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A review by puttingwingsonwords
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I had seen Fearing the Black Body recommended in pretty much every antifatness related book list, so when I saw it was available on my audiobook app, I immediately added it to my shelf. Anyone who wants to dive a little deeper than the basics and learn about the history of antifatness and its roots in racism and eugenics should read this book.
It’s not long and while the language is academic, it’s not overly complicated. The audiobook was easy to follow. I haven’t listened to a lot of nonfiction audiobooks yet so I was afraid that my attention would waver, but it was the opposite: I listened for much longer stretches than I usually do because I was so intrigued.
Fearing the Black Body helps put the current discussions around antifatness into a historical context and shows how much we are still influenced by decades or centuries old ideas of eugenicist doctors and ‘race scientists’ who spouted ‘scientific’ ideas with no basis in research or reality.
It’s not long and while the language is academic, it’s not overly complicated. The audiobook was easy to follow. I haven’t listened to a lot of nonfiction audiobooks yet so I was afraid that my attention would waver, but it was the opposite: I listened for much longer stretches than I usually do because I was so intrigued.
Fearing the Black Body helps put the current discussions around antifatness into a historical context and shows how much we are still influenced by decades or centuries old ideas of eugenicist doctors and ‘race scientists’ who spouted ‘scientific’ ideas with no basis in research or reality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, Ableism, Body shaming, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry