Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

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

42 reviews

hexedmaiden's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I loved this book. While I have come a long way in my life as a fat person and having been so a vast majority of my life, there was still so much in this book that I took away. I feel like this another book that I would say that everyone needs to read. It doesn't matter if you're fat, average, or skinny, everyone could learn something from this book. Because fatphobia doesn't just have an affect on fat people, fatphobia hurts everyone.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

Moderate: Medical trauma, Ableism, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Homophobia

quasinaut's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

I appreciated Aubrey Gordon as author and narrator for the audiobook. 

My biggest complaint: I'm not sure who the audience is. If you already recognize the harm of antifatness (or listen to Maintenance Phase), some sections might help you reflect deeper, but overall you'll already be familiar with the content. If you don't - or you're someone new to the idea of fat activism - then I'm not sure this book is written in a way that will change your mind. The book is repetitive at times - perhaps as a way to try to convince readers who need these points to be driven home again and again for them to start sinking in - but I'm not sure that repetition alone is enough to be convincing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism and Eating disorder

amberinpieces's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Eating disorder and Dysphoria

Minor: Colonisation, Ableism, Slavery, Racism, Lesbophobia, Islamophobia, Transphobia, Classism, and Homophobia

sophiestasyna's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

Moderate: Ableism, Medical trauma, and Racism

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

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

jadepfaefflin's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Racism, Gaslighting, and Ableism

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

spookyaz's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Incest, Body shaming, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fatphobia, and Eating disorder

ferns80's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, and Ableism

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Sexual harassment

ankerrigan's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

If you love the Maintenance Phase podcast, you'll love this book, which is basically an extension of the podcast's major themes. The only thing it's missing is Michael Hobbes' witty banter.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Body shaming

Moderate: Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Minor: Transphobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Ableism, and Police brutality