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hannah_94_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
A beautifully authentic memoir which fuses scientific research and anecdotal incidents to destabilise the narratives of fat bodies. At times rage inducing, heartbreaking and rallying this book lays the foundation for a more accepting future where fat is destigmatised and health equitable for every person.
bbqxaxiu's review against another edition
5.0
wowowowowowow y'all know i don't give 5 stars that often bc i want to rly mean it when i say a book is amazing...and yes...this book is amazing. this is a book about anti-fatness as a system of oppression, and will teach you how to understand anti-fatness individually and then as a part of an interdependent web of oppressions that impact everybody, regardless of body type, yes, but also race, sex, gender identity, sexuality, and ability.
a few quotes and ideas that stood out to me:
1. "over time, I have come to learn that these moments—the threats, the concern, the constant well-intentioned bullying [from thin people]—run even deeper than a simple assumption of superiority. it is a reminder so many thin people seem to desperately need. they don't seem to be talking to me at all. they seem to be talking to themselves."
- makes me think that people talk to fat people the way they do because, on top of enacting physical and verbal violence on the fat person as a way of reminding themselves of their own superiority, they're projecting their own insecurities/fears onto the fat person. like, why r u so pressed someone else is fat? it's not ur body. r u just telling me being fat is bad bc u urself r so afraid of being fat that u need to remind urself—through me?
2. "the ways that thin people talk to fat people are, in a heartless kind of way, self-soothing. they are warnings to themselves from themselves. i am the future they are terrified of becoming, so they speak to me as the ghost of fatness future [....] they beat me up the way most of us only talk to ourselves. as if in a trance, they plead with me, some terrifying future self."
- sooooo tru...im thinking now of all the aunties/uncles where, even if they haven't seen me for years, the first thing that comes out of their mouth when they see me is some snide remark about my body. i just think it's weird when someone is so obsessed w what's going on w other ppl...again, why r u so pressed about someone else's body? stop using my body as a mirror through which you see your own fear, angst, and shame ❗️❗️❗️⛔️
3. "the stories of fat white women are scarce; lgbtq fat people , fat disabled people, and fat people of color are exponentially scarcer. even when fat stories are produced, we're only offered one standard deviation from privilege."
- so tru...this is talking about media representation of fat people, and how fat ppl (like other marginalized groups) are relegated to side characters—rarely thoughtfully-written, full people with their own motivations, growth arcs, and stories. and yes, def agree with her intersectional analysis of how the representation just gets worse as you add more axes of oppression. also, i love the phrase "one standard deviation from privilege," such a good way of encapsulating how SO much of "good representation" in the media for marginalized people is having the lead character be someone only one standard deviation from total privilege: a black man, a white woman, a queer white man, etc. its like yes, u can be black, u can be queer, u can be a woman, u can be fat, etc, but u can only be one at a time. lolz
a few quotes and ideas that stood out to me:
1. "over time, I have come to learn that these moments—the threats, the concern, the constant well-intentioned bullying [from thin people]—run even deeper than a simple assumption of superiority. it is a reminder so many thin people seem to desperately need. they don't seem to be talking to me at all. they seem to be talking to themselves."
- makes me think that people talk to fat people the way they do because, on top of enacting physical and verbal violence on the fat person as a way of reminding themselves of their own superiority, they're projecting their own insecurities/fears onto the fat person. like, why r u so pressed someone else is fat? it's not ur body. r u just telling me being fat is bad bc u urself r so afraid of being fat that u need to remind urself—through me?
2. "the ways that thin people talk to fat people are, in a heartless kind of way, self-soothing. they are warnings to themselves from themselves. i am the future they are terrified of becoming, so they speak to me as the ghost of fatness future [....] they beat me up the way most of us only talk to ourselves. as if in a trance, they plead with me, some terrifying future self."
- sooooo tru...im thinking now of all the aunties/uncles where, even if they haven't seen me for years, the first thing that comes out of their mouth when they see me is some snide remark about my body. i just think it's weird when someone is so obsessed w what's going on w other ppl...again, why r u so pressed about someone else's body? stop using my body as a mirror through which you see your own fear, angst, and shame ❗️❗️❗️⛔️
3. "the stories of fat white women are scarce; lgbtq fat people , fat disabled people, and fat people of color are exponentially scarcer. even when fat stories are produced, we're only offered one standard deviation from privilege."
- so tru...this is talking about media representation of fat people, and how fat ppl (like other marginalized groups) are relegated to side characters—rarely thoughtfully-written, full people with their own motivations, growth arcs, and stories. and yes, def agree with her intersectional analysis of how the representation just gets worse as you add more axes of oppression. also, i love the phrase "one standard deviation from privilege," such a good way of encapsulating how SO much of "good representation" in the media for marginalized people is having the lead character be someone only one standard deviation from total privilege: a black man, a white woman, a queer white man, etc. its like yes, u can be black, u can be queer, u can be a woman, u can be fat, etc, but u can only be one at a time. lolz
matheo96gro's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
erjbuck's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75