Wann,
Marilyn. Fat! So? Berkley: Ten Speed Press, 1998.
198
pages.
Reviewed
by J. d’Artagnan Love
I am very
stingy with my use of 5-star ratings. Books that receive a 5-star rating
typically need to have a "life changing" quality. In the experience
of reading them, I feel different afterwards, changed, more connected to life
and myself. Marilyn Wann's book Fat! So? is one of those books I gladly give a
5-star rating.
Wann is one
of the founders of the Body Positive Movement, a movement that seeks to embrace
bodies of all types and put an end to fat discrimination, hatred, and
prejudice. The book starts with an introduction in which Wann describes
discrimination she faced due to her size. From there, the book is broken up
into sections similar to a zine. This is fitting as Fat! So? is
based on a zine written by Wann years before the book came into existence.
Wann
emphasizes the importance of re-claiming the word “fat” and returning it back
to its neutral state of simply being a descriptor rather than a word loaded
with other implications. She writes that fat should hold no more weight than
the words “tall,” or “blonde.” While I like this idea on the surface, when it
comes down to it, almost all words describing a person’s appearance are loaded
with some connection to that person’s worth. It would then be more effective to
cut the connection between a person’s worth and their appearance as a whole
which I think is the underlying point Wann is trying to make. We are not
defined by our eye color, the shape of our thighs or the length of our fingers.
Therefore, none of the descriptions “fat,” “thin,” “tall,” “short,” should ever be
offensive.
What
really hit me at my core with this book is what is indicated in the subtitle “Because
you don’t have to apologize for your size.” Fat! So? emphasizes the importance
of letting go of shame and embracing who you are no matter what your dress size
is. We all need to stop apologizing for our size. There is nothing to apologize
for. Society tells us differently, though and nowhere is this more transparent
than in the field of medicine. We are told if our BMI is too high, we are fat
and need to change our bodies (even though BMI is one of the worst indicators
of health, like, ever). We are made to feel guilty, ashamed, and worthless by the
medical field. The thing is, Wann points out study after study after study that
shows that people can be healthy no matter their BMI.
Fat
discrimination is rampant in the medical field stretching into our insurance
plans and the commercial diet field where people spend thousands of dollars on
diet plans and pills that the diet industry knows won’t work. We are being
conned, people! This isn’t new news really, but Wann makes it perfectly clear
just how far and wide fat discrimination reaches. It is horrifying, but the
knowledge is also empowering. When we know what we are up against, it is easier
to stand up for ourselves and Wann offers many, many ways that people can stand
up for themselves and stop feeling ashamed.
I really
feel this book should be required reading in schools. For what class, I’m not
totally sure, but it is a message that needs to be heard. I know this book
changed my life and the way I carry myself in doctor’s offices or during conversations
about body size. I know it will change the lives of many others if they can
have access to it.
5 darts
out of 5
Bookshelf
Project Status: KEEP
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