Unshrinking

August 1, 2023

Manne's Unshrinking doesn't just share intimate stories of her struggles with excess weight (and the mocking she's been subjected to); as a Cornell philosophy professor, she aims for trenchant analysis of fatphobia as a key social justice issue. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2023
An incisive examination of fatphobia in all its guises. Americans are becoming more tolerant of difference in many areas, writes Manne, a professor of moral philosophy at Cornell and author of Down Girl and Entitled. One exception, however, is anti-fatness, which is actually increasing. The author has spent much of her life fighting her weight and body image issues, and she frankly recounts the many insults she has endured. There is constant pressure to lose weight, conform to a media-generated, often unrealistic beauty standard, and be something other than yourself. Aside from the social stigma of being fat, the world can be a hard place for fat people, in everything from clothes to furniture. Some of the worst offenders are doctors who, when examining an obese patient, often fail to look for anything but weight issues. Manne also points to research showing that fat people earn substantially less than their "average"-weight counterparts and are often seen as less capable. However, body weight is often determined by inherent physiognomy. "Fatness is by and large out of our control," writes the author, "making the supposed moral obligation not to be fat likely moot from the beginning." The argument that obesity is always unhealthy is also highly flawed. The data shows that fat people can be entirely healthy, and if they are ill, it might be due to extreme dieting (which never works), medication, or invasive surgery. The key is to be willing to listen to your body, and Manne has made it a personal rule. "I eat when I am hungry. I eat what sounds good to me. Sometimes, even often, I have the goddamn lasagna," she writes in a fitting conclusion to a brave, thought-provoking book. With rigorous research and personal experience, Manne tackles and dismantles fatphobia in all its forms.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 13, 2023
Philosopher Manne (Down Girl) returns with an impassioned but somewhat overextended treatise against fatphobia, which she contends is rampant across society, including in education, healthcare, the job market, and the dating sphere. Drawing on a wide range of literature, philosophy, sociological studies, and personal anecdotes, Manne shows how widespread and insidious is the assumption that weight reflects willpower, self-control, and moral fiber, and contends that fatphobia has historically been used as a means of race, class, and gender discrimination. She uses her own experiences of navigating fatphobia as the scaffolding of the book, arguing that when fat people’s personal stories are ignored, it is a form of “testimonial injustice.” She also argues directly against medical justifications for promoting an ideal body weight by citing studies that assert weight is largely based on genetics and unaffected by dietary habits, and that higher weight is not as clearly correlated with negative health outcomes as is commonly believed. While Manne’s debunking of what she considers the myth of the obesity crisis is a thought-provoking exercise, it can feel as if to make her point she understates the structural social injustices, such as poverty and discrimination, that can lead to food inequality, food insecurity, and unequal access to healthcare. Ultimately, this fails to convince.

November 1, 2023
Philosopher Manne (Entitled, 2020) is unapologetic in this brilliant takedown of fatphobia. "Our bodies are not the problem," she writes, asserting that the true problem is the structural fatphobia that oppresses people whose bodies do not conform to arbitrary standards. Combining rigorous research, well-reasoned arguments, and lucid prose, Manne examines how fatphobia shows up in every facet of life: home, school, work, the doctor's office, and in public. From a young age, fat people are shamed by both complete strangers and close friends and relatives, who routinely thinsplain, gaslight, and otherwise police fat bodies. Manne makes it clear that fatphobia often intersects with racism, transphobia, ableism, misogyny, and classism. She writes movingly about her own struggles with fatphobia and coming to terms with her body and weaves in the experiences of many well-known fat activists, providing readers with a host of voices to seek out at greater length. Manne's book is wide-ranging, accessible, and engaging. She ends with a compelling call to dismantle fatphobia and embrace all bodies as they are. "Your body is for you. We are not responsible for pleasing others." An essential addition to the growing body of literature on the experiences of fat people and fighting fatphobia.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.