Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
3 reviews
naturallybgrace's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Incredibly thorough, well descriptive and information driven. The origins of anti-fat thought, believes, policies and action is traced to anti-Blackness through the years.
Quotes—
“…the current anti-fat bias in the United States and in much of the West was not born in the medical field. Racial scientific literature since at least the eighteenth century has claimed that fatness was ‘savage’ and ‘black.”
“The legacy of Protestant moralism and race science as it related to fat and thin persons loomed large. Indeed, many early to mid-twentieth-century physicians relied on moral and racial logics to rail against persons deemed too fat or too thin. But over time, a growing number did so specifically, and exclusively, to condemn fatness.”
“…Revealing race to be the missing element in many of these analysis’ indeed the racial discourse of fatness as coarse, immortal, black and other, not only denigrated Black women but it also served as the driver for the creation of slenderness as the proper form of embodiment for elite white christian women. In other words the fear of the black body was integral to the creation of the slender aesthetic amount fashioned white Americans.”
Quotes—
“…the current anti-fat bias in the United States and in much of the West was not born in the medical field. Racial scientific literature since at least the eighteenth century has claimed that fatness was ‘savage’ and ‘black.”
“The legacy of Protestant moralism and race science as it related to fat and thin persons loomed large. Indeed, many early to mid-twentieth-century physicians relied on moral and racial logics to rail against persons deemed too fat or too thin. But over time, a growing number did so specifically, and exclusively, to condemn fatness.”
“…Revealing race to be the missing element in many of these analysis’ indeed the racial discourse of fatness as coarse, immortal, black and other, not only denigrated Black women but it also served as the driver for the creation of slenderness as the proper form of embodiment for elite white christian women. In other words the fear of the black body was integral to the creation of the slender aesthetic amount fashioned white Americans.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Racism
Because of the nature of this topic may potentially triggering things are mentioned and discussed. I’d encourage folks check in with themselves and others while reading as the content is heavy, but none the less necessary.nyoom's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
0.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Rape, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Genocide, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Torture, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Medical trauma, Gore, and Blood
laurenfro22'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, Sexual violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Classism, Colonisation, and Medical content
More...