Story authors

What are some examples of stories with a character gaining weight that don't come off as fatphobic? In the writing world (and in every other world, for that matter), it's very rare when a story portrays someone gaining weight and it isn't a joke or a punishment, like being heavier is the worst thing somebody can be.

I'm writing a story where a witch character (well, witch adjacent), casts a spell on a mean girl to gain weight, eating things she would never eat before, in larger and larger quantities, until she gains more and more weight as a result. Now, by that premise alone, you could tell that fatphobia is baked into it from the start, but I believe there's a way to do it without it being so, but I'm just not sure how to do it.

For more context, the witch character herself is fat, a college student who gets bullied by the aforementioned mean girl (yes it happens in college too, not just high school), who stumbles upon witchcraft one day while doing research for a term paper, and (half) jokingly casts a spell on the mean girl to fatten her up. Oh, and the mean girl is the other " protagonist" of the story, so it's from both perspectives. They both learn some harsh lessons throughout the story, but come out of it wiser than before. At least, that's the idea.

What do you think? Can weight gain without fatphobia be done in a story, and done well? Can it work in a story like this? Let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear some feedback on it.

Without reading your piece, I'd agree that it seems like the kind of story that at least rhymes with fatphobia. Those "wouldn't it be a great revenge if she got fat" plots usually are, even when the character enjoys it, or whatever.

Since "revenge weight gain" is such a popular trope, maybe satirizing the genre would be a way to do it as a commentary on fatphobia in fat fic rather than just as porn? Satire can be powerful stuff.

(fyi, i do think it's possible to make feedist stories that aren't fatphobic. I like to think i've written several, but I know many of my friends have)

Without reading your piece, I'd agree that it seems like the kind of story that at least rhymes with fatphobia. Those "wouldn't it be a great revenge if she got fat" plots usually are, even when the character enjoys it, or whatever.

Since "revenge weight gain" is such a popular trope, maybe satirizing the genre would be a way to do it as a commentary on fatphobia in fat fic rather than just as porn? Satire can be powerful stuff.

(fyi, i do think it's possible to make feedist stories that aren't fatphobic. I like to think i've written several, but I know many of my friends have)[/quote]

I think you have a point with making it a satire. Interestingly enough, this started as a response to the book "Life in the Fat Lane", which has a pretty similar premise to mine, witchcraft and college setting notwithstanding. I read that story and thought, "what if this story was GOOD", and added a spellcast element that the og book kindof already had, and made it more intentional. And while my story is comedic, parody isn't my strong suit. It might be difficult for me to do that without it coming across as a rip-off.

Without reading your piece, I'd agree that it seems like the kind of story that at least rhymes with fatphobia. Those "wouldn't it be a great revenge if she got fat" plots usually are, even when the character enjoys it, or whatever.

Since "revenge weight gain" is such a popular trope, maybe satirizing the genre would be a way to do it as a commentary on fatphobia in fat fic rather than just as porn? Satire can be powerful stuff.

(fyi, i do think it's possible to make feedist stories that aren't fatphobic. I like to think i've written several, but I know many of my friends have)

BigBellyBurgerBoy1:
I think you have a point with making it a satire. Interestingly enough, this started as a response to the book "Life in the Fat Lane", which has a pretty similar premise to mine, witchcraft and college setting notwithstanding. I read that story and thought, "what if this story was GOOD", and added a spellcast element that the og book kindof already had, and made it more intentional. And while my story is comedic, parody isn't my strong suit. It might be difficult for me to do that without it coming across as a rip-off.[/quote]

Yeah, good satire is an art form.

You already think that your story is moving outside of fatphobic tropes, though? Can you just keep working with it the way it’s going?

You already think that your story is moving outside of fatphobic tropes, though? Can you just keep working with it the way it’s going?[/quote]

I haven't finished it yet, so I'm gonna keep writing, and see what revisions or removals I need to do. It's gonna be a bit of moving bits around to really find the story's voice.

You already think that your story is moving outside of fatphobic tropes, though? Can you just keep working with it the way it’s going?

BigBellyBurgerBoy1:
I haven't finished it yet, so I'm gonna keep writing, and see what revisions or removals I need to do. It's gonna be a bit of moving bits around to really find the story's voice.[/quote]

Best of luck! Sounds like a fun project!