Fat Ham: Choosing Pleasure over Harm in Fat Positive Representation
摘要
Through the narrator, Juicy, Fat Ham invites audiences to envision what life could be like if we chose pleasure over harm. I argue that embodying this desirable futurity in a fat, or “thicc,” body positions Fat Ham as a source of positive fat representation and fat pleasure. While “thicc” carries its own unique meanings and discourse, I argue that, in Fat Ham, “thicc” becomes a way to think about how Juicy’s fatness is inextricably linked to his masculinity, Blackness, and queerness. In labeling Juicy as “thicc,” how is Fat Ham inviting us to reconsider what positive fat representation could look like onstage, particularly in reimagining canonical works? My research fills a gap in the literature, adding fat studies to ongoing discussions around Juicy’s Blackness, queerness, and masculinity. In recent years, there has been an explosion of discussion around equity, diversity, and representation, yet, only a fraction of this work has specifically included fatness as an identity marker. In order to fully recognize the political power of Ijames’s reclamation of Hamlet, scholars must embrace Juicy as a fat character. My research is critical as it counters the contemporary cultural forces of violence, scrutiny, and medicalization toward the fat body. In an interview with reporter Jason Frank, Ijames described his journey to make Hamlet his own. Through a pleasureful future, being seen as desirable, and having roles written to celebrate the fat body, Fat Ham invites audiences to discover how Hamlet is theirs.