Obese gay men

To be fat in a thin-obsessed gay culture
can be difficult. Despite affectionate in-group monikers for big homosexual men&#;chubs,
bears, cubs&#;the anti-fat stigma that persists in American culture at large
still haunts these individuals who often exist at the margins of gay
communities. In Plump Gay Men, Jason
Whitesel delves into the world of Girth & Mirth, a nationally known social
club devoted to big gay men, illuminating the ways in which these men form
identities and community in the face of adversity. In existence for over forty
years, the club has lengthy been a refuge and &#;safe space&#; for such men. Both a partial insider as a lgbtq+ man and an
outsider to Girth & Mirth, Whitesel offers an insider&#;s critique of the gay
movement, questioning whether the social consequences of the failure to be
height-weight proportionate should be so extreme in the gay community.

This novel documents performances at club events and examines how
participants use allusion and campy-queer behavior to reconfigure and reclaim
their sullied body images, focusing on the numerous tensions of marginalization
and dignity that big gay men experience and how they negotiate these tens

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