May Friedman’s research looks at unstable identities, including bodies that do not conform to traditional racial and national or aesthetic lines. Most recently much of May’s research has focused on intersectional approaches to fat studies considering the multiple and fluid experiences of both fat oppression and fat activism. Drawing on a range of arts-based methods including digital storytelling as well as analyses of treasured garments, May has explored meaning making and representation in relation to embodiment and experience.
- Fat studies
- Body diversity
- Kinship
- Motherhood
- Popular culture
- Inclusive pedagogies
Fat Studies: The Basics (Routledge 2025); Fat in Canada (Inanna Press, 2024) Thickening Fat (2020 Routledge)
Sizing Up Gender: https://www.sizingupgender.com (external link, opens in new window)
Co-editor of a series, Palgrave Studies in Mediating Kinship, Representation and Difference
Usha George Faculty Recognition Award 2025, Sue Williams Excellence in Teaching Award 2022