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4.46 AVERAGE
4.46 AVERAGE
So smart, so well-researched, and so mind-blowing. Aubrey Gordon presents the case against anti-fat bias with a perfect balance of cold hard facts and her own emotional experiences. Everyone should read this.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5 stars - I am totally obsessed with Audrey Gordon, & I think this is a very important book that is filled with so much valuable information, & so much emotion. I wanted to find her & hug her & comfort her so many times. a few of the main points are the focus of Maintenance Phase episodes, so there was some repetition for me.
3.5 stars. Aubrey is a good writer and the topics discussed are undeniably important. The book is a self described mix of (deeply personal) memoir research and cultural criticism, but I can't help but wonder if they would be stronger separated out into their individual parts (or I'm just not a fan of memoir wrapped in non fiction). Additionally, this is not the books fault but I've already been a long time listener of her podcast and therefore am familiar with these stories and overall cultural critique, so parts of it were repetitive for me, specifically.
(Also silly portmanteaus really irk me, so I wasn't a fan of "thinsecurities" or "thinterrogation") finally some content warnings would have been very welcome??
(Also silly portmanteaus really irk me, so I wasn't a fan of "thinsecurities" or "thinterrogation") finally some content warnings would have been very welcome??
“we need a world that insists upon safety and dignity for all of us - not because we are beautiful, healthy, blameless, exceptional, or beyond reproach, but because we are human beings. and for fat people - especially very fat people - that world can feel so very far away when our days are reliably marked by open disdain, perfectly legal discrimination, and sometimes even violence.” (162)
challenging
informative
medium-paced
I really wish Aubrey had done the recording for this! Extremely informative and personal discussion of what it means to be fat in America. It has a great call to action and good data points, but it can pick its arguments and disregard others at times. Overall, an important read, especially for straight sized people.
I recently started listening to Maintenance Phase and was really taken by Aubrey Gordon's personality and total brilliance — while I'd encountered some of her work online, I hadn't really dug in super deeply with "Your Fat Friend" and her other articles.
There are lots of interesting parallels from what she discusses on the podcast and here (the book came out shortly after the podcast premiered, so there was inevitably overlap in research!) and this book did capture her voice quite well. It's chock full of really infuriating information and statistics, and lots of sobering anecdotes that really put into perspective just how hostile the world is to fat people. I was constantly FURIOUS for her throughout this entire book. (There are so many instances where she describes talking to friends about her experiences who summarily shut her down or minimize her pain. Aubrey, please get better friends!!)
While I personally think the book could have benefited from a slightly more formalized structure, there is something to be said for presenting this information under the larger umbrella "taboos" that aren't talked about and extrapolating from there. An absolutely worthy read to open your mind to the biases you may not even realize you hold, and which provides actionable solutions for the way larger social change can combat fatphobia. I'm keen to read her more recent book You Just Need to Lose Weight and catch up on the podcast as well.
There are lots of interesting parallels from what she discusses on the podcast and here (the book came out shortly after the podcast premiered, so there was inevitably overlap in research!) and this book did capture her voice quite well. It's chock full of really infuriating information and statistics, and lots of sobering anecdotes that really put into perspective just how hostile the world is to fat people. I was constantly FURIOUS for her throughout this entire book. (There are so many instances where she describes talking to friends about her experiences who summarily shut her down or minimize her pain. Aubrey, please get better friends!!)
While I personally think the book could have benefited from a slightly more formalized structure, there is something to be said for presenting this information under the larger umbrella "taboos" that aren't talked about and extrapolating from there. An absolutely worthy read to open your mind to the biases you may not even realize you hold, and which provides actionable solutions for the way larger social change can combat fatphobia. I'm keen to read her more recent book You Just Need to Lose Weight and catch up on the podcast as well.
I agree that fat shaming does happen, and entertainment takes advantage of it for money. I thought it was good in hearing a view of a person who has been on the side of being shamed. I agree that diets and programs do not work and most of them are not healthy and that there are things that are not in a person's control. The main thing that stuck out to me was she didn't seem to stress about even though it can be out of the person's control where is the accountability of eating healthy and exercising. It is something everyone should be doing regardless of size or their reason for doing it. Fat shaming needs to stop but eating healthy is universal.