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A review by rosepoints
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
i first heard of aubrey gordon through her podcast, maintenance phase. a classmate told me i should listen to the podcast during one of our medical anthropology lectures on eating disorders, and at the time, i was utterly resistant to the very idea of it. i grappled with the concept of anti-fat bias, and like many others, i had a deep-seated set of notions around health, weight and bodies. then, when i went into more active recovery for my ED and cPTSD, i somehow ended up revisiting the podcast and began my work on dismantling my biases. gordon’s work has radically changed the way i now view bodies and so, when i heard that she published a book, i picked it up eagerly.
this book blends memoir, social critique, and data to describe how fatness excises in western society, the discrimination that arises from anti-fat bias, and how fat phobia affects everyone (not just fat people). there are some truly heart-breaking anecdotes gordon recounts and personally, i find that the inclusion of these personal experiences makes the book even more compelling. she also has a personable style of writing that i appreciate and i can see this book being easily digestible for other readers who have no experience with the topic (as long as they read it with an open mind).
i will say, if you are a listener of the podcast, then this book mostly repeats what has already been discussed on the podcast. in addition, i do think that the book could’ve been more tightly edited in terms of organization; i would’ve liked to see some of the chapters flow better from one chapter to the next. however, it’s a promising first book from gordon and i am eager to see what she writes next.
this book blends memoir, social critique, and data to describe how fatness excises in western society, the discrimination that arises from anti-fat bias, and how fat phobia affects everyone (not just fat people). there are some truly heart-breaking anecdotes gordon recounts and personally, i find that the inclusion of these personal experiences makes the book even more compelling. she also has a personable style of writing that i appreciate and i can see this book being easily digestible for other readers who have no experience with the topic (as long as they read it with an open mind).
i will say, if you are a listener of the podcast, then this book mostly repeats what has already been discussed on the podcast. in addition, i do think that the book could’ve been more tightly edited in terms of organization; i would’ve liked to see some of the chapters flow better from one chapter to the next. however, it’s a promising first book from gordon and i am eager to see what she writes next.