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What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat

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What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat

By: Aubrey Gordon
Narrated by: Samara Naeymi
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About this listen

 From the creator of Your Fat Friend and co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast, an explosive indictment of the systemic and cultural bias facing plus-size people.

Anti-fatness is everywhere. In What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Aubrey Gordon unearths the cultural attitudes and social systems that have led to people being denied basic needs because they are fat and calls for social justice movements to be inclusive of plus-sized people’s experiences. Unlike the recent wave of memoirs and quasi self-help books that encourage readers to love and accept themselves, Gordon pushes the discussion further towards authentic fat activism, which includes ending legal weight discrimination, giving equal access to health care for large people, increased access to public spaces, and ending anti-fat violence. As she argues, “I did not come to body positivity for self-esteem. I came to it for social justice.”

By sharing her experiences as well as those of others—from smaller fat to very fat people—she concludes that to be fat in our society is to be seen as an undeniable failure, unlovable, unforgivable, and morally condemnable. Fatness is an open invitation for others to express disgust, fear, and insidious concern. To be fat is to be denied humanity and empathy. Studies show that fat survivors of sexual assault are less likely to be believed and less likely than their thin counterparts to report various crimes; 27% of very fat women and 13% of very fat men attempt suicide; over 50% of doctors describe their fat patients as “awkward, unattractive, ugly and noncompliant”; and in 48 states, it’s legal—even routine—to deny employment because of an applicant’s size.

Advancing fat justice and changing prejudicial structures and attitudes will require work from all people. What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat is a crucial tool to create a tectonic shift in the way we see, talk about, and treat our bodies, fat and thin alike. Anthropology Body Positivity Gender Studies Social Sciences Women Discrimination Thought-Provoking Social justice Health
All stars
Most relevant
Everyone should read this book. An insightful, smart, entertaining read. I confronted fat biases I thought I had evolved from. Thank you Aubrey for this amazing book, and just generally being an amazing person.

Outstanding

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I think everybody should read this book. It’s based in fact which is so helpful.

Incredible book

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This is without doubt one of the best books I’ve ever read. Thank you, Aubrey.

Powerful, eye opening and essential for all

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An important book that everyone should read. The narrator was very good but wish it was Aubrey herself.

Would have been even better with Aubrey narrating

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A truly horrifying and eye-opening reflection of society and the way we have let anti-fatness infiltrate every layer of our supposed civilised lives. So highly recommended (coming from an average sized white male) I’d say this book should be put forward as mandatory reading for, well, everyone! Started it early this morning and have barely been able to pause it until finishing tonight.

Outstanding and incredibly important!

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