Fat phobia in Classical Music

This article centers on uncovering visible and invisible fatphobic biases that shape the careers of women and gender queer instrumental performers. Through qualitative research in the form of interviews, I explore the relationship between body image, beauty standards, gender expression, and successful careers in music. My aim is to expose the stigma that women and genderqueer performers continuously experience during their training and careers because of gendered beauty standards that are perpetuated within western classical music spaces. I discuss how body image biases are filtered through the lens of gender, class, and race; and I critically engage with the neoliberal framing of individuals’ successes, which functions via the myth of meritocracy, while also drawing parallels between “making it” as a performer, and “achieving” a thin body as a woman and genderqueer person. Ultimately, I argue that in order to address gender, race, and class discrimination in classical music, it will also be necessary to address the role that fatphobia has in cutting careers short and making musicians’ lives impossible.