Fashioning Fat - by Amanda M Czerniawski (Paperback)

About the Book

"For two and a half years, Amanda Czerniawski was a sociologist turned plus-size model. Journeying into a world where, as a size 10, she was not considered an average body type, but rather, for the fashion industry, "plus-sized," Czerniawski studied the standards of work and image production in the plus-sized model industry. Fashioning Fat takes us through a model's day-to-day activities, first at open calls at modeling agencies and then through the fashion shows and photo shoots. Czerniawski also interviewed 35 plus-size models about their lives in the world of fashion, bringing to life the strange contradictions of being an object of non-idealized beauty. Fashioning Fat shows us that the mission of many of these models is to challenge our standards of beauty that privilege the thin body; they show us that fat can be sexy. Many plus-size models do often succeed in overcoming years of self-loathing and shame over their bodies, yet, as Czerniawski shows, these women are not the ones in charge of beauty's construction or dissemination. At the corporate level, the fashion industry perpetuates their objectification. Plus-size models must conform to an image created by fashion's tastemakers, as their bodies must fit within narrowly defined parameters of size and shape--an experience not too different from that of straight-sized models. Ultimately, plus-size models find that they are still molding their bodies to fit an image instead of molding an image of beauty to fit their bodies. A much-needed behind-the-scenes look at this growing industry, Fashioning Fat is a fascinating, unique, and important contribution to our understanding of beauty"--

Book Synopsis

For two and a half years, Amanda Czerniawski was a sociologist turned plus-size model. Journeying into a world where, as a size 10, she was not considered an average body type, but rather, for the fashion industry, "plus-sized," Czerniawski studied the standards of work and image production in the plus-sized model industry.

Fashioning Fat takes us through a model's day-to-day activities, first at open calls at modeling agencies and then through the fashion shows and photo shoots. Czerniawski also interviewed 35 plus size models about their lives in the world of fashion, bringing to life the strange contradictions of being an object of non-idealized beauty.

Fashioning Fat shows us that the mission of many of these models is to challenge our standards of beauty that privilege the thin body; they show us that fat can be sexy. Many plus-size models do often succeed in overcoming years of self-loathing and shame over their bodies, yet, as Czerniawski shows, these women are not the ones in charge of beauty's construction or dissemination. At the corporate level, the fashion industry perpetuates their objectification. Plus-size models must conform to an image created by fashion's tastemakers, as their bodies must fit within narrowly defined parameters of size and shape--an experience not too different from that of straight-sized models. Ultimately, plus-size models find that they are still molding their bodies to fit an image instead of molding an image of beauty to fit their bodies. A much-needed behind-the-scenes look at this growing industry, Fashioning Fat is a fascinating, unique, and important contribution to our understanding of beauty.

Review Quotes

"[]Fashioning Fatis absolutely worth reading."-- "XOVain.com"

"[H]er book is...honest, thoughtful and insightful."-- "Pacific Standard"

"At once a sociological adventure and a moving personal voyage, Amanda Czerniawskis striking study of plus-size modeling shows the intense aesthetic labor that disciplines the body and shapes the self. Engagingly written, Fashioning Fat addresses the sociologies of work and the professions, of gender and the body, as well as the emergent field of fat studies. Like all good ethnography, this one takes us to a new world and insists upon its connections to the worlds we know."--Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, author of Word of Mouth: What We Talk About When We Talk About Food

"Fashioning Fat is a notable work that gives readers an inside look at the plus-size modeling industry. The author succeeds at giving the plus-size model a voice and offers some fashion alternatives."-- "American Journal of Sociology"

"Fashioning Fat is an excellent book and will make important contributions to fat studies and sociology. an extremely interesting read."--Esther Rothblum, co-editor of The Fat Studies Reader

"Fashioning Fatis a well-written and thoughtful book that offers an interesting contribution to feminist understandings of the body. Czerniawskis narrative writing style is engaging and accessible, making this book well suited for both undergraduate and graduate syllabi. It will be a valuable resource for scholars of gender, work, embodiment, sociology of culture, and the emerging field of fat studies."-- "Gender & Society"

"Fashioning Fatis an engaging, well-researched book which provides a much-needed critique of the limitations of a politics of visibility."-- "Cultural Sociology"

"Fashioning Fatis one woman's courageous attempt to redefine beauty. It is a readable indictment of the American Fashion Industry. It is very well-argued and beautifully written."-- "TheWashingtonBookReview.com"

"Sociology professor Czerniawski goes undercover as a plus-size model in this expose to find out the truth: is it empowering or exploitative to strut ones size-14 (and up) self in front of the fashion industrys cameras? The answer is as complicated and obscure as our relationship to food and our weight, since, as the author states, & Frankly, fat means different things to different people. [] The books personal asides and insider information are enlightening."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"We need, she suggests, not models of different size and shape, but a more fundamental questioning of the fashion industry itself and its current domination of our conceptions of beauty, especially the beauty of women."-- "First Things'"

About the Author

Amanda M. Czerniawski is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Temple University.