Introduction
How to Use This Book
A List of Terms
PART ONE: “BEING FAT IS A CHOICE’
MYTH 1
“Being fat is a choice. If fat people don’t like how they’re
treated, they should just lose weight.”
MYTH 2
“Any fat person can become thin if they try hard enough. It’s just
a matter of ‘calories in, calories out.’”
MYTH 3
“Parents are responsible for their child’s weight. Only bad parents
let their children get fat.”
MYTH 4
“Thin people should help fat people lose weight.”
MYTH 5
“Weight loss is the result of healthy choices and should be
celebrated.”
PART TWO: “BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR HEALTH?”
MYTH 6
“Obesity is the leading cause of death in the United States.”
MYTH 7
“The BMI is an objective measure of size and health.”
MYTH 8
“Doctors are unbiased judges of fat people’s health. Fat people
don’t like going to the doctor’s office because they don’t like
hearing the truth.”
MYTH 9
“Fat people are emotionally damaged and cope by ‘eating their
feelings.’”
PART THREE: “FACT ACCEPTANCE GLORIFIES OBESITY”
MYTH 10
“Accepting fat people ‘glorifies obesity.’”
MYTH 11
“Body positivity is about feeling better about yourself, as long as
you’re happy and healthy.”
MYTH 12
“We’re in the middle of an obesity epidemic.”
MYTH 13
“Fat people don’t experience discrimination.”
MYTH 14
“I don’t like gaining weight, but I don’t treat fat people
differently.”
PART FOUR: “FAT PEOPLE SHOULD . . .”
MYTH 15
“Fat people shouldn’t call themselves fat.”
MYTH 16
“People who have never been fat have ‘internalized fatphobia.’”
MYTH 17
“No one is attracted to fat people. Anyone who is has a ‘fat
fetish.’”
MYTH 18
“Fat people should pay for a second airplane seat.”
MYTH 19
“Skinny shaming is just as bad as fat shaming.”
MYTH 20
“Anti-fatness is the last socially acceptable form of
discrimination.”
Acknowledgments
Notes
Aubrey Gordon writes under the pseudonym of "Your Fat Friend," illuminating the experiences of fat people and urging greater compassion for people of all sizes. Her work has reached millions of readers and has been translated into 19 languages. She is co-host of the Maintenace Phase podcast and a columnist with SELF magazine. Her work has also been featured in Health magazine, Vox, and Gay Mag, among others. She lives in the Northwest, where she works as a writer and organizer. Connect with her at yourfatfriend.com, and as YrFatFriend on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
“Will appeal to anyone interested in discrimination based on body
size and other similar forms of systemic oppression.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
“An excellent tool for those working to end anti-fat bias. Perfect
for fat and thin readers alike, ‘You Just Need to Lose Weight’ is
smart and informative—and will spur many important
conversations.”
—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review
“Gordon tackles pervasive myths about fatness and provides the
truth about them and the people they impact…[the book] couldn't
have come at a more apt time.”
—Teen Vogue
“A crucial handbook for living in a culture that is dedicated to
shaming and punishing fatness…This book should be stocked in every
school library and should sit in a place of honor in every doctor's
office waiting room—and of course, your bookshelf.”
—Glamour
“Gordon interrogates misperceptions about fatness in this helpful
handbook for those ‘struggling to interrupt moments of anti-fatness
in their daily lives.’ . . . [A] lucid and impassioned guide to
combatting negative stereotypes about body size.”
—Publishers Weekly
“[T]his thought-provoking treatise on fatness will give readers of
all sizes plenty to think about.”
—Booklist
“Sharp, stinging commentary…The message of this book is perennially
important.”
—Self
“It’s challenging to find books, like Gordon’s, that intelligently
and empathetically talk about modern wellness culture in a
positive, and, well, real way.”
—Allure
“Chatty and insightful, this book is sure to make readers reflect
on their own biases.”
—425 Magazine
“[Gordon] brings skillful analysis, acute understanding and a sense
of humor to her work.”
—The Seattle Times
“The book offers actionable steps you can take to help push back
against weight bias in your own life, particularly if you’re
witnessing it as someone with a smaller body.”
—Insider
“Opens the door for nuance, while shutting it on harmful, prevalent
myths.”
—Portland Mercury
“Required reading for anyone who’s ever been tempted to give—or has
gotten tired of receiving—weight loss advice.”
—The Skimm
“Gordon has personally laid out structured ways to disrupt and
combat anti-fatness. Providing tangible steps and methods on how to
do the personal and political work of addressing anti-fatness in
social, familial, and cultural settings also allows for the hopeful
and foundational work to build a new world founded on the grounds
of fat justice.”
—Fat Studies Journal
“The author’s detailed takedown of these myths and her intelligent
grasp of social dynamics make this an illuminating audiobook on how
to reprogram our stereotypes about those who are visibly different
from what we may believe to be ‘normal.’”
—AudioFile Magazine
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