The Wide Angle: Wanna Be In Our Gang?
The Chubsters are a queer-friendly girl-gang that's open to everyone. That's how social change happens
| 12 Mar 2007
The Beefer, The Weasel, Tiny and Petunia, Tubby, TripleXXX, Apple Hard and Rainbow Rotten are just a few of the members of The Chubsters, a vicious girl gang.
Like in any gang, a large part of Chubster life is about being belligerent, sulky, intimidating and ready to attack for any reason, the more trivial the better. Gang membership also gives Chubsters a sense of belonging: after all, bare-knuckle fighting is always so much more fun when there's a bunch of you in matching gang colours to back each other up.
But there's another dimension to this particular gang. Whilst its members span the globe, and come from all walks of life, and whilst people have their own various reasons for joining, The Chubsters throw a pro-fat spin on everything they do. Where other fat rights activists might embark on a letter-writing campaign, or a peaceful protest, or even a well-considered public debate, The Chubsters are more likely to stomp right in and blow the place apart. Subtlety is not where they're at, but that's good in the gang world.
The Chubsters are kind of a joke, but they're real too and represent a new kind of activism that rejects nicey-nice behaviour in favour of something with a bit more bite to it. Playing nasty is all part of the fun.
Even more radical is the fact that, unlike earlier generations of identity-orientated groups, The Chubsters are a queer-friendly girl-gang that's open to everyone. That's how social change happens, right? You don't have to be a girl, you don't have to be fat, you don't even have to be particularly mean. The thing that unites us is our hatred of Narrow Fucks (aka fatphobes).
In order to become a card-carrying, badge-wearing Chubster, all that you have to do is go through a simple initiation process. This involves doing and documenting something Chubster-worthy and presenting it to the gang for approval. That's it. So what are you waiting for? Find out more at www.chubstergang.com
Like in any gang, a large part of Chubster life is about being belligerent, sulky, intimidating and ready to attack for any reason, the more trivial the better. Gang membership also gives Chubsters a sense of belonging: after all, bare-knuckle fighting is always so much more fun when there's a bunch of you in matching gang colours to back each other up.
But there's another dimension to this particular gang. Whilst its members span the globe, and come from all walks of life, and whilst people have their own various reasons for joining, The Chubsters throw a pro-fat spin on everything they do. Where other fat rights activists might embark on a letter-writing campaign, or a peaceful protest, or even a well-considered public debate, The Chubsters are more likely to stomp right in and blow the place apart. Subtlety is not where they're at, but that's good in the gang world.
The Chubsters are kind of a joke, but they're real too and represent a new kind of activism that rejects nicey-nice behaviour in favour of something with a bit more bite to it. Playing nasty is all part of the fun.
Even more radical is the fact that, unlike earlier generations of identity-orientated groups, The Chubsters are a queer-friendly girl-gang that's open to everyone. That's how social change happens, right? You don't have to be a girl, you don't have to be fat, you don't even have to be particularly mean. The thing that unites us is our hatred of Narrow Fucks (aka fatphobes).
In order to become a card-carrying, badge-wearing Chubster, all that you have to do is go through a simple initiation process. This involves doing and documenting something Chubster-worthy and presenting it to the gang for approval. That's it. So what are you waiting for? Find out more at www.chubstergang.com