“Spread my thighs and imagine a better, fatter world”: the uses of the erotic in fat activist art

ABSTRACT I make the claim that the erotic has significant uses for fat activist art. I examine the work of Toronto-based, queer, South Asian, fat artist Anshuman Iddamsetty (@boarlord) on Instagram, Patreon, and Only Fans. I draw on Audre Lorde’s writing on the erotic while at the same time challenging her sidelining of the pornographic, using Iddamsetty’s nude self-portraiture as a counterexample of the possibility for an erotic pornographic. My analysis involves a fundamental linking of fat sexuality with fat art and activism both in the current moment and throughout history, with a special focus on digital spaces. Jenny Ellison’s research provides a background for exploring the role of sexuality in gendered fat activism and art, as well as the queer fat history of politicizing desire. I examine how the erotic can be used to flip fat stereotypes and push for liberation in order to understand the specific erotics on display in Iddamsetty’s oeuvre. My analysis configures the fat body as a site of resistance and the erotic as a source of embodied artistic, activist power. I point to the potential of the internet (despite censorship) for creating intimate artistic activist networks, using Lorde’s concept of “the erotic connection.” Ultimately, the question I ask throughout the piece is what can be gained from fully embracing erotic art in fat activism?