Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
Gross Anatomy: A Field Guide to Loving Your Body, Warts and All by Mara Altman
1 review
rachaelbunny's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
I don’t think this book knew what it was trying to be.
It lacked the single minded focus of an author like Jon Ronson or the objectivity of an author like Mary Roach, but also didn’t deliver David Sedaris-esque subjectivity and humour.
If she had not done the expert interviews and instead just expanded upon her own feelings and experiences, the book may have been more interesting. Alternatively, if she had made the book less about herself, it could have been more educational. Or she could have spoken to more everyday women and therefore featured some diverse voices.
Instead, what we have is just a privileged, able bodied, petite, cisgender, straight, white woman talking about how she doesn’t like her belly button (seriously. That’s a whole chapter).
Given 2.5 stars because I think the book had a lot of potential and I think the book would be interesting for women of her exact demographic, but I found the book frustrating in its lack of self awareness and how normative it was.
It lacked the single minded focus of an author like Jon Ronson or the objectivity of an author like Mary Roach, but also didn’t deliver David Sedaris-esque subjectivity and humour.
If she had not done the expert interviews and instead just expanded upon her own feelings and experiences, the book may have been more interesting. Alternatively, if she had made the book less about herself, it could have been more educational. Or she could have spoken to more everyday women and therefore featured some diverse voices.
Instead, what we have is just a privileged, able bodied, petite, cisgender, straight, white woman talking about how she doesn’t like her belly button (seriously. That’s a whole chapter).
Given 2.5 stars because I think the book had a lot of potential and I think the book would be interesting for women of her exact demographic, but I found the book frustrating in its lack of self awareness and how normative it was.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Excrement, and Pregnancy
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