Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

34 reviews

emfass's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Everybody should read this book. A loving look at all the systems that have been put in place to make us hate our bodies. Sonya Renee Taylor offers us a beautiful way back to ourselves and to each other.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, and Misogyny

Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, and Transphobia

mj_86's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Profound, life-changing narrative about how radical self-love can change yourself and the world. Amazing and thought-provoking, my highlighter barely had a break while I worked to realize every effort to make myself less for others (or myself) would fail.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia

spacekee's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

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.'" 

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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

eslsilver's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia

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. 

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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 

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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

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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Suicide