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A review by zoiejanelle
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
with the context that i am a huge maintenance phase fan, i must rate this 4.5 stars instead of 5 simply because i felt that 80% of the book was a retelling of past maintenance phase episodes. i have learned so much from Aubrey Gordon and i am still so glad to have read this book. i really appreciate the personal anecdotes that served as the through line for the entire book, and i found a handful of chapters to be extremely informative and new.
good elements:
the sections on feminist theory, race, and government intervention were the redeeming qualities for me. i felt like i had really clear takeaways from these sections that i could reflect on and use to better myself/work on my internal struggles with anti-fatness and racism. the final chapter was extremely reflective and hopeful, though, despite the insurmountable and overwhelming evidence of anti-fatness in our culture that is explained throughout the book. i felt that this work was an actionable, interesting, affirming, and informative read overall.
not so good elements:
i believe she harped on the Body Positivity movement a LITTLE too much, but i understood why the angle was important. i also felt that her perspective skewed very left-leaning, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, but if this book was supposed to be accessible and introductory to all readers, it would definitely lose the more conservative (specifically anti-regulation) crowd simply from implicit bias. i wanted to dive a little deeper into why government intervention and regulation are important considerations and what that looks like EXACTLY, but i realize that those subjects may be better explored in another book.
i would still recommend this book to anyone just starting out in their fat liberation journey!
good elements:
the sections on feminist theory, race, and government intervention were the redeeming qualities for me. i felt like i had really clear takeaways from these sections that i could reflect on and use to better myself/work on my internal struggles with anti-fatness and racism. the final chapter was extremely reflective and hopeful, though, despite the insurmountable and overwhelming evidence of anti-fatness in our culture that is explained throughout the book. i felt that this work was an actionable, interesting, affirming, and informative read overall.
not so good elements:
i believe she harped on the Body Positivity movement a LITTLE too much, but i understood why the angle was important. i also felt that her perspective skewed very left-leaning, which is not a bad thing in and of itself, but if this book was supposed to be accessible and introductory to all readers, it would definitely lose the more conservative (specifically anti-regulation) crowd simply from implicit bias. i wanted to dive a little deeper into why government intervention and regulation are important considerations and what that looks like EXACTLY, but i realize that those subjects may be better explored in another book.
i would still recommend this book to anyone just starting out in their fat liberation journey!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Bullying, and Body shaming
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Cancer, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship