Naleena Velji
PhD Student
Gender Studies
People Directory Affiliation Category
Supervisor: Elaine Power
Naleena Velji is a fat disabled lesbian of colour and a PhD student who holds an MA and BA in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies. By analyzing the intersection of fatphobia, racism, and misogyny, her research works to de-center whiteness within fat studies, analyzing how systems of power enact violence on the bodies of fat queer women of colour in specific and complex ways, as they are situated within multiple and interconnected systems of domination, and highlights the impacts on their gender embodiment and self-determination. By challenging the social constructions of fat(phobia), she is interested in investigating the ways that self-identification/labels can function as a method of resistance and a tool for community building.