Reviews tagging 'Sexism'
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
10 reviews
taratearex's review against another edition
5.0
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.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, and Body shaming
Moderate: Slavery, Sexism, Ableism, and Misogyny
kpeps's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism, Infertility, Classism, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Eating disorder and Pandemic/Epidemic
mandkips's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Misogyny and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexism and Ableism
minty_3's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism
therecoveringbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Slavery, Colonisation, Racism, Sexism, and Misogyny
forrestalexander's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Racism
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Ableism, Infertility, and Sexism
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Medical content, Racism, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Slavery, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual content, Ableism, Antisemitism, and Genocide
Minor: War, Infertility, and Alcohol
Eugenicslaurenfro22's review against another edition
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.
Graphic: Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Classism, Colonisation, and Medical content
orlagal's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Antisemitism, Torture, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
lowkeymarie's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery