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"You Just Need to Lose Weight": And 19 Other Myths about Fat People
"You Just Need to Lose Weight": And 19 Other Myths about Fat People | Aubrey Gordon
14 posts | 14 read | 11 to read
"One of the great thinkers of our generation . . . I feel fresher and smarter and happier for sitting down with her."--Jameela Jamil, iWeigh Podcast The co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast and creator of Your Fat Friend equips you with the facts to debunk common anti-fat myths and with tools to take action for fat justice The pushback that shows up in conversations about fat justice takes exceedingly predicable form. Losing weight is easy--calories in, calories out. Fat people are unhealthy. We're in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Fat acceptance "glorifies obesity." The BMI is an objective measure of size and health. Yet, these myths are as readily debunked as they are pervasive. In "You Just Need to Lose Weight," Aubrey Gordon equips readers with the facts and figures to reframe myths about fatness in order to dismantle the anti-fat bias ingrained in how we think about and treat fat people. Bringing her dozen years of community organizing and training to bear, Gordon shares the rhetorical approaches she and other organizers employ to not only counter these pernicious myths, but to dismantle the anti-fat bias that so often underpin them. As conversations about fat acceptance and fat justice continue to grow, "You Just Need to Lose Weight" will be essential to ensure that those conversations are informed, effective, and grounded in both research and history.
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Robotswithpersonality
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Would love to be able to hand this book out like a pamphlet.
An incredible resource, full of both vulnerable personal experience and great research, clearly stating the troubled history, the debunking, the way forward for each myth.
I love that each chapter ends with action items and/or reflection questions. I love that Gordon is consistently thinking in nuanced terms of people representing multiple marginal identities. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? She's so clear about what's wrong with the way that people have been thinking, so comprehensive in discussing the individuals and forces that have lead to the current thinking, so unrelenting in laying out how inexcusable it is to continue with this thinking.
I'll acknowledge repeated points, but it's more about the linkages compounding the discrimination than it is about redundancies in the text.
2w
Robotswithpersonality 3/3 Even if you've heard these points made before, chances are you haven't had them all laid out so tidly to refer back to whenever rebuttal against prejudice is required.
It's such a well collated and formatted guide, I think there really isn't a substitution for just picking it up and reading it. So many could benefit from more people doing so.
⚠️Discussion of disordered eating, anti-fatness, misogyny, racism, ableism
2w
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Robotswithpersonality
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A damn low bar for decency, but I'm glad we're leading the pack in some ways. 🇨🇦♥️

TheKidUpstairs I gotta say, it's a surprise to see Canadian airlines leading the pack in any positive facet! 2w
13 likes2 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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“...let us name our own bodies.“

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Robotswithpersonality
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...“all of us have a responsibility to get support in a way that doesn't threaten someone else's dignity or healing.“

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Robotswithpersonality
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“Capitalism is not and will not be a source of justice for any of us.“

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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I learned a ton from this book and thought the author narration in the #audiobook was excellent! (No surprise since Aubrey Gordon is a podcaster and I also happen to find her voice sexy). I did find it a bit repetitive, which I think is the nature of all of these myths and tackling a big topic like anti-fatness in the structure of the book. I'm off to read her recommendations of other fat acceptance and anti-fatphobia books!

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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The last chapter on stuff done to fat kids made me really angry 😡

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K.Wielechowski
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Mehso-so

Gordon covers many of the myths people believe about fat people, from laziness to how unhealthy they are, along with the prejudice they face in healthcare, the workplace, even in fashion.
I thought it was going to be more enlightening and/or empowering but was depressing to see so many ways fat people are treated differently.

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britt_brooke
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was my first experience with Gordon, but I‘m so impressed! Here, she dispels common misconceptions with research and expertise. We must stop monitoring each others bodies. Size does not dictate someone‘s worth. We know this in our heads and hearts, but implicit bias can be a rude, sneaky bitch. No doubt, it‘s a direct correlation of how we perceive ourselves and our own worth. Why are we like this? It‘s dumb. We have to do better.

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WorldsOkayestStepMom
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Aubrey Gordon lays out her arguments using scientific research and anecdotal evidence to combat myths about fat people.

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Christine
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This was great. Super educational and a book I wish many people would read. Myths like the obesity epidemic and the moral righteousness/culture of celebration around weight loss/thinness are ones that I have a hard time convincing some people in my life are myths. This book explains why they are and brings ample receipts. Gordon's writing expanded my own understanding of a lot of things, including the harmful ways in which ⬇️

Christine body positivity has been co-opted. (She also explicitly cites sociological research a bunch, which warmed my sociologist heart.) 3y
Blaire I love her and her podcast the maintenance phase. Looking forward to reading this one. 3y
Christine @Blaire I really need to check out the podcast! 3y
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Jen2
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So good!

Megabooks Agree! 3y
RebelReader I‘ve not heard of this one! Stacking! 3y
Jen2 It‘s fabulous 3y
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Megabooks
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If you‘re just beginning to look into fat activism or you want to get a fat person‘s perspective on society‘s view of us, this is a good place to start. However, if you‘re like me and have read most of the popular body positive/fat activism books, this won‘t add to your knowledge. In closing, the BMI is bullsh**, kids shouldn‘t be put on Weight Watchers, and fat people deserve respect on airplanes and in doctor‘s offices. Amen.

Blaire I‘m looking forward to this one! I love her podcast the maintenance phase. 3y
ReadingOver50 I like her podcast too 3y
Chrissyreadit I love the podcast Maintenance Phase 3y
See All 10 Comments
Suet624 Amen. 3y
TheBookHippie 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💯💯💯 3y
Cinfhen Totally agree about the BMI !! ✊🏼 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen yes!! 💯💯💯💯 3y
Megabooks @TheBookHippie 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 3y
Megabooks @Suet624 👍🏻👍🏻 3y
Megabooks @Chrissyreadit @ReadingOver50 @Blaire I hadn‘t listened before but ended up getting sidetracked into her co-host‘s other podcast, if books could kill, and their episode about 3y
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