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Reviews tagging 'Ableism'
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
12 reviews
sarahshunter's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
There is so much I could say about this invaluable book, but to me the most important thing is it made me, a white woman, realize that my understanding of feminism, as well as racism, was totally incomplete without this history of the construction of anti-fatness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Racism
snipinfool's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
This book explored how fat phobia was rooted in racism. Sabrina Strings guided the reader throughout history with examples in art and medicine to show how larger bodies, initially seen as a positive attribute, slowly became a negative aspect that was often tied to race. The concept of race was a social construct that came about slowly after the late 1500's. Used to categorize people according to common characteristics, white Europeans used it to create a hierarchy of races in which they placed themselves at the top. Body size was one way whites would use to distance themselves from the non-white races. People who were thin or slim were seen as intelligent, motivated, hard working, and having other positive attributes. People who were fat were negatively thought to be lazy, slovenly, and less intelligent. Women were most often targeted for size and weight. White women in Europe and in America often tried to be as thin as possible to distance themselves from those they saw as undesirable. The medical community did not enter into the discussion of weight and body size until the early 1900's when discussion began around obesity.
This was an interesting read. The writing was very academic, and I often read it in short bursts to reflect on what I read. It frequently made me angry and frustrated. Those who were seen as the "experts" always chose someone who looked them in color and size as being the best. They were able to create a following, and their thoughts became accepted as the truth when there were no facts to back up their beliefs. It was all opinion. Doctors and the medical community entered the discussion long after people had decided that fat people, especially those who were non-white, were unacceptable. Ms. Strings did a good job of covering an extensive timeline to show how body size in relation to race and gender changed over time. We forget that what is accepted as true are not always tested findings. I am glad my daughter asked me to buddy read this with her.
This was an interesting read. The writing was very academic, and I often read it in short bursts to reflect on what I read. It frequently made me angry and frustrated. Those who were seen as the "experts" always chose someone who looked them in color and size as being the best. They were able to create a following, and their thoughts became accepted as the truth when there were no facts to back up their beliefs. It was all opinion. Doctors and the medical community entered the discussion long after people had decided that fat people, especially those who were non-white, were unacceptable. Ms. Strings did a good job of covering an extensive timeline to show how body size in relation to race and gender changed over time. We forget that what is accepted as true are not always tested findings. I am glad my daughter asked me to buddy read this with her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Racism
Moderate: Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Slavery
Minor: Ableism and Sexism
taratearex's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This was excellent and infuriating. This is a concise history of fat phobia, laying out very clearly how it originated from racism. It also lays out how connected to religion it is, as well as just how manufactured by white women and white men it is and continues to be. It's infuriating to see how little has changed and how we continue to repeat history over and over.
This book is dense and does read somewhat like a history textbook, but it is also clear and concise and lays out the facts so well in only about 200 pages. Because it is more a presentation of the facts, there isn't much analysis so I would recommend reading this in addition to other books on anti-fat bias and racism for more of the analysis part, such as What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat Aubrey Gordon and Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness Da’Shaun Harrison. But this was an excellent book on the history of how we got to where we are now and well worth the read.
I listened to the audiobook in tandem with my physical copy so that I could highlight, this was also helpful as there are a lot of names and dates which I have a harder time with if it's just audiobook.
This book is dense and does read somewhat like a history textbook, but it is also clear and concise and lays out the facts so well in only about 200 pages. Because it is more a presentation of the facts, there isn't much analysis so I would recommend reading this in addition to other books on anti-fat bias and racism for more of the analysis part, such as What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat Aubrey Gordon and Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness Da’Shaun Harrison. But this was an excellent book on the history of how we got to where we are now and well worth the read.
I listened to the audiobook in tandem with my physical copy so that I could highlight, this was also helpful as there are a lot of names and dates which I have a harder time with if it's just audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Slavery
mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Racism
Moderate: Eating disorder and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism and Sexism
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
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: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Antisemitism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
nyoom's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
0.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Medical trauma
forrestalexander's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Ableism, Infertility, and Sexism
k_perry's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
A great introduction to the ways in which fatphobia and racism/white supremacy are intertwined.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Medical trauma
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infertility, Alcohol, and War
Eugenicslaurenfro22's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
“...racial discourse was deployed by elite Europeans and white Americans to create social distinctions between themselves and fat racial Others."
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia is a fascinating dive into exactly what the title says. Sabrina Strings takes the reader back to the pre-Renaissance era to begin an exploration into the creation of ideas of race and health and beauty. Through the text readers are introduced to key players in the development of fatphobia and racialized medical discrimination; many of these were men, often leaning into eugenicist ideas, making less-than-educated guess about humans based on their limited scientific knowledge and draconian religious beliefs. In uncovering the history of modern norms (see: 'healthy' weight, BMI, diet culture, etc.), Strings points out the inherent absurdity of these standards.
Fearing the Black Body has been eye opening. I think more people need to be made aware of this history, particularly anyone in the medical, insurance, or health fields. It makes the whole culture of health, dieting, and beauty standards much more sinister in its existence. Like a Scooby-Doo unveiling the villain, Strings points to systemic racism, sexism, and classism as the underlying drivers of body policing. To see how connected hardline Christian beliefs, pseudoscience, and medical advice is is frightening.
I enjoyed the art history lessons sprinkled throughout the book - her coverage of pre-Renaissance, Renaissance, and subsequent periods was fascinating in exploring how social norms are reinforced and/or upended by art. The eye-popping explicitness of some artists beliefs about women and their bodies was astonishing. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
What stood out to me most was the thread woven throughout of men guessing at things they didn't understand and it being taken as gospel. So many times Strings points to a man who traveled to some countries, wrote down some observations, and those were extrapolated as facts. Or a man with an 18th century 'medical' degree thinking that backed up 'bile' beneath the skin made someone Black and therefore less healthy. Or calling an average of a handful of young white men's stats universal and creating a system of categorization that discriminates from the start. So much of what exists today must be revisited because so much is built on the backs of unscientific and plainly bogus information.
Strings does a great job of helping readers get a broad understanding of the web tying these issues together, laying out the historical significance and ongoing impacts we see today. The writing leans more academic, which a appreciated, but may be tough for some folks to get through - definitely recommend breaking it into pieces. It's heavy content! Also, for those with a history of disordered eating or folks without spoons to listen to (sometimes detailed) explanations of racism/sexism/etc., I would recommend treading carefully. A lot of potential triggers lie ahead. Worth the read but definitely take care of yourself first!
I'm hoping that Strings follows this up with a tighter focus on the modern age. The voice comes through clearly and is never dull or boring, drawing me in like fiction. I'm going to need to get my hands on a physical copy - annotating it will I think help solidify some connections between other academic areas and provide an additional layer of richness to the text.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism