The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping Analysis

English poetry speech

Those who knew me about 5 or 6 years ago would know that I was a pretty fat kid. Shopping for clothes was never a problem though, because I could always just go into men’s sizes. For some African migrants in England in the 80s however, shopping in their size proved to be quite difficult. Good morning all, and welcome to the State Library’s poetry exhibition. Today I’m going to discuss how life is difficult for migrants, particularly large ones, who are made to feel marginalised by society – not just for their obesity, but for their race or skin colour too. Grace Nichols is a Guyanese-British poet who migrated to the UK in 1977, when she was 27. Her poetry has been central in helping us understand the cultural Caribbean-British connection for over thirty years. One of these poems is The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping, which was published in 1984. During the 80s in London, there were riots over racial issues such as the ones at Brixton and Tottenham, which in part motivated Nichols to write this poem about

The Fat Black Woman Goes Shopping helps westerners to gain a deeper understanding of the struggles faced by marginalised groups in society, through Nichols’ use of word choice, idiomatic language and various aesthetic features.

The Fat Black Woman

Grace Nichols effectively utilises idiomatic language, word choice and various aesthetic features to show westerners the struggles which outsiders of society face. There have always been marginalised groups within society, and it can feel horrible to be in that position. Nichols has really struck a chord with this poem, as it really speaks out about what it’s like to be an outsider. She uses the fat black woman not fitting into the clothes as a metaphor for her not fitting into society; not just for her size, but for her race and colour as