Reviews tagging 'Death'

Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’Shaun Harrison

8 reviews

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

definitely a hard listen, but I'm glad to have done it. while there is some historical rooting I appreciate that it mostly stayed in the realm of contemporary experience (the author's own and those of others). I think it's a necessary read for anyone interested in embodied experiences broadly (but esp along intersections of race, gender, and age). 

I did read the content warnings on Storygraph, but I really would have benefitted from content notes with chapters at the beginning of the book or at the beginning of chapters. I still would have listened, but I'd have been better prepared to do so. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Death, Eating disorder, Ableism, Body shaming, Murder, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Transphobia, Colonisation, Classism, and Dysphoria

nahae's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Racism, and Death

carbs666's review

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Such a thought provoking and deeply researched book, using a combination of primary and secondary sources (including interviews with fat Black trans people). There was lots in here I connected with as a fat trans person and so much I learned as a white person. Strongly recommend to anyone who js ready to level up their fat liberation reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Death, Racism, and Gun violence

eliya's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

fantastic read. informative and not too dense to where it is difficult to process the information. i learned so much. de’schaun harrison writes in a way that is conversational yet obviously so informative. it felt like i was listening to one of my really smart friends talk. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Medical trauma, Racism, Misogyny, Death, Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Fatphobia, Sexism, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Hate crime

remimicha's review

fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Body shaming, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexism, Genocide, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Death, and Classism

wetdirtreads's review

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Belly of the Beast is an incredibly concise, yet deeply thorough and nuanced exploration of how anti-fatness as anti-Blackness is constructed & violently enforced. Harrison focuses on how desirability politics, healthism, hyper-sexualisation & in/visibility are deployed under white supremacy (& specifically anti-Blackness) to produce & impose anti-fatness as anti-Blackness. 
 
Immaculately woven through this investigation is an analysis of how anti-fatness as anti-Blackness manifests across diverse experiences of gender, transness, and disability. The result is a refreshing, much-needed & well overdue fill for so many gaps in existing fat literature. 

I really can't overstate how impressive it is for a 109-page book to cover so much ground without sacrificing any complexity or integrity. I’ll admit, when I first started the book, I felt a bit unsure about the in-depth explanation of sociological concepts & key terms. I wondered whether it was useful, or just academic waffle. I quickly found, though, that it was not only useful, but imperative to the book’s accessibility, nuance, & simultaneous huge scope & brevity. 
 
There is no one I wouldn’t recommend this book to. However, I think it’s a particularly important read for white fat folks whose fat activism lacks a racially aware & critical lens. And I don’t just mean awareness of how fatphobia impacts Black folks differently. I mean how fatphobia is a direct product of anti-Blackness that largely impacts people based on their perceived proximity to Blackness, and thus, perceived distance from humanness. 
 
I am so grateful for this book. It is a generous offering that provides an opportunity for fat studies and fat literature to steer in a crucial direction. Belly of the Beast, along with other critical fat Black texts, also provides fertile ground for other localised contexts and experiences to be thoroughly and appropriately engaged. I would love to see the wisdom of this book applied to other Black contexts beyond Turtle Island (or the so-called united states/north america).

(Review initially posted on Instagram)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Death, Fatphobia, and Gun violence

Moderate: Genocide, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Ableism, Murder, Slavery, and Transphobia

Minor: Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Religious bigotry

lettuce_read's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Ableism, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, and Fatphobia

thefatpaperback's review

informative fast-paced

5.0

This is a necessary read for anyone wanting to learn about anti-fatness, anti-Blackness, body liberation, body sovereignty, and the like. Take your body politics to the next level with this short but powerful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Ableism, Death, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Transphobia