Perfect imperfections : – an intersectional fat studies analysis of fat girl protagonists in young adult romance

Looking at children’s literature and the romance genre, fat characters have often been portrayed as laughable, pityful or evil side characters. The purpose of this study is therefore to analyze and compare how the girls’ bodies are portrayed in four young adult (YA) romances: Sweetie from There’s Something About Sweetie, Skye from I’ll Be the One, Nala from Love is a Revolution and Celine from Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. The girls’ intersectional positions are analyzed using the power categories body size, gender and age. The analysis is primarily rooted in fat studies, but gender studies and theories on age are also used. Another aspect of the study is the use of three of Pamela Regis’ elements of romance to see if the girls’ bodies are a part of the conflict. Previous research on these intersectional positions with an added focus on romance is limited. Studies on fat bodies in children’s literature, and specifically fat girls in YA literature, have been conducted. The analysis shows that none of the girls’ bodies is portrayed as a problem. Sweetie’s and Skye’s power is however heavily limited by the fat phobia they meet. Nala and Celine also have limited power, though that is more related to their gender and age. All the girls also have moments where they are empowered. Regis’ elements shows that Sweetie’s romantic conflict is the only one that revolves around the body. The increased societal focus on a skinny body ideal means that it is important to critically analyze the portrayals of fat bodies in literature. YA romance is one important part of this endeavor.