Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

“You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon

18 reviews

msgslibrary's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

An essential entry text for the current state of fat liberation philosophy. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Ableism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Racism, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Misogyny, Transphobia, Genocide, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Violence

pacifickat's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

This was a really excellent, nuanced, and heartfelt read that challenged me to examine some common misconceptions that are often assumed to be true about fat people, and interrogate my own shifting implicit and explicit biases. 

Aubrey does a good job of calling out systems of oppression, as well as individual complicities and microagressions that harm marginalized communities. She challenges who and what we center in society, and asks the reader to consider their reactions to being at times decentered. 

What do we think of, or assume, when we think about fat people? What feelings does the word "fat" emotionally conjure in us? What about seeing a fat person? Ought we to interrogate those assumptions and feelings, granting dignity and respect to every human? How often do we actually listen to fat people and believe them at face value, or center their voices about their own bodies and experiences? 

This will be a book I revisit again, especially Myth 16, 19, and 20. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Medical content

Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Racism

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Rape

kelleykamanda's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

An incredible book. I love Gordon. I originally heard her through Maintenance Phase- she makes learning about health feel positive and informative. 💗

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Bullying, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse

breadbummer's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Body shaming, and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Bullying, Sexual violence, and Ableism

Minor: Self harm, Incest, and Hate crime

qteabeans's review against another edition

challenging informative fast-paced

4.0

A good primer on anti-fatness and weightism. Gordon cites her sources and ties in other people's work and voices. Clear voice and consistency of messaging. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Body shaming

Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Classism, Death, Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Bullying, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Ableism, and Acephobia/Arophobia

bambooboy's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I don't really have words for how important this book is. 

There are years of works available to us, shouting the dangers of anti-fat bias, the lies we are told; but Aubrey Gordon lays it out, step-by-step, in a way that is accessible and digestible. It solicits empathy in its honesty. Gordon does a great job too of offering other equally important titles of equally important voices on fat people and the history and now of how we treat each other. 

I wish I could shove this into the hands of everyone I meet! I kept reading passages and rereading them and wanting to post them but then realizing I'd be posting the entire chapter because that's how good every single chapter was. 

If you're a fan of Maintenance Phase you'll love this, though be aware that tonally it isn't as silly as her and Michael get together. It's much more serious. And if you're not a fan of Maintenance Phase but like this book, you should check out Gordon's podcast! They dive deep into different health crazes/diet books/health "influencers". They have a great chemistry and it's a good way to both laugh and rage at the machine. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Medical content

Moderate: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, Classism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Deeper discussion of content warnings below cut.

Gordon speaks in general on many topics that could be triggering, such as the medical malpractice many doctors partake in when they refuse to provide adequate healthcare for their fat patients, the general attitude toward fat people existing, etc.
She also gets into some specific stories about people who were disabled or died due to this malpractice. As a fat person Gordon also talks about all the aggressions, micro and macro, that she experiences or has experienced.

Overall the content is heavy, and I definitely suggest taking it slow, especially if you are someone who has had to deal with these traumatic experiences on the daily.

carlaah1984's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Body shaming

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Medical trauma, Ableism, Mental illness, Bullying, and Eating disorder

dillsbookdiary's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

3.75

this book was phenomenal! my main complaint, as someone who read it from beginning to end, is that there were several chapters that had 2-3 pages functionally repeating something said in a previous chapter. however, because this book was explicitly written with the intention of people reading it as separate entries, it didnt bother me that much. just something to note! aubrey did a fantastic job, as per usual, and even as someone who is fairly well versed in body liberation i still learned a ton that i was not previously aware of.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Classism, Violence, Death, Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Terminal illness

knit_the_resistance's review against another edition

dark informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

If you haven't listened to Maintenance Phase, you probably should. Everyone should listen to/read this book, it's important. 
However.
If I'm not mistaken, the book is a series of blog posts or essays strung together. Or at least that's how they read. Rarely have I listened to a book that needed editing for continuity more. It is so intensely repetitive --even within the same essay, let alone among chapters, that it was hard to maintain attention at times. 
The author relies on the wire deep and deeply. I found myself counting the repetitions. Frustrating, because I like the podcast.
But the podcast feels like haranguing, and the book feels like the podcast. So. I didn't love it, but it's important. 
One minor comment: the last chapter deals with "fat phobia is the last sanctioned form of discrimination" but goes on to discuss the countless other forms of discrimination in American society. It very pointedly does not mention antisemitism, which I found an interesting oversight. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Bullying, Medical content, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Ableism, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia

katekatiekait's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming

Moderate: Eating disorder, Ableism, Fatphobia, Racism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Colonisation, Dysphoria, Police brutality, and Classism