I have been active in the fat liberation movement since the 1980s through scholarship, publishing, cultural activism, research, community building and public life.
I am a queer theorist and sociologist drawing on intersectional fat feminism and the social model of disability. This influences the things I make and do.
My work is about:
- Developing fat culture and identity through creative activism, particularly live art and DIY tactics, enabling people to thrive beyond the obesity-industrial-complex
- Exploring queer fat feminist discourse and honouring community histories
- Promoting fat epistemologies, including research by and for fat people, understanding who makes and owns knowledge about fat, and why
- Expanding ideas about activism and methods for social change
You might also be interested in my essay, Headless Fatties, and the Queer and Trans Fat Activist Timeline.
Books
Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement
A rare insider’s view of fat activism, based on my PhD thesis. Here I draw out the limitations of previous work on fat activism and explain what it looks like in the 21st century. The book charts fat feminist histories to try and understand where fat activism comes from, and explain how those ideas travelled and became stuck. I discuss current critical concerns within the movement, such as consumerism, racism and healthism. Lastly, I describe how queer theory might offer more useful ways of doing and thinking about fat activism as well as social change more broadly.
Cooper, C. (2016) Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement. Bristol: HammerOn Press.
A second edition was published in 2021, revised and with a substantial new preface. Visit Intellect Books for more.
Fat and Proud: The Politics of Size
My book, based on my Master’s dissertation, is one of the first to describe and theorise fat activism. It is a founding text in the field of Fat Studies, pre-dating and anticipating some of the conversations that are now commonplace. The book includes first person accounts and it critiques not only the medicalisation of fatness but also the pathologising of it in feminist psychoanalysis. I propose an alternative way of thinking about fat, based on the Social Model of Disability. This helps readers to consider fat people’s agency. The work endorses the shift towards civil rights. Unfortunately there are significant absences because of the publisher’s refusal to engage with trans and queer people or critiques of radical lesbian feminism.
Cooper, C. (1998) Fat and Proud: The Politics of Size. London: The Women’s Press.
Visit 33editions for my other fat publications including Fat Activist Vernacular.
Scholarship
Solo articles and chapters
Cooper, C. (1996) ‘Fitting’, in: Bernstein, R. & Clark Silberman, S. (eds.) Generation Q: gays, lesbians and bisexuals born around 1969’s Stonewall riots tell their stories of growing up in the age of information. Los Angeles: Alyson.
Cooper, C. (1997) ‘Can a Fat Woman Call Herself Disabled?’, Disability & Society, 12: 1, 31-41. (available in translation as ‘Darf sich einer übergewichtige Frau «behindert» nennen?’ in Weisser, J. and Renggli, C. (2004), ed. Disability Studies: Ein lesebuch. Switzerland: SZH CSPS Edition).
Cooper, C. (2003) ‘Swing It Baby!’ Journal of Bisexuality, 3: 3&4, 87-92.
Cooper, C. (2009) ‘Fat Activism in Ten Astonishing, Beguiling, Inspiring and Beautiful Episodes’, in: Tomrley, C. & Kaloski Naylor, A. (eds.) Fat Studies In The UK. York: Raw Nerve Books, 19-31.
Cooper, C. (2009) ‘Maybe it should be called Fat American Studies?’, in: Rothblum, E. & Solovay, S. (eds.) The Fat Studies Reader. New York: New York University Press, 327-333.
Cooper, C. (2010) ‘Olympics/Uhlympics: Living in the Shadow of the Beast’ [online], thirdspace, 9:2. Available: http://www.thirdspace.ca/journal/article/view/cooper
Cooper, C. (2010) ‘Fat Studies: Mapping The Field’, Sociology Compass, 4: 12, 1020-1034.
Cooper, C. (2011) ‘Review: Sander Gilman: Fat: A Cultural History of Obesity’, Sociology, 45: 1, 181-183.
Cooper, C. (2011) ‘Fat Lib: How Activism Expands The Obesity Debate’, in: Rich, E., Monaghan, L. & Aphramor, L. (eds.) Debating Obesity: Critical Perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 164-191.
Cooper, C. (2012) ‘A Queer and Trans Fat Activist Timeline: Queering Fat Activist Nationality and Cultural Imperialism’. Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society. 1:1, 61-74.
Cooper, C. (2012) ‘Hey Sisters, Welcome to My World,’ in Tovar, V. Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion. Berekeley, CA: Seal Press, 65-70.
Cooper, C. (2013) ‘A Quick and Dirty Intro to Fat Activism’, [online], was available: http://forbookssake.net/2013/07/03/a-quick-and-dirty-intro-to-fat-activism/
Cooper, C. (2013) ‘Benefit cuts for the obese are driven by fat panic and class hatred’, Comment is Free [online], available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/03/benefit-cuts-obese
Cooper, C. (2013) ‘There’s no need for this obesity epidemic hysteria’, Comment is Free [online], available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/18/obesity-epidemic-hysteria
Cooper, C. (2014) ‘No More Stitch-Ups!,’ in Wardrop, A. and Withers, D. (eds.) The Para-Academic Handbook. Bristol: HammerOn Press, 206-231.
