ashwaar's review against another edition

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challenging informative medium-paced

3.25


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moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

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informative

3.25

 It’s hard to know exactly how to rate this because there were some very strong parts, but some sections left something to be desired. I went into this knowing little about the book (other than it looked interesting and was available on Libby). I think this could definitely be a good starting place for people who haven’t heard of anything beyond body positivity. There is good research that went into this and I like that she included some actionable solutions (even if I may take issue with some, far too often books like this end with more vague ideas of change, so seeing specific legislation recommendations and the like was nice). However, I don’t think it really goes far enough in discussing the nature of fatphobia systemically. 

While she does talk about intersectionality in parts and discusses some issues that pertain to trans people and people of color (particularly in the later half of the book), I don’t think that a lot of the discussion really captures how these things are connected beyond people with multiple marginalized identities existing. I think it would have been productive to talk more about the historical links between these oppressions (anti-fatness stemming from anti-Blackness). I think that some of the discussion on the bias research near the beginning particularly left me with some questions. While I don’t doubt that some parts of the population have decreased overt biases towards queer people and people of color while not having those decreasing attitudes towards fat people, I think that there is a lot more going on societally that was ignored during this discussion (that could have been rectified had she focused more on systems, pulling from more research). While the author is queer, the way she talked about homophobia being more shocking now seemed rather naïve; while it is true in some settings, it is certainly not universal throughout even the whole of the US – especially when you consider the rampant transphobic legislation that has been on the rise (an uptick in 2016 – well before this was written – but also more into 2020 – near the end of the year this was published – and then after the publication of this book, which it could not have accounted for). Other issues were also relegated as passing comments, rather than being a central part of the text at all (like how immigrants are treated in regard to fatphobia). A particularly jarring near-exclusion like this was looking at disability. While she mentions ableism and talks about medical negligence, she doesn’t really contend with the integral connection between ableism and fatphobia (this was particularly made apparent in one of her last anecdotes where she is praised for being healthy. While I do think that this interaction added a lot to the book as a whole, I think not talking about ableism alongside it was a mistake). Nor do I think that capitalism was really contended with – it was mentioned in passing, but contributed little in her actual analysis of fatphobia. 

Related to this, I think, is her use of personal experience (particularly in the first half of the book). I love it when people talk about their personal relationship to the topic. I think that personal anecdotes can really add a lot and in many cases hers did. However, I think she may have relied too heavily on them in parts – while also not including anecdotes in most of these parts from other fat people (particularly, fat people of color, disabled fat people, or fat trans people). I think doing this (whether through interviews or existing posts or articles online) would have really added to this both in terms of being able to see the issues and could lend itself to more robust discussion of the nature of fatphobia as it interacts with other societal marginalizations.  

I think what made this read frustrating for me is that I saw pieces that were very good, some language that would suggest that the author has some understanding of the issues of oppression being more complex (even naming specific issues), but then a lot of the book was still a pretty white-washed understanding of fatphobia and ideas about oppression that are very liberal (what I mentioned before about focusing on the bias research, as well as discussion of anti-fatphobia workshops and videos – cultural competency training that does fairly little, especially long term and especially when what we are contending with is so much larger than how overtly biased people are). 

So overall, I think that this gives some good information and she talks a lot about her experience as a fat queer woman (which is very valuable). I do think this could be a very important read for some people. I was just hoping for something more robust. 


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emireadsstuff's review

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challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


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redefiningrachel's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


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tmchopra's review

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challenging informative fast-paced

5.0


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random19379's review

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challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0


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renyoi's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I read this after listening to Gordon’s podcast, Maintenance Phase, and a lot of the talking points from that seem to be from here. This meant topics were repetitive at points—indeed, they were sometimes repetitive even within the text of the book itself—but still utterly worth knowing and learning about, especially if you are not a fat person. Gordon simplifies issues of feminism and intersectionality to a degree I don’t quite agree with, but her main points—that anti-fat bias plagues every facet of our society and that we need to turn to the lens of justice to rectify that—are necessary and critical for any conscionable person to understand.  I admire this book’s vulnerability and persuasiveness greatly.

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karcitis's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.75


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bi_n_large's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0


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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

 - WHAT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FAT is a must read. I know, I don't like calling things "must read" either but this is truly an exception. I've never read an extended work like this on the urgent need for more (and more inclusive) activism and justice for fat people.
- Everything from fatcalling to open bias from healthcare providers is covered in this book. Gordon makes it absolutely clear how being fat influences everything she does and how virtually every single person interacts with her, usually not in a positive way.
- Anti-fat bias is so ingrained in our culture (and getting worse, according to this book), and Gordon lays out the multifaceted approach we need to take to uproot it and make life accepting and accessible for all bodies. 

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