We need to the stories of fat folks more than ever. With all of the fatphobia we have experienced over the years, and the heightened fear of fat that has come out of Covid, fat positive books from fat authors like Roxane Gay, Kiese Makeba Laymon, Lindy West, and Leah Vernon have kept me laughing, smiling, and vigilant.
Books have helped me articulate what I am feeling to family, friends, medical providers, and even my therapist.
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None of us are born with understanding how this society works and how to dismantle fatphobia. We learn, and we grow together.
I compiled a list of books that have inspired me and helped me understand myself and how to support others in the fat community.
As we fight for liberation, I believe that we must take care of ourselves. By reading Pleasure Activism, I learned how to reimagine self love and prioritize my happiness while doing social justice work.
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Right now I am currently reading the 2nd Edition: The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. If you haven’t read the first edition then you need to get your copy now! Sonya Renee Taylor eloquently talks about how self love can dismantle systemic injustices.
Here Is a List Of Fat Positive Books I Recommend
A few more books that you should put on your reading list!
Aubrey Gordon calls on readers to be critical about the ways we discuss bodies, especially fat bodies. She shares her personal stories about why she chose body positivity and how it has nothing to do with self-esteem, but she wanted to be in community to fight social justice.
She breaks down how the basic needs of fat people have been denied because of the way we see fat.
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Dr. Joy Cox eloquently discussed what it is like to be a womxn and exist at the intersection of fat and Black. Through stories and research, Dr. Cox lays ways to dismantle fatphobia, racism, and misogynoir through the lens of Fat Black girls.
A must-read!
In Pleasure Activism, Adrienne Maree Brown lays out how taking care of yourself is a form of radical self love. She constantly questions whether or not justice and pleasure live in the same body.
By Using Black Feminism, she lays out how happiness and pleasure are our truest form of freedom. This book helps readers “make social justice the most pleasurable human experience.”
Da’Shaun Harrison in the Belly of the Beast breaks down how anti-fatness and anti-Blackness exist in housing, jobs, and healthcare as a structure that is violent to fat Black people.They explore fatphobia as anti-Blackness.
Belly of the Beast is now available for presale.
Fattily Ever After: A Black Fat Girl's Guide to Living Life Unapologetically
In this book, Stephanie Yeboah talks about her own experiences as a child being bullied and how that impacted her life as a fat adult.
In the text, she gives the history of the body positivity movement and how it helped her navigate the world as a fat Black Woman. She provides tips on how to live boldly and unapologetically as Black, fat Women.
Have you heard of these books before? What are your favorite fat positive and body positive books? I would love to include more to my reading list!
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Can a white male suggest a book? “Fearing the Black Body” by Sabrina Strings. Quoting from the book ‘The fear of the imagined “fat black woman” was created by racial and religious ideologies that have been used to both degrade black women and discipline white women.’
These books sound amazing I am looking forward to reading them