Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

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

45 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

fionamclary's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

As a longtime avid Maintenance Phase fan, much of the information and ideas in this book were not totally new to me, but I appreciate having them all in book format. Especially the story of Katherine Flegal and her ostracization from the scientific community after publishing research on fatness and mortality that countered societal narratives -- that was one of my favorite MP episodes, and I'm very pleased to have a brief written summary of that story to easily refer to at any time. Aubrey is so smart and excellent at synthesizing research and expressing points in a captivating and inspiring way. I appreciate how consistently she brings the reader into the conversation. With all the reflection questions and opportunities for action at the end of most chapters, the book never feels preachy or self-righteous.

I sometimes struggled with how some chapters were very dense and data-heavy while others relied mostly on narrative rhetorical arguments. While both were good and effective, the contrast was sometimes jarring. Aubrey also has a minor issue with word proximity for certain words ("troubling," "brutal," I'm looking at you).

The final chapter, "Anti-fatness is the last socially acceptable form of discrimination," was a pleasant surprise and a reminder of why I respect Aubrey Gordon so much. After meticulously outlining the myriad manifestations of anti-fatness and the myths that perpetuate it, she can't let us go out into the world without the reminder that as much as we may be outraged and energized toward fat activism, anti-fatness is not the only thing we need to be considering, seeing, and uprooting in ourselves and society. Fat activism is next to useless if it's not intersectional.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Medical trauma

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Classism

hexedmaiden's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I loved this book. While I have come a long way in my life as a fat person and having been so a vast majority of my life, there was still so much in this book that I took away. I feel like this is another book that I would say that everyone needs to read. It doesn't matter if you're fat, average, or skinny, everyone could learn something from this book. Because fatphobia doesn't just have an affect on fat people, fatphobia hurts everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

quasinaut's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

I appreciated Aubrey Gordon as author and narrator for the audiobook. 

My biggest complaint: I'm not sure who the audience is. If you already recognize the harm of antifatness (or listen to Maintenance Phase), some sections might help you reflect deeper, but overall you'll already be familiar with the content. If you don't - or you're someone new to the idea of fat activism - then I'm not sure this book is written in a way that will change your mind. The book is repetitive at times - perhaps as a way to try to convince readers who need these points to be driven home again and again for them to start sinking in - but I'm not sure that repetition alone is enough to be convincing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism and Eating disorder

amberinpieces's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Eating disorder and Dysphoria

Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Slavery, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

sophiestasyna's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

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

jadepfaefflin's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Gaslighting, 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