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Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
43 reviews
cassie7e's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
A thorough introduction to anti-fat bias and it's effects for those just starting to learn about it, and a great refresher or expansion for those more familiar with the topic. Gordon interweaves anecdotes (see CW below), statistics, and criticisms with a personal and intersectional lens that acknowledges the nuances of experiences and situations. **CW for abuse, discrimination, sexual harrasment, etc.
She ends by envisioning a world that lets bodies be bodies, and all the things we must accept and advocate for for true bodily autonomy of all kinds, for all people. A lot of people complain she doesn't tell us how to get there, or complain she over-recommends banning things. We shouldn't be relying on one person to give us the solutions to overhaul a whole system so I find both complaints irrelevant. The vision is inspiring, not prescriptive.
I especially appreciated the discussion of the body positivity movement's failure of inclusion, and the way thinner people frame it as a matter of insecurity and self perception, whereas fat people's problem isn't internal at all, it's the daily systemic and personal oppression they face in a world made for smaller bodies. This focus on self love serves the individualism encouraged by capitalism to avoid systemic change and accountability, and refuses to require a change in how people treat others, only themselves.
There are a few times when information is repeated, but as most people probably don't sit down and read a nonfiction book in one sitting, it's probably fine. Just caught my ear listening straight through the audiobook.
She ends by envisioning a world that lets bodies be bodies, and all the things we must accept and advocate for for true bodily autonomy of all kinds, for all people. A lot of people complain she doesn't tell us how to get there, or complain she over-recommends banning things. We shouldn't be relying on one person to give us the solutions to overhaul a whole system so I find both complaints irrelevant. The vision is inspiring, not prescriptive.
I especially appreciated the discussion of the body positivity movement's failure of inclusion, and the way thinner people frame it as a matter of insecurity and self perception, whereas fat people's problem isn't internal at all, it's the daily systemic and personal oppression they face in a world made for smaller bodies. This focus on self love serves the individualism encouraged by capitalism to avoid systemic change and accountability, and refuses to require a change in how people treat others, only themselves.
There are a few times when information is repeated, but as most people probably don't sit down and read a nonfiction book in one sitting, it's probably fine. Just caught my ear listening straight through the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Body shaming, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
genesismt's review
challenging
emotional
informative
5.0
"We will need to retrain ourselves to understand a new, compassionate set of principles that can guide our actions: ...That fatness is not failure and, subsequently, that thinness is not an accomplishment. The size of our bodies is largely beyond our control, and even in the few occasions when it isn't, thinness cannot be a prerequisite for basic respect, dignity, provision of services, or meeting basic needs like getting a job or finding food."
This was so informative and so important!! I feel like this should be required reading...Gordon is a white person, so it is also crucial to include Black and Latinx fat voices in these conversations, but from her perspective she addresses the ways in which fat bias is deeply entrenched in our society and the consequences of weight discrimination on fat individuals. The fact that medications are not as effective for people who are overweight and obese makes me so mad!! Diets literally fail 98% of the time but it is something that is constantly encouraged for people as well, even children, which is heartbreaking. Gordon also addresses the racist origins of the BMI, the exclusion of fat bodies in the body positivity movement and so much more. As the average person's size continues to increase, it is adamant that we address anti-fat violence, and move a step forward from body neutrality and acceptance. I learned so much and related to some of the points discussed, even though I am not a plus sized person, especially when it comes to conversations coming from places of "concern" for my health. As I try to unlearn my own fat bias and have these conversations with my family, it can be difficult but it is important. Highly recommend!!
This was so informative and so important!! I feel like this should be required reading...Gordon is a white person, so it is also crucial to include Black and Latinx fat voices in these conversations, but from her perspective she addresses the ways in which fat bias is deeply entrenched in our society and the consequences of weight discrimination on fat individuals. The fact that medications are not as effective for people who are overweight and obese makes me so mad!! Diets literally fail 98% of the time but it is something that is constantly encouraged for people as well, even children, which is heartbreaking. Gordon also addresses the racist origins of the BMI, the exclusion of fat bodies in the body positivity movement and so much more. As the average person's size continues to increase, it is adamant that we address anti-fat violence, and move a step forward from body neutrality and acceptance. I learned so much and related to some of the points discussed, even though I am not a plus sized person, especially when it comes to conversations coming from places of "concern" for my health. As I try to unlearn my own fat bias and have these conversations with my family, it can be difficult but it is important. Highly recommend!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical content, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
ashwaar's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia and Toxic friendship
bek_p87's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
5.0
I need EVERYONE to read this book. I especially need every one of my colleagues in the medical profession to read this - and then re-read chapter 7 "First, Do No Harm" until it sinks in and changes the rampant anti-fat bias in medicine.
Sometimes I read books that are critical of the medical profession and have a knee-jerk "not all doctors" reaction - but not this time. As a fat woman and a GP, I know DAMN WELL how many - not all, but TOO F*CKING MANY - doctors view and treat fat people. Even though BMI was never designed to assess the health of individuals, even though the majority of health problems attributed to weight are actually caused by delayed access to healthcare and anti-fat bias, even though study after study has proven that NO DIET leads to long term weight loss and that constant weight fluctuations are WORSE for the body than simply being fat.
Of course, healthcare isn't the only setting in which fat people are discriminated against, and work needs to be done on multiple levels to improve the lives of fat people. But if I can convince even one of my colleagues to read this book and change their practice, I'll count it as a personal victory.
Sometimes I read books that are critical of the medical profession and have a knee-jerk "not all doctors" reaction - but not this time. As a fat woman and a GP, I know DAMN WELL how many - not all, but TOO F*CKING MANY - doctors view and treat fat people. Even though BMI was never designed to assess the health of individuals, even though the majority of health problems attributed to weight are actually caused by delayed access to healthcare and anti-fat bias, even though study after study has proven that NO DIET leads to long term weight loss and that constant weight fluctuations are WORSE for the body than simply being fat.
Of course, healthcare isn't the only setting in which fat people are discriminated against, and work needs to be done on multiple levels to improve the lives of fat people. But if I can convince even one of my colleagues to read this book and change their practice, I'll count it as a personal victory.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Fatphobia
madamegeneva's review
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.25
I want to give Aubrey a huge hug - this book was fantastic and extremely affirming for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s frustrating just how many freaking barriers fat people have to face on a daily basis, but this book opened my eyes to the true extent of the issues and laid out how we can work on fixing them right now.
Additionally, the book isn’t just informative, it’s also well written and easy to read - but not the point of condescension. Fucking gold star.
[Bonus points cause she’s a fat queer badass woman]
Additionally, the book isn’t just informative, it’s also well written and easy to read - but not the point of condescension. Fucking gold star.
[Bonus points cause she’s a fat queer badass woman]
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
entiresunset's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A must read for everyone. Cannot recommend this enough. I learned so much by reading this book and am now able to tackle my own internalised anti-fat bias and weight stigma and to start my own healing process.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
chlo_po's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
essential reading for the body justice movement aka everyone with a body, and a powerful way forward against the ever present anti-fatness in ourselves and our society
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment
thehinkydonut's review
challenging
informative
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma and Body shaming
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
stevia333k's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
tense
4.5
This is a good book when I'm trying to get a different angle on conversion torture because this book is geared for the intersection of fat activism & feminism. i recommend this book. basically, screw the myth of willpower. i would say the book is scary with its descriptions of street harassment & assault, but there's a sort of horror of oppression that's alluded to but not explicitly gotten to, even though there is a lot of connections talked about throughout the book. that being said i'm adding these next 2 paragraphs in order to help synthesize what i got from this book with other information i've seen, especially since i haven't read like academic journals about fat rights, fat liberation, fat studies, etc. while i have marked it with spoiler formatting, please note that i have added information that are from other sources.
That being said, I feel like the book has a lot of emphasis on hatred against fat people, when i noticed that a lot of the bullying i faced in school was connected to people trying to assimilate & suck up to the teachers. it's the trying to get closer to enclosured power as opposed to breaking that privatization & getting it distributed equitably.
like there's 2 things i think of at least: the military wanting a one-size-fits-all outfit to make gear standardized (they ended up having to make 3 sizes), and how fatness is used to play into desireability politics to cover up how white patriarchs raped black perceived-females. like, i sense those were meant to be simmering in the background, (we literally started out with how fatphobia is connected to militarism, and how fatphobia is compared to an "epidemic" like how bourgeois depictions of famine refugees as zombies & "great replacement" canard works with settler colonizers. but again, these are left lower-key.)
like there's 2 things i think of at least: the military wanting a one-size-fits-all outfit to make gear standardized (they ended up having to make 3 sizes), and how fatness is used to play into desireability politics to cover up how white patriarchs raped black perceived-females. like, i sense those were meant to be simmering in the background, (we literally started out with how fatphobia is connected to militarism, and how fatphobia is compared to an "epidemic" like how bourgeois depictions of famine refugees as zombies & "great replacement" canard works with settler colonizers. but again, these are left lower-key.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, War, Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Grief, Stalking, Violence, Bullying, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Medical content, Racism, and Sexism
dionnesims's review
emotional
informative
fast-paced
4.0
I learned so much reading this. I'm encouraged to continue my body justice journey, and also like "god, things are STILL so fucked up." 4 stars because the flow was disjointed at times and read more like a trivia fact sheet than cohesive chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical content, Ableism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexism, Violence, Body shaming, Medical trauma, and Mental illness