Reddit reviews Secrets of the Sideshows

Fat bodies were photographed. They were also exploited as freaks. They would not have been included in side shows if obese people were commonplace. Come see the fat lady! And the people would pay to gawk at how a human could exist at such a size. There weren't many people at that size to photograph. Google image search of "fat lady side show" is great

edit: I also want to point out that these women didn't see this as "shaming", it was their career. The freak show members were often tight like family after being shunned by birth families or worse, sold to the freak show by their birth families. They were quite proud of how they could make a living by letting people stare at them as they move from town to town. This is a good book on the topic