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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
30 reviews
spacekee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcohol
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I appreciate the attention Taylor pays to expanding this work beyond self, showing how radical self-love can transform communities and entire systems. I don't see that focus in self-help books nearly as often as I'd like.
Beyond that, this wasn't the mindblowing, heart-opening revelation so many people promised me it would be. If it were my first exposure to the concepts that Taylor is packaging under the label "radical self-love," maybe I would be as madly in love with it as others are. But I found little here that I haven't been finding in therapy and my spiritual practice for almost a decade. tbh, I took more notes on Ijeoma Oluo's introduction than on the body of the text.
Beyond that, this wasn't the mindblowing, heart-opening revelation so many people promised me it would be. If it were my first exposure to the concepts that Taylor is packaging under the label "radical self-love," maybe I would be as madly in love with it as others are. But I found little here that I haven't been finding in therapy and my spiritual practice for almost a decade. tbh, I took more notes on Ijeoma Oluo's introduction than on the body of the text.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia
kelly_e's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Title: The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love
Author: Sonya Renee Taylor
Genre: Self-Help
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: January 25, 2018
T H R E E • W O R D S
Inspiring • Compassionate • Empowering
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Body Is Not an Apology was recommended to me as a host favourite during an event in my online bookclub. I am not really sure how it wasn't already on my radar, but I so grateful to have it recommended to me.
An introduction to body positivity, Sonya Renee Taylor opens up dialogue on the roles of systems of oppression in human dissatisfaction, discusses feminism, and explores living with intersectionality and chronic illness. I particularly liked the combination of personal stories and reflections paired with the helpful evidence and tools to help my own personal struggles with accepting my authentic self. The writing is good and I'd highly recommend listening to the audio read by the author for a truly immersive experience.
The Body Is Not an Apology was a much needed reminder of accepting my own body as it comes. As someone who deals with chronic pain and mental illness, there was a lot that struck me as highly relatable. This is certainly a book I can see myself coming back to time and time again when I need a reminder.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• feminists
• bookclubs
• everyone with a body!
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Equally damaging is our insistence that all bodies should be healthy. Health is not a state we owe the world. We are not less valuable, worthy, or lovable because we are not healthy. Lastly, there is no standard of health that is achievable for all bodies."
"When we decide that people’s bodies are wrong because we don’t understand them, we are trying to avoid the discomfort of divesting from an entire body-shame system."
"Being different is difficult in a world that tells us there is a 'normal.'"
Author: Sonya Renee Taylor
Genre: Self-Help
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: January 25, 2018
T H R E E • W O R D S
Inspiring • Compassionate • Empowering
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Body Is Not an Apology was recommended to me as a host favourite during an event in my online bookclub. I am not really sure how it wasn't already on my radar, but I so grateful to have it recommended to me.
An introduction to body positivity, Sonya Renee Taylor opens up dialogue on the roles of systems of oppression in human dissatisfaction, discusses feminism, and explores living with intersectionality and chronic illness. I particularly liked the combination of personal stories and reflections paired with the helpful evidence and tools to help my own personal struggles with accepting my authentic self. The writing is good and I'd highly recommend listening to the audio read by the author for a truly immersive experience.
The Body Is Not an Apology was a much needed reminder of accepting my own body as it comes. As someone who deals with chronic pain and mental illness, there was a lot that struck me as highly relatable. This is certainly a book I can see myself coming back to time and time again when I need a reminder.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• feminists
• bookclubs
• everyone with a body!
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Equally damaging is our insistence that all bodies should be healthy. Health is not a state we owe the world. We are not less valuable, worthy, or lovable because we are not healthy. Lastly, there is no standard of health that is achievable for all bodies."
"When we decide that people’s bodies are wrong because we don’t understand them, we are trying to avoid the discomfort of divesting from an entire body-shame system."
"Being different is difficult in a world that tells us there is a 'normal.'"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
literaryintersections's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
I enjoyed this in audio. I think the points Sonya is trying to hit are really true and accurate. And her pieces about reflection, relationships with our bodies, and impacts of parents and media are on point. But I think the message gets muddled when she loops on other intersectional areas of identity and pulls out into the larger conversation of “body politics”. I also wish there was more weightiness to some of the connections she made. Overall, a good listen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Racism
bladelikesbooks's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book is about radical self love - what it is, why it’s important, and how you can work towards practising it. It is also about reflecting on your thoughts and actions. It’s also a collection of academic research, personal experiences and the experiences of Taylor’s students/clients. Taylor provides you with a toolkit to do the self love work within yourself.
