Occasionally, a fashion industry specialist, who is well versed in the small field of fat men’s fashion, will post an editorial where he styled plus-sized menswear. Such advice ranges from a biker – who shares contact info of a tailor on eBay who sews leather jackets without charging “an arm and a leg” – to users – who warn others of stores that size down (so that an XL is really L). Users also give and take advice on where to go for affordable, custom-tailored clothes in extended sizes. Interestingly, even a big man who works with modeling agencies and designers reports on the site that he is constantly confronted by the reality that he does not “fit in” within his own industry. Another user displays the catchphrase of the D-list celebrity, Latrice Royale, the plus-sized African-American drag performer: “Chunky yet Funky,” which resonates with the esprit de corps of this online community. As one user reports, the site gives him confidence to pull off the sexy plumber look. One recent urban fashion trend appears to be male jumpsuits. They check in to the site to see guys of a similar size to themselves pull off “awesome” styles. To give just one example among many, one visitor to the site describes the big men as the “hottest, cutest, classiest, and the swaggiest guys.” This writer and others give us a sense of the more positive self-image some users celebrate. The CGS site offers its users a great confidence boost. Everyone deserves to be happy and comfortable in their body!”
and increasing the condition’s social stigma.” To this post, one of the co-moderators has responded sensitively saying how it is indeed a “struggle to find clothing that fits in a society with misconstrued body standards. For example, one person posts about how people with Down’s are built differently and “often lack access to well-fitting clothes, furthering negative perceptions of people. In fact, even a mother came to the site on behalf of her self-conscious “chubby boy.” Last, but not least, the CGS site is inclusive of persons with disabilities. One of them says she loves everything about the blog, because “it fuels love for men’s fashion AND damn near obsession with cubby men.” Another woman, who is engaged to a big man, apparently follows the blog to look for ways to impart some body-positivity to her fiancé who “hates looking in the mirror.” Many women visit the site on behalf of their ample male partners who feel defeated by the exclusionary fashion industry and need to get their chubby-guy swag back. It is also interesting that this loosely male-identified space allows for female inclusion, such as women who admire fat men. (Gendered freedom!)” This comment implies the comfortable inclusion of gender nonconformists on the CGS site. For example, one trans person wrote, “this blog is such a relief to find, since I am fat and trans and looking for fashion inspiration.” For another fat trans person, the blog is a fantastic resource – “nice to see some people shaped like me (even though I’m much shorter than many of the guys on here).” Yet a third gender-queer person says: “I wear almost exclusively women’s bottoms. I am most impressed by the queer-positive, anti-racist, and anti-ableist environment that this fat-positive community has engendered. Its message is clear: everyone is entitled to fashion, regardless of size. The CGS website provides a judgement-free zone, as reflected by the compliments made to people who post pictures. I looked through many posts and photos by men of size who are queer, disabled, people of color, and/or “just plain broke,” most of whom are young adults who are underrepresented in the main. In fact, several users submit selfies in their favorite outfit. From my rudimentary content analysis, I gather that this community has international reach providing a safe space for big men who don’t fit the mass media’s image of the “ideal” body type, but aspire toward becoming fashionable, and who therefore appreciate the information and wisdom users share on this site.
“CGS”), cofounded in 2010 by Zach Eser and Abigail Spooner in response to the lack of body-positive “fatshion” for plus-size males. I spent some time perusing another blogging community, Chubby Guy Swag (a.k.a. It also alerts users to deals on clothing in extended sizes. It directs people to resources for them to find clothes they might love. One of these sites, Chubstr, slates itself as a style destination for men of size. I must say, however, that as a scholar of queer and fat studies in a thin-privileged (white) body, who has written about middle-aged big gay men, I am encouraged to see the emergence of a couple of sites that are attempting to provide fashion inspiration for bigger guys, garnering visibility for them. It seems that the fashion industry has continued to overlook big men in this regard. There appears to be endless chatter among bloggers about fat women’s fashion, though less so when it comes to fat men.