PhD Student Teya Juarez Publishes Article in Journal of American Drama & Theatre

Congratulations to third-year theatre and performance PhD student Teya Juarez on the publication of her article, “Fat Suits and Fat Futures: Ob*sity Drag in The Whale,” in the latest issue of the Segal Graduate Center’s Journal of American Drama & Theatre.

In the article, Juarez examines the use of fat suits in Samuel D. Hunter’s The Whale—both in the production history of the stage play and in the 2022 film adaptation starring Brendan Fraser. She argues that The Whale employs fat suits to perform ob*sity drag, a fabricated form of fatness that reinforces the medicalization and pathologization of fat bodies as ob*se. Drawing on a theoretical framework of “fat time” to consider the future of fatness, Juarez contends that The Whale reflects a “War on Ob*sity” mentality that imagines an end to fatness—and, by extension, to fat people themselves.

“Within my research focus on the intersections of theatre and performance studies and fat studies, I am interested in the consequences of telling stories about fatness without real fat bodies. How does this ultimately affirm and perpetuate existing anti-fat beliefs in society?” Juarez said.

Juarez earned an MA in theatre arts from Villanova University and a BA in theatre arts from California State University, Fresno.