Decolonial Vision: Learning To See – Not Surveil – Fat People
Fat people are often watched but rarely seen. Here are 5 practices toward seeing.
Welcome to the second installment of my new Substack vertical, VOLUMINATI. This vertical is a monthly series of analytical audiotextual (audio + text) essays. The full essay is available for paid subscribers. You can listen to this month’s edition by scrolling down to the bottom of the article and hitting play.
A fat person must continually watch themself… They have to survey everything they are and everything they do because how they appear to thin people (and, by extension, a fatphobic society) is of crucial importance for… the success of their life. One might simplify this by saying… Thin people look at fat people. Fat people watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between thin and fat people but also the relation of fat people to themselves. The surveyor of a fat person in themself is a thin person… Thus they turn themself into an object -- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.
-Adapted from John Berger’s 1972 book Ways of Seeing
*In the original version of this excerpt, Berger wrote about gender. I changed every reference of “woman/women” to “fat person/people” and every reference of “man/men” to “thin person/people.”
The Power Of Being Seen As A Fat Person
I love asking Andrew, my husband, what he liked about me on our first date. He always immediately begins describing how my eyes sparkled when I smiled, and how adorable he thought my round cheeks were. “How could you not fall in love with her?” I remember him rhetorically asking some of the guests at our wedding.
This story is noteworthy because when we met, Andrew didn’t look at me the way that society has taught him to, i.e., he didn’t, first, register that I’m a fat woman, then, second, immediately belittle my worth and humanity, and, finally, either distance himself or attempt to exploit me.
Instead, Andrew saw me.
Because he did not replicate the cultural script he had been given, he opened up a path for connection that has led to a beautiful relationship. That is the power of seeing.
What’s the Difference Between “Seeing” and “Surveilling?”
Seeing is a deeply human and humanizing act of curiosity and creativity that requires you to approach others as an equal. When you truly see someone,