Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

You Just Need to Lose Weight: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon

19 reviews

katie0528's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

I've been a huge fan of Aubrey Gordon since finding her podcast Maintenance Phase during the early months of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and this book is a consice, easy-to-follow recap of that podcast. Gordon breaks down myths used to discriminate against and shame fat people. Her no-nonsense approach includes painful personal anecdotes, amazing levels of research from places like the CDC and American Medical Association past and present, and the words and voices of other fat people. Gordon is quick to point out her own levels of privilege and every chapter directs readers to books and stories from disabled, queer, trans, or BIPOC authors to explore the intersection of fatness and other forms discrimination. Each chapter also includes self-reflection questions that are nonjudgement but encourage readers to really delve deep into their own biases and how they behave around fat people, including directly challenging the reader to explore if they are a safe person to be around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Classism

claudiajanette's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

I’m a big fan of Aubrey’s work, especially the podcast Maintenance Phase, so I had a feeling I would enjoy this book! I specifically wanted to read (listen to?) the audiobook version as I also really appreciate her voice and narrating style. Parts of the book felt a bit repetitive to me, but I assume that’s partially because it can be read out order and/or because some of the content overlaps with discussions I’ve read of hers elsewhere. I thought the reflection questions and calls to action that accompanied the end of chapters were a nice addition! I also really appreciated the intersectional lens of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Transphobia and Acephobia/Arophobia

msgslibrary's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

An essential entry text for the current state of fat liberation philosophy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism

pacifickat's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

This was a really excellent, nuanced, and heartfelt read that challenged me to examine some common misconceptions that are often assumed to be true about fat people, and interrogate my own shifting implicit and explicit biases. 

Aubrey does a good job of calling out systems of oppression, as well as individual complicities and microagressions that harm marginalized communities. She challenges who and what we center in society, and asks the reader to consider their reactions to being at times decentered. 

What do we think of, or assume, when we think about fat people? What feelings does the word "fat" emotionally conjure in us? What about seeing a fat person? Ought we to interrogate those assumptions and feelings, granting dignity and respect to every human? How often do we actually listen to fat people and believe them at face value, or center their voices about their own bodies and experiences? 

This will be a book I revisit again, especially Myth 16, 19, and 20. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia

Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Rape, and Sexual assault

cardlikecredit's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Minor: Medical content

qteabeans's review against another edition

challenging informative fast-paced

4.0

A good primer on anti-fatness and weightism. Gordon cites her sources and ties in other people's work and voices. Clear voice and consistency of messaging. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Acephobia/Arophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

ttorisaurus's review against another edition

informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Dysphoria

toriffic's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Hate crime

Minor: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, and Deportation

bambooboy's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I don't really have words for how important this book is. 

There are years of works available to us, shouting the dangers of anti-fat bias, the lies we are told; but Aubrey Gordon lays it out, step-by-step, in a way that is accessible and digestible. It solicits empathy in its honesty. Gordon does a great job too of offering other equally important titles of equally important voices on fat people and the history and now of how we treat each other. 

I wish I could shove this into the hands of everyone I meet! I kept reading passages and rereading them and wanting to post them but then realizing I'd be posting the entire chapter because that's how good every single chapter was. 

If you're a fan of Maintenance Phase you'll love this, though be aware that tonally it isn't as silly as her and Michael get together. It's much more serious. And if you're not a fan of Maintenance Phase but like this book, you should check out Gordon's podcast! They dive deep into different health crazes/diet books/health "influencers". They have a great chemistry and it's a good way to both laugh and rage at the machine. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Chronic illness, Hate crime, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Deeper discussion of content warnings below cut.

Gordon speaks in general on many topics that could be triggering, such as the medical malpractice many doctors partake in when they refuse to provide adequate healthcare for their fat patients, the general attitude toward fat people existing, etc.
She also gets into some specific stories about people who were disabled or died due to this malpractice. As a fat person Gordon also talks about all the aggressions, micro and macro, that she experiences or has experienced.

Overall the content is heavy, and I definitely suggest taking it slow, especially if you are someone who has had to deal with these traumatic experiences on the daily.

carlaah1984's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Classism