Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racism, Classism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Antisemitism
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
It is so critically important to me that everyone in my life read this book.
Kate Manne never fails to get me absolutely FIRED UP! and this is no exception. Beautiful demonstration of the ways that fatness intersects with race, feminism, disability studies, capitalism, etc. It's accessible and practical philosophy. If you are a person in a body you need to read this book.
Kate Manne never fails to get me absolutely FIRED UP! and this is no exception. Beautiful demonstration of the ways that fatness intersects with race, feminism, disability studies, capitalism, etc. It's accessible and practical philosophy. If you are a person in a body you need to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Dysphoria
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I appreciate that the author emphasizes the systemic nature of anti-fatness and its connections to other systems of harm.
Fatphobia is a form of structural oppression that--just like any other--is based on a socially constructed hierarchy of bodies and intersects with other systems of oppression (e.g., a fat Black woman is treated considerably worse than a fat white man).
Specifically, anti-fatness is rooted in and upholds racism, in particular anti-blackness.
Fatphobia also often serves as an outlet for other forms of bigotry because it's more socially acceptable to be anti-fat than it is to be racist or classist.
The author advocates for fat liberation and body reflexivity, although I wish the author had spent more time on that. Seems weird to introduce a new concept in the conclusion.
Key takeaways:
-Fuck diet culture, but also beauty culture in general.
-You have a right to shrink yourself or have plastic surgery (accepting all health risks/ consequences), but you are not obligated to.
-You can resist fatphobia by refusing to diet. In doing so, you're also standing up to the other systems of harm that are tied to, or intersect with, fatphobia.
Your body is for you.
It's not for consuming, comparing, assessing, or ranking.
It's not good, bad, or neutral.
You're not required to have any particular attitude toward your body, and your perspective is the only one that matters.
You are not responsible for pleasing others.
You can appreciate bodies, viewed through an uncritical lens, in all their diversity.
Fatphobia is a form of structural oppression that--just like any other--is based on a socially constructed hierarchy of bodies and intersects with other systems of oppression (e.g., a fat Black woman is treated considerably worse than a fat white man).
Specifically, anti-fatness is rooted in and upholds racism, in particular anti-blackness.
Fatphobia also often serves as an outlet for other forms of bigotry because it's more socially acceptable to be anti-fat than it is to be racist or classist.
The author advocates for fat liberation and body reflexivity, although I wish the author had spent more time on that. Seems weird to introduce a new concept in the conclusion.
Key takeaways:
-Fuck diet culture, but also beauty culture in general.
-You have a right to shrink yourself or have plastic surgery (accepting all health risks/ consequences), but you are not obligated to.
-You can resist fatphobia by refusing to diet. In doing so, you're also standing up to the other systems of harm that are tied to, or intersect with, fatphobia.
Your body is for you.
It's not for consuming, comparing, assessing, or ranking.
It's not good, bad, or neutral.
You're not required to have any particular attitude toward your body, and your perspective is the only one that matters.
You are not responsible for pleasing others.
You can appreciate bodies, viewed through an uncritical lens, in all their diversity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Antisemitism
challenging
informative
reflective
It’s been hard for me to gather my thoughts on this book and since reading it at the same time as Aubrey Gordon’s “You Just Need to Lose Weight” it’s also hard to not compare the two. But I will do so anyways.
This book has the subtitle “how to face fatphobia” yet doesn’t really have as many calls-to-action as Gordon’s book, and seems to be more of a focus on the history of fatphobia and how it affects todays world. It’s incredibly well researched and detailed though can sometimes get dry in areas and found it hard to keep focus.
I appreciated the moments in which Manne delved into more personal stories or her life and experience as a fat person. While I do wish there was more of that in this book I knew going in (and during reading) that this was not a memoir and aimed to serve a more
philosophical purpose.
That being said, many moments in this book did make me emotional and angry and guilty and everything in between. I made me look back and process how horribly different I was treated when I was thin vs fat (now). Having it be pointed out so matter-of-factly that people DO treat fat people worse than thin people was like no other feeling I’ve ever felt before. The validation was insanely bittersweet.
My absolute favorite quote has got to be:
“fatness can elicit fear and repel just the right people, whose intolerance for wayward flesh makes them the wrong ones to get close to.”
And at the expense of getting too personal,
It reminded me of every asshole I’ve ever let touch me out of a fervent need to be desired and I think how none of them would ever look twice at me as I am now. And when I stupidly sulk over how no one holds doors for me anymore and how I never receive as many “please”s or “thank you”s or random compliments from strangers or even just passing smiles as I used to, I remember that it is not my job to fit anyone’s aesthetic preferences. And it is not my fault that some people choose to be kinder to others. My body is just that: my body. And I am happier and healthier now than I ever was while thin.
EDIT: LOL also as I contemplate deleting the above statement for fear that I am not currently “fat enough” or was never “thin enough” to have these feelings be legitimate I remember that women are constantly shamed to no end for their size and we all have a right to talk about our own individual experiences. It’s shitty body shaming men that are the problem, not me. @ future me rereading this anxiously: your experiences as a fat chick matter. don’t delete this istg
Ands that’s exactly what makes me like this book so much. It made me look back as well as forward. It was helpful in assisting my ongoing plight of releasing the idea of losing weight again forever.
Despite being flat at times, I very much appreciate the thought processes it made me go through.
So yeah pretty good book 👍🏼
This book has the subtitle “how to face fatphobia” yet doesn’t really have as many calls-to-action as Gordon’s book, and seems to be more of a focus on the history of fatphobia and how it affects todays world. It’s incredibly well researched and detailed though can sometimes get dry in areas and found it hard to keep focus.
I appreciated the moments in which Manne delved into more personal stories or her life and experience as a fat person. While I do wish there was more of that in this book I knew going in (and during reading) that this was not a memoir and aimed to serve a more
philosophical purpose.
That being said, many moments in this book did make me emotional and angry and guilty and everything in between. I made me look back and process how horribly different I was treated when I was thin vs fat (now). Having it be pointed out so matter-of-factly that people DO treat fat people worse than thin people was like no other feeling I’ve ever felt before. The validation was insanely bittersweet.
My absolute favorite quote has got to be:
“fatness can elicit fear and repel just the right people, whose intolerance for wayward flesh makes them the wrong ones to get close to.”
And at the expense of getting too personal,
It reminded me of every asshole I’ve ever let touch me out of a fervent need to be desired and I think how none of them would ever look twice at me as I am now. And when I stupidly sulk over how no one holds doors for me anymore and how I never receive as many “please”s or “thank you”s or random compliments from strangers or even just passing smiles as I used to, I remember that it is not my job to fit anyone’s aesthetic preferences. And it is not my fault that some people choose to be kinder to others. My body is just that: my body. And I am happier and healthier now than I ever was while thin.
EDIT: LOL also as I contemplate deleting the above statement for fear that I am not currently “fat enough” or was never “thin enough” to have these feelings be legitimate I remember that women are constantly shamed to no end for their size and we all have a right to talk about our own individual experiences. It’s shitty body shaming men that are the problem, not me. @ future me rereading this anxiously: your experiences as a fat chick matter. don’t delete this istg
Ands that’s exactly what makes me like this book so much. It made me look back as well as forward. It was helpful in assisting my ongoing plight of releasing the idea of losing weight again forever.
Despite being flat at times, I very much appreciate the thought processes it made me go through.
So yeah pretty good book 👍🏼
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
An unflinching look at how fatphobia is a systemic killer, how fat bodies are routinely ignored, degraded, and brushed aside. From it's roots in racism to it's connections to all of types of discrimination. This book was a powerful yet hard read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia
informative
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Classism
Minor: Pregnancy