Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

"You Just Need to Lose Weight" by Aubrey Gordon

7 reviews

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. 

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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

breadbummer's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

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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

meldasilas's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Ableism, Medical content, Misogyny, and Medical trauma

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.

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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

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Ableism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Fatphobia, Classism, Death, Misogyny, and Racism

Minor: Xenophobia and Homophobia

skudiklier's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

5.0

I thought Aubrey Gordon's first book was phenomenal and haven't stopped recommending it, but I'm probably going to have to switch to recommending this one to most folks instead--it just so clearly breaks down all of the things people say about anti-fat bias. I get into arguments and often don't know what to say or how to back up what I'm saying, and this book is the best resource for that. I only wish I had a physical copy so it would be easier to reference things, rather than the audiobook. For people who really do want to learn more, or at least take the time to understand this "side" of things, I'll definitely be trying to get them to read this book. It's so easy to get sidetracked in points that aren't really about the real issue here, and I love the way Gordon addresses those efficiently while still staying on-topic and bringing things back to the central issue at hand. I could not recommend this book enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Death

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

 "You Just Need to Lose Weight" is a valuable resource that has a lot to offer for the right audience — most notably, people who want to learn how to fight anti-fatness from ground zero.

As someone who has dealt with this in my own life and the lives of my loved ones since I was born, I didn't feel like I was gaining anything except the feeling of being generally miserable because the entire book up to my stopping point was such a painfully honest reminder of how so many people view fat bodies (and even "average" bodies in many countries).

Great book for a lot of people, just way too high-risk/low-reward for me with the impact this author's blunt prose had on my mental health.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: the author takes care to discuss the impacts of anti-fatness on BIPOC fat individuals as well as using trans-inclusive terms. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Racism and Child abuse