thin body cannot exist in the same space as the fat body . Since a literal death as seen in Supernatural is not possible , a culture of othering has been created so that the fat body becomes invisible and thus powerless .
Now . . . Agency and Othering as a Means to Oppress the Fat Body
The body is often viewed as a metaphor for an instrument of experience and as a surface of inscription that is given meaning only through its use of decoration ( Joyce 141 ). When the decoration of fatness is inscribed upon a body , it serves as the point of articulation between an interior self and an exterior society , between a physical body and its symbolically transformed social presentation ( Joyce 144 ). Articulations such as these are both powerful and damning because body decoration is a visible sign of a pre-assigned social status . In the case of the fat body , this pre-assigned social status negates the ability of the fat body to navigate society , thereby removing its agency as it relates to the social hierarchy , and therefore leading to the othering of the person in the fat body ( Maddox 294 ). With the fat body placed in a subordinated class as a result of this othering , they are often the targets of oppression .
The oppression faced by the person in the fat body is typically subtle and is not necessarily a result of maliciousness , but a remnant of preexisting mores found in the bedrock of society . The fat body is a powerful visual reminder of someone who has violated at least three of the Seven Deadly Sins , namely gluttony , sloth , and greed , and as a result of this connection the fat body becomes a manifestation of self-indulgence and spiritual imperfection , two major strikes against an individual in a society whose majority espouses Judeo-Christian values . Furthermore , government and medical agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the American Heart Association , the American Dietetics Association , and the American Medical Association have used the trust and influence they have gained through their association with the medical field to construct obesity as a disease that , while serious , can be corrected or prevented altogether with personal effort . The combination of these attacks on the fat body has resulted in the focus being not on achieving health , but rather on losing weight ( Rogge 301 ). This type of oppression of the person in the fat body is reminiscent of what Rogge calls “ civilized oppression .” Civilized oppression involves power-laden relationships that serve to diminish and control the recipient . This recipient , who has little to no input into their bodily discourse as well as the acts of commission or omission that distort their value in the social hierarchy , is disadvantaged in insidious ways that are obscured in routine or daily encounters
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