Reclaiming beauty: non-heteronormative and racialised conversations on fatness and transness

Abstract

This article explores the relations between fatness, transness, racism and beauty, proposing a theoretical framework to critically examine how beauty is experienced and negotiated amidst intersecting forms of oppression. Drawing on conversations with fatness experts, academics and fat activists in Mexico and ethnographic research with travesti sex workers in Brazil, the article interrogates the limits of ‘permitted’ bodies within hegemonic beauty standards shaped by white supremacy, heteronormativity and patriarchy. It focuses on three key themes: the boundaries of ‘permitted’ fat and trans identities, the negotiation of bodily intelligibility in relation to beauty norms, and the dynamic, context-specific intensities of oppression and resistance. By integrating concepts such as Matsuda's ‘the other question’ and Moreno Figueroa's ‘distributed intensities’, the article illuminates how beauty operates as a gatekeeper to social legitimacy and as a resource for survival, self-definition and collective resistance. Mexican fat activists challenge Eurocentric, thin-centric ideals, advocating for a self-defined, inclusive beauty rooted in their genealogies and experiences. Brazilian travestis navigate racial and gender hierarchies through hyper-feminine performances that simultaneously conform to and subvert hegemonic standards, asserting their presence within transphobic and racially stratified contexts. This analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of beauty as an experience that both marginalises and enables. It argues for a broader understanding of beauty that transcends dominant frameworks, advocating for actionable paths towards dignity, inclusion and liveability for those whose bodies defy societal norms. By examining the distributed intensities of oppression, the article offers insights into reshaping beauty and embodiment in ways that challenge exclusionary practices while fostering transformative possibilities.