Cooper, C. (2016) ‘Research Justice: Some Handy Questions’ in Let’s Mobilize: What is Feminist Pedagogy [online]. Gothenburg. Available: http://whatisfeministpedagogy.tumblr.com/workbook
Cooper, C. (2016) ‘The rhetoric around obesity is toxic. So I created a new language for fat people’, The Guardian. [online] London. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/26/rhetoric-obesity-toxic-new-language-fat-people
Cooper, C. (2017) ‘Food Choice Stories’ in Morgenmuffel, I., ed. Eat Like It Matters: Food choice, nutrition and wellbeing in a capitalist food system, London: Active Distribution, 100-102.
Cooper, C. (2017) in Πολιτικά Χοντρέλες/ Political Fatties ‘Διαστάσεις του Πάχονς Ως πολιτική ταυτότητα/ Aspects of Fatness as a Political Identity’. Athens: Queer Ink.
Cooper, C. (2022) ‘Fat Ireland’ in O’Brien, E., ed. Fat Éire. Corcaigh/Cork: Bloomers. 1.
Collaborative articles and chapters
Cooper, C. & Gallagher, S. (2018) ‘We Talked about Ourselves, We talked about Scottee and We Talked about Fat’ in Harvie, J., ed. Scottee: I Made It, London: Live Art Development Agency, 75-83.
Cooper, C. & Murray, S. (2012) ‘Fat Activist Community: A Conversation Piece’, Somatechnics, 2:1, 127-138.
Evans B. and Cooper, C. (2016) Reframing fatness: critiquing ‘obesity’ in Whitehead, A. and Woods, A. (eds.) The Edinburgh Companion to the Critical Medical Humanities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Gingras, J. and Cooper, C. (2013) ‘Down the Rabbit Hole: A Critique of the ® in HAES®,’ Journal of Critical Dietetics, 1(3), 2-5.
Research Projects
No More Stitch-Ups! Developing Media Literacy Through Fat Activist Community Research (2014)
This is a piece of independent research that builds on the expertise of fat activist community to develop strategies for handling media fatphobia. It is very common for fat activists to get stitched-up, or manipulated negatively, by the media in the West. Media makers use a number of unethical techniques to undermine people. The effect of this can be traumatising, and people get burned out and stop engaging with media. Activists have some strategies for resisting media abuse but generally have low expectations about anything good coming from it. Many social repercussions arise from widespread media dismissal of alternative voices concerning fat, and this paper proposes some potential tactics for change. This work draws on Research Justice values, is free and available to anyone who wants to read it or make use of it via its Creative Commons licence.
No More Stitch-Ups! Developing Media Literacy Through Fat Activist Community Research (.pdf 242kb)
Economic and Social Research Council: Fat Studies and HAES Seminars (2009-2011)
I was part of a group of people who applied for and were awarded a grant by the ESRC, a government funding body in the UK. We produced a series of scholarly mini-conferences, the first major ongoing expression of Fat Studies in the UK, that were free to attend and open to all. I was responsible for the third event, which focused on fat activism.
ESRC Fat Studies and HAES Seminars
Online
I blogged about fat for ten years at Obesity Timebomb. It is currently offline.
Some of my work appears in Fat Liberation Archive, including my contributions to the legendary zine Fat GiRL.
Interviews
Carolin, L. (2009) Queer Tribe: The Girls In The Gang. DIVA. June. 20-21. Page spread (.pdf, 4.8mb)
Estrad, T. (2011). Charlotte Cooper. Una Buena Barba 3. Madrid. Available online: http://www.unabuenabarba.com/numeros-anteriores Unedited English version (.pdf, 96kb)
Hagen, S. (2017) 65. Charlotte Cooper – People want to see fat bodies dancing. Made of Human. 15 November. Available: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fat-activist-charlotte-cooper-fat-feminism-in-the-60s/id1144479729?i=1000394838434
Harjunen, H. (2011). Normality is Overrated. NormiHomoLehti. Finland. Available online: http://www.lehtiluukku.fi/pub?id=8694 Unedited English version (.pdf 88kb)
Kennedy, G. (2020) Dr. Charlotte Cooper – A Fat Femme Tomato Lady Doing a High-Kick – 001. Queers & Co. Available online: https://player.captivate.fm/ef8d0730-7f92-4669-915a-732320f9a08c
McAleer, P. (2005) ‘Three Quick Questions: Charlotte Cooper,’ Big Fat Blog [online], available: https://web.archive.org/web/20130914205745/http://www.bigfatblog.com:80/node/987
Thomas, L. (2018) ‘EP71 – But is it healthy to be fat? w/ Dr. Charlotte Cooper,’ Don’t Salt My Game [online], available: http://www.laurathomasphd.co.uk/podcast/charlottecooper/.
Smith, C. (2012) ‘Under the radar: Fat activism and the London 2012 Olympics, an interview with Charlotte Cooper’, Games Monitor [online], available: http://www.gamesmonitor.org.uk/node/1647
Voigts, I., Claus, G. & Schulz, N. (2009) ‘The Chubsters: Interview mit Charlotte Cooper’, Hugs and Kisses: tender to all gender. 5, 52-55. Available online: http://www.hugsandkissesonline.de/?p=1019 Reprinted: Voigts, I. & Claus, G. (2010) ‘Invasion of The Chubsters’, an.schläge, December/January: 20-21. Unedited English version (.pdf, 56kb)