On World Anti-Fatphobia Day, Néliane Catarina Simioni releases “Becoming Fat,” exploring the fat body as collective and political identity.
“Becoming Fat: destabilizing the meanings of fatphobia through digital discourse” challenges the assumption that fat bodies are deviations. The book, born from Néliane’s master’s research at Unicamp, investigates how oppression against fat people is constructed and reinforced through everyday language and media.
Published by Contra o Vento (Alta Books), the work dissects medical discourses, memes, jokes, and cultural narratives that normalize stigma. For Simioni, what appears as care often hides mechanisms of control and symbolic punishment.
The launch takes place on March 4 at Martins Fontes Bookstore in São Paulo, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The date reclaims the former World Obesity Day, reframing it as a global moment of resistance and dignity.
Inspired by Neusa Santos Souza’s classic “Becoming Black”, the author positions “becoming” as an act of political subjectivity. The book also connects to her activism on the “Meu Corpo Sou Eu” platform and the podcast “Isso não é sobre corpo”, expanding public conversations about identity and embodiment.
Event details
Location: Livraria Martins Fontes Paulista – Av. Paulista, 509
Date: March 4
Time: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Activity: Conversation with the author + signing session
Publisher: Alta Books (Contra o Vento imprint)
Photo: Press Release
