Selina Thompson, Image: This is Ruler Performance artist Selina Thompson is fat. Fat. F A T. FFFFFFAAAAAATTTTT TUH TUH TUH. Not curvy, not chubby, not jolly, not 'big and beautiful' not 'larger lady'. Fat. She is fat like she is brown eyed. She is fat like her hair is black. Fat like her skin is brown. Fat. Selina says fat and needs you to say fat because it is fact. A neutral fact. An adjective. Not a negative. Selina talks about this in her one woman show Chewing the Fat. It is the first of a two part body of work titledThe Edible Woman. This is not a feminist piece of art or polemic. It is not a journey of self acceptance. It is purely an exploration of Selina's body image and attitude to food. And it is very nourishing for those hungry for a new approach to body shape, diet and eating.
Watching Selina perform Chewing the Fat, her version of a 'midnight feast' reminded me of an article on fatness that Squeamish Louise wrote in 2012. In it Louise said: "I'm fat. This is not an insult or a putdown; it is a statement of fact. I've never understood people who try to use it as an insult either against me... or against women who are demonstrably not fat at all. How do you insult someone with a physical trait they don't even possess? It makes no sense! Well of course it doesn't - it's not designed to uncover an awkward truth, it's designed to chip away at someone's self-esteem and make them feel bad. I'd like to put my name down for the campaign to restore 'fat' to its status as an adjective." I would like to propose Selina Thompson as the figurehead for such a campaign.
To call this show a midnight feast is the perfect description of what takes place. We have all the ingredients for a successful sleepover in which the audience is invited to gorge on Selina's body biography. This is not a confessional though. Selina is not apologetic to us or to herself about her size. She is fat because she binges and she has binged all her life. Sometimes she has eaten differently. Sometimes she hasn't. There is no moment of clarity in which an epiphany is shared.
To call this show a midnight feast is the perfect description of what takes place. We have all the ingredients for a successful sleepover in which the audience is invited to gorge on Selina's body biography. This is not a confessional though. Selina is not apologetic to us or to herself about her size. She is fat because she binges and she has binged all her life. Sometimes she has eaten differently. Sometimes she hasn't. There is no moment of clarity in which an epiphany is shared.
| Selina addresses the audience in a chatty manner. She brings joy to anecdotes that might be presented as tragic moments in other hands. Neither would be a bad handling, but it is wonderful to see someone delight so much in a delicious indulgence women are told to apologise for. | There is a strong display of self value in this show |
It's quite alarming how impressive it is that a story of weight and food can be free of any kind of preaching air. Of course self acceptance and love is important but sometimes a spade is a spade. Selina talks of being 18 and admiring her strong thighs in the mirror. Of attempting a diet and succeeding but realising that this version of a 'healthy lifestyle' was not safe for her. Of not being seen as sexual by some people.
There is a strong display of self value in this show. Selina might binge, but she binges on nice food, as she says herself she has expensive tastes. There is an incident in the show that she acknowledges might be upsetting. It is upsetting because we have possibly to some extent all be there and upsetting because the audience is being made to watch someone do something to themselves that looks and sounds painful. Afterwards however Selina, clearly a natural nurturer looks out for her audience.
Chewing the Fat is a great show that helps us engage with both the joyful and the sad parts of being corporeal and reminds us that both are valid and valuable parts of inhabiting a body, fat or not.
Squeamish Kate
There is a strong display of self value in this show. Selina might binge, but she binges on nice food, as she says herself she has expensive tastes. There is an incident in the show that she acknowledges might be upsetting. It is upsetting because we have possibly to some extent all be there and upsetting because the audience is being made to watch someone do something to themselves that looks and sounds painful. Afterwards however Selina, clearly a natural nurturer looks out for her audience.
Chewing the Fat is a great show that helps us engage with both the joyful and the sad parts of being corporeal and reminds us that both are valid and valuable parts of inhabiting a body, fat or not.
Squeamish Kate
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