garashirs:

sam gamgee is a great example of a fat character who subverts fat character tropes and stereotypes

like, yes, he’s a good cook, and it’s made obvious that he likes food, but that’s not his only skill. he’s also a excellent gardener, a wonderful singer and storyteller, a loyal friend, and a strong protector to frodo during his journey to mount doom.

it’s sam who fights off shelob, who rescues frodo from the orcs in the tower, who keeps the fellowship’s spirits up during their journey, and who risks drowning to follow frodo where nobody else can. as frodo himself puts it, “frodo wouldn’t have gotten very far without sam”. he’s fundamentally important to the story, something that tolkien makes very clear, and while he is sometimes the subject of his friends’ good-natured jokes, neither he nor his fatness are ever used as a source of comic relief.

sam is not portrayed, as many fat characters are, as greedy or overindulgent, but generous and kind. during their journey through mordor, sam always makes sure that frodo eats and drinks more than he does, and has more time to rest, taking longer watches during the night, and going as far as to carry him on his back so that he can finish his quest.

sam gamgee is a good example of a fat character because he is not defined by his fatness. he does not acheive everything he does despite being fat, nor because of it. he is simply a character who happens to be fat. and if a book written nearly a hundred years ago can portray fat characters this well, then there is no excuse for modern media not to do the same.