse Studies on Discrimination against fat people

This Chapter examines the manner in which online twitter prosumers discursively assemble and unite around the theme of ‘fat female bodies’ and, by exploiting the affiliation devices available on social networking systems, either shame or praise those who are considered (or who consider themselves to be) overweight. Over a five-year timespan, the authors investigate a number of discursive instantiations reflecting highly critical attitudes towards ‘fat’ individuals/bodies in two geographically adjacent contexts, specifically the UK and France. As Balirano and Hughes illustrate, negative fat-shaming discourses are inevitably linked to other significant facets present in both Anglo and Francophone contemporary cultures such as hatred expressed against minority groups and in particular against women and race. The interconnection of lesser represented social identities becomes a common discursive tool through which hate is propagated, drawing its strength from previously well-trodden hate-based tropes in order to easily reach and broaden the catchment area of online fat shaming.