Part clown, part crusader, performance artist Scottee is on a mission to change perceptions of fat people. His weapon is Hamburger Queen, a beauty pageant to find the most beautiful ambassador of the “do-it-yourself plus-size revolution.” There’s enthusiasm, sensitivity and humour in the way he tells his story of the event on My Big Fat Documentary Review (Radio 4) which both empowers its contestants and offers a meat raffle. “It’s not about solving the obesity crisis or how to lose weight,” he says. “It’s about our attitude to fat. And a show with lots of dressing up and showing off.”
There’s a giant whoop from the Hamburger Queen audience upon hearing the phrase: “celebrating fat people”. Proud contestant Nina Neon is hoping to impress by wearing the Brazilian flag. “Just the flag,” says Scottee, with an air of trepidation.
So far, so upbeat.
But beneath this sparkly circus of camp and glorious body positivity lies an exploration of Scottee’s own feelings about his size. He admits his first reaction when he sees a fat person on the street is to compare their bodies: are they fatter than him? And if they are, how comfortable is that supposed moral high ground?
“At school, the idea I was taking up too much space was pretty much punched into me,” he says. One of the most telling moments comes when he discusses the root of his weight gain with his mum Sarah. Hers is a tale of constant weight control, bulimia and unhappiness with her own size that she tried to keep secret from her children. Horrifically, Scottee remembers his two-year-old brother refusing to eat fruit in case it made him fat.
Embarrassing Fat Bodies host Dr Christian comes in for a grilling, with Scottee pushing him on the question of whether you can be fat and healthy. “I don’t think you can,” concludes the medic, reaching for a biscuit under the pressure.
There’s no clear winner in the debate around fat and health, but that doesn’t make the beliefs voiced here any less powerful.
Scottee can only scratch the surface of the complex relationship between individuals and their bodies in one half-hour programme, but his anti-fat-shaming crusade at least throws a glitterbomb into the discussion.