I really enjoyed reading this. I listened to the audiobook and I loved that it was narrator by the author. I prefer audiobooks of nonfiction, especially educative ones like this, because it feels like having an actual conversation with the author! This book gave me a lot to think about, it added to my perspectives, and made me reassess my own biases. That’s exactly what I wanted from it! This is definitely one I’ll be rereading multiple times.
TWs/CWs - Ableism; Abortion; Addiction; Ageism; Antisemitism; Body shaming; Corruption; Death of a Parent; Fatphobia; Forced Imprisonment; Forced Sterilisation; Government Control; Heart Attack; Holocaust; Homophobia; Islamophobia; Kidnapping; Manipulation; Misogyny; Objectification; Oppression; Pregnancy; Police Brutality; Prison; Racism; Sexism; Sexual Harassment; Shame; Suicide; Terrorism; Torture; Toxic masculinity; Transphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Torture, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
nila's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Really enjoyed this! A great mix of head-on unapologetic facts, humor and wit and heartbreaking anecdotes from a varied group of people. Love the interspersed boxes with "radical reflections" and "unapologetic inquiries" that let you naturally take a break and actually absorb what you were reading. Just overall really good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicide
overbooked207's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
📖 The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor(Second Edition) Book Review 📖
8th book of January 2023 and 8th of the year:
“Systems do not maintain themselves; even our lack of intervention is an act of maintenance. Every structure in every society is upheld by the active and passive assistance of other human beings.”
“Radical self-love demands that we see ourselves and others in the fullness of our complexities and intersections and that we work to create space for those intersections.”
I absolutely LOVED this book! It’s inclusive; the quotes, writing, and messages/reminders are beautiful and impactful; so many parts really hit me hard on a personal level; it talks about the origins of the body positivity movement and the people who started it, and it also addresses the racist, oppressive, transphobic, ableist, and sexist origins of the systems, industries, companies, etc. that thrive off of self-doubt/self-hatred that are SO important to hear/learn about; the audiobook was beautifully narrated by the author; and the cover is stunning! This quickly became an all-time favorite book that I want everyone to read, and I want to buy and re-read/annotate it hopefully soon! TWs for ableism, body shaming, bullying, classism, eating disorder, fatphobia, grief, homophobia, mental illness, racism, sexism, sexual assault, suicide, and transphobia📖💕
8th book of January 2023 and 8th of the year:
“Systems do not maintain themselves; even our lack of intervention is an act of maintenance. Every structure in every society is upheld by the active and passive assistance of other human beings.”
“Radical self-love demands that we see ourselves and others in the fullness of our complexities and intersections and that we work to create space for those intersections.”
I absolutely LOVED this book! It’s inclusive; the quotes, writing, and messages/reminders are beautiful and impactful; so many parts really hit me hard on a personal level; it talks about the origins of the body positivity movement and the people who started it, and it also addresses the racist, oppressive, transphobic, ableist, and sexist origins of the systems, industries, companies, etc. that thrive off of self-doubt/self-hatred that are SO important to hear/learn about; the audiobook was beautifully narrated by the author; and the cover is stunning! This quickly became an all-time favorite book that I want everyone to read, and I want to buy and re-read/annotate it hopefully soon! TWs for ableism, body shaming, bullying, classism, eating disorder, fatphobia, grief, homophobia, mental illness, racism, sexism, sexual assault, suicide, and transphobia📖💕
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, and Classism
emmehooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Sonya’s narration of this book brought it to life. I enjoyed the reflection questions, anecdotes, and information woven throughout in ways that invite curiosity without shame.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Racism
aliciawhatsthestory's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This book is not a self-help book; it’s a manifesto.
The Body is Not an Apology has been on my TBR for literal years now, and I’m so glad I finally got to it. I went in expecting body positivity, or even more radical fat positivity, but this book is about so much more than either of those things. It talks through how radical self-love is an intersectional act of rebellion against body terrorism not only against your own body but also against the bodies of everyone else in a society that stigmatizes and oppressed bodies in a multitude of ways. It’s full of challenges to reflect on and change how we perceive, treat, and talk about our own bodies and the bodies of others, not to make ourselves feel better, but to actually make things better. It’s an absolute must-read.
The Body is Not an Apology has been on my TBR for literal years now, and I’m so glad I finally got to it. I went in expecting body positivity, or even more radical fat positivity, but this book is about so much more than either of those things. It talks through how radical self-love is an intersectional act of rebellion against body terrorism not only against your own body but also against the bodies of everyone else in a society that stigmatizes and oppressed bodies in a multitude of ways. It’s full of challenges to reflect on and change how we perceive, treat, and talk about our own bodies and the bodies of others, not to make ourselves feel better, but to actually make things better. It’s an absolute must-read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia
All the trigger warnings are mentioned as issues to be dealt with not as the views of the author