You Just Need to Lose Weight: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People

(Paperback)

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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "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.

Reviews

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 informativeand will spur many important conversations.
Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

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

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 youre 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 whos ever been tempted to giveor has gotten tired of receivingweight loss advice.
The Skimm

Author Bio

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.