What does this research mean for the field?

The television series Somebody Somewhere acts as a positive intervention in visual culture by utilizing queer kinship and temporality to foster self-acceptance for fat bodies, representing them as individuals rather than identity tropes. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This paper aims to examine how the TV series Somebody Somewhere challenges traditional representations of fat and queer bodies using queer theory and fat studies.

July 3, 2026

Deviant bodies and queer belongings in Rural America: Interventions from Somebody Somewhere (2022–2024)

Key Points

This paper aims to examine how the TV series Somebody Somewhere challenges traditional representations of fat and queer bodies using queer theory and fat studies.
Utilized queer theory and fat studies to analyze the television series Somebody Somewhere.
Examined visual texts to highlight the representation of fat bodies within a queer framework.
Identified systemic inequalities and the role of queer kinship in reshaping selfhood.
Demonstrated that the series offers an alternative representation of fat bodies, emphasizing individual narratives over stereotypes.
Showcased that queer kinship allows fat bodies to undergo a process of 'unbecoming,' leading to acceptance of selfhood.
Revealed the series' portrayal of aging fat bodies as a means to confront exoticization and systemic biases.

Abstract

The paper employs the theoretical framework of Queer Theory and the disciplinary framework of fat studies to read the television series Somebody Somewhere as a positive intervention in the representation of fat and queer bodies. Showcasing the fault lines of heteronormative temporality and kinship patterns and replacing them with viable alternatives of queer/ed fat time and queer joy, this paper argues that queer kinship leads to a process of “unbecoming” for fat bodies, allowing for acceptance and celebration of selfhood through queer temporality. The analysis highlights the everyday visibility of aging fat bodies in the series to contend with their exoticisation and showcase systemic inequalities that permeate the everyday. This paper proposes the examined visual text as an alternative to the representation of fat bodies in visual culture, focusing on giving fat bodies more screen space rather than discourse space and seeing them as individuals within a fatphobic system rather than symbols of an identity trope.

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