UNSHRINKING

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.