Economies of Hyper (In)visibility

Stereotypes about fat bodies assume they lack productive and reproductive capabilities. I propose the economies of hyper (in)visibility, or the epistemological processes that simultaneously overlook – or make invisible – and hyperfocus on fat bodies. I contend that neoliberal economic structures mediate relations of power through money, objects, and bodily signification to create a normalizing “logic” to dehumanize and violate fat individuals. I expand upon economies of hyper (in)visibility by using examples from everyday life such as the medicalization of fatness and discourse on reproduction. I argue that economies of hyper (in)visibility threaten fat futurities through the exploitation and profitability of devaluing fat populations within neoliberal societies. Suggestions for moving towards fat visibility take shape through (re)designing fat time, visibility in fat burlesque, and increased social media presence to explore fat futurities and worldmaking.