Fat on Campus

Fat on Campus: The Voices and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia amplifies the voices of 11 fat college students across the United States. Defined as “a pathological fear of fatness often manifested as negative attitudes and stereotypes about fat people” (Robinson et al., 1993, p. 468), fatphobia, like other forms of oppression, impacts our students and our campuses. Unlike other cultural phenomena, fatness is one of the last socially acceptable forms of bias.

This text sheds light on fat students, increasing their visibility in higher education, explaining why it is important to recognize and address this critical issue on campuses across America. Using rich stories from students who self-identify as fat, this text honors their experiences and highlights how they have created welcoming spaces for themselves in often unwelcoming collegiate environments. The book shares findings from a national photovoice research study, including narratives and photographs. A methodological technique combining storytelling and photography, photovoice is often used to inspire social change. Aligned with the idea of transforming the future of higher education, this book serves as both a call to action for educators and a love letter to fat students on campus.

The book is designed to engage educators and amplify the voices of fat students in an accessible way. While it may be tempting for readers to flip to the section corresponding with their functional area of interest, readers are invited to read the whole book and ask themselves, “How can I extend this research to my own place of work?”

Perfect for courses such as: College Environments; Diversity in Higher Education; Understanding College Students; Arts-Based Research and Methodologies; Qualitative Research

Roshaunda L. Breeden (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Opportunity, Equity, and Justice in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. Her practice and research interests revolve around equity and justice for Black students, families, and communities; fat students; and first-generation and low-income learners.

Meg E. Evans (they/them) is an assistant professor of Higher and Adult Education in the Department of Leadership at the University of Memphis. With nearly two decades of experience as a student affairs practitioner before joining the professoriate, Dr. Evans' research focuses on advocacy, activism, and resistance practices in higher education, with a growing interest in the experiences of women, trans, and non-binary collegiate athletes. They are also a co-creator of the White Racial Engagement Model (WREM), a reflective tool designed to help white individuals critically examine their relationship to whiteness and take meaningful action toward racial justice. Through their scholarship and teaching, Dr. Evans seeks to cultivate learning environments that foster accountability, transformation, and collective liberation.

Terah J. Stewart (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Iowa State University. His research and writing focus on people, populations, and concepts in the margins of margins. Topics include sex work and erotic labor in higher education, fatphobia, sizeism, and anti-fat bias in higher education, antiblackness in non-Black communities of color and identity-based student activism.

Erin R. Weston (she/her) is an Assistant Director in the Office for Student Success and Achievement at the University of Georgia. With over two decades of experience in higher education, she has been nationally recognized as an advocate for first-year college students. Her professional journey spans roles in university housing, academic advising, first-year experience initiatives, academic coaching, and peer education programs. Erin's research interests include white racial identity development, anti-racism in higher education, and the experiences of fat college students. She earned her B.A. in History and M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University, and her Ph.D. in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia. Erin is passionate about advocating for equity in education and fostering environments where all students can thrive. Outside of her professional work, Erin enjoys engaging in community activism, reading, and completing jigsaw puzzles. She lives with her husband, Al, in rural Georgia, and stays involved in the lives of her college-aged children, Torin and Alan.

Rachel Wagner (she/her) serves as an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the Department of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development at Clemson University. The goal of her research is to understand how post-secondary environments can support human flourishing. Specifically, her scholarship centers critical and emancipatory perspectives of equity and social justice in higher education through proliferation of gender expansive practices and application of social justice tenets to student affairs praxis. Dr. Wagner lives, works, plays, and prays on the ancestral homelands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and the Cherokee Nation, that were seized through diplomatic and military incursions by the US. As a fat scholar and former cook, she delights in juicy meals and juicier conversation.