“You Just Need to Lose Weight”: And 19 Other Myths About Fat People
- Downloads：6074
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-10 00:19:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Aubrey Gordon
- ISBN：B0BFJYKJX4
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Jake Arlow
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This is a great starting point for people on their journey of unlearning anti-fat bias and supporting fat liberation （esp as a non-fat ally！）， but if you listen to maintenance phase （WHICH U SHOULD！！！！） much of this will be familiar！ That is not a bad thing--I love having this easily accessible， and， as Aubrey mentioned on the show， this is a great jumping off point， and something that you can share with friends and family （w their consent） in the form of packets/printing off different chapters。 This is a great starting point for people on their journey of unlearning anti-fat bias and supporting fat liberation （esp as a non-fat ally！）， but if you listen to maintenance phase （WHICH U SHOULD！！！！） much of this will be familiar！ That is not a bad thing--I love having this easily accessible， and， as Aubrey mentioned on the show， this is a great jumping off point， and something that you can share with friends and family （w their consent） in the form of packets/printing off different chapters。 If you haven't read either of Aubrey's books， I'd recommend starting with "What We Don't Talk About When we Talk About Fat，" but as a resource this is so wonderful。 Highly recommend 。。。more
Julie
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good book and loved that it talked about the different myths and had good questions at the end of the chapter。 love listening to her on maintenance pod
Tara Gold
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I listened to the audiobook for this （shoutout to Libro。FM’s ALC program for the review copy！） narrated by Aubrey Gordon herself。 Now， normally I select audiobooks for convenience， but here it was a specific choice because my main interactions with Aubrey’s content are from her podcast， Maintenance Phase。 So I wanted to stay close to that by listening to this one…it basically felt like an extension of the podcast， which was a delight。I’ve read Gordon’s first book， What We Don’t Talk About When W I listened to the audiobook for this （shoutout to Libro。FM’s ALC program for the review copy！） narrated by Aubrey Gordon herself。 Now， normally I select audiobooks for convenience， but here it was a specific choice because my main interactions with Aubrey’s content are from her podcast， Maintenance Phase。 So I wanted to stay close to that by listening to this one…it basically felt like an extension of the podcast， which was a delight。I’ve read Gordon’s first book， What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat， and there is a lot of overlap in the content here but the FORMAT is different as is the audience。 For You Just Need To Lose Weight， Gordon organizes the book around responding to 19 different myths about fatness and weight。 She includes research and examples to make each response clear， and concludes each section with action steps readers/listeners can take in response。Gordon’s main agenda with all of her work， including this book， is fat activism and approaching fatness from the social model （“the issue is society not responding well to fatness”） rather than a medical model （“fat it a health concern”） or a individual problem/moral failing （“you just need to lose weight”）。 In that sense， the primary audience for this book is non-fat people who want to （or need to） know better and do better when it comes to fatness。The format is helpful for using this as a resource and reference source， but also for skimming certain sections and diving in deeper to those areas where readers might need to do more internal work。 The whole idea here is challenging internal biases and societal messages to advocate for a group of people who are continually oppressed， harassed， and harmed by our current narratives and understandings of fatness。 Gordon does a good job here of considering intersectionality while also understanding her own limited to speak for other oppressed groups。 Throughout the book she gave recommendations for other books that cover these topics， and so will be adding those to my TBR。TL; DR — This is a well-researched， well-organized overview of issues affecting fat people that serves as an excellent action-based primer for anyone looking to be a better advocate and ally for fat people。 I highly recommend！ 。。。more
Hannah
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I'm a huge fan of Maintenance Phase， and like other reviewers have mentioned， this is as good as you'd expect from how brilliant Aubrey is， though it's also decidedly less funny and entertaining。 I'll say for me it wasn't exactly eye-opening simply because it's content I've made a point of learning and exposing myself to for awhile now anyway， but I'm glad I read it because it can always bear reminding and because now I know it's something I can shove at a lot of people who desperately need to r I'm a huge fan of Maintenance Phase， and like other reviewers have mentioned， this is as good as you'd expect from how brilliant Aubrey is， though it's also decidedly less funny and entertaining。 I'll say for me it wasn't exactly eye-opening simply because it's content I've made a point of learning and exposing myself to for awhile now anyway， but I'm glad I read it because it can always bear reminding and because now I know it's something I can shove at a lot of people who desperately need to read it。 。。。more
Chrystopher’s Archive
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Deeply thoughtful and inclusive。 A determined effort to cover all bases causes some repetition。
Becca Boland
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Please read this book。 Please。
brea
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Hmmm， this is a tricky one to review。 It wasn’t bad per se， but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed。 I have long been a follower and fan of Aubrey Gordon （back to the yrfatfriend days） and the thing I love and respect about her the most is her intense research and her passion for information， and that research and passion just did not come across in this book。 Don’t get me wrong， nothing in this book comes off as factually incorrect， nor do I feel she is spreading misinformation， bu Hmmm， this is a tricky one to review。 It wasn’t bad per se， but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed。 I have long been a follower and fan of Aubrey Gordon （back to the yrfatfriend days） and the thing I love and respect about her the most is her intense research and her passion for information， and that research and passion just did not come across in this book。 Don’t get me wrong， nothing in this book comes off as factually incorrect， nor do I feel she is spreading misinformation， but I feel like she’s trying to tackle too much in too little space。 I would have preferred instead of her touching just a bit on 20 myths， that she would have gone HARD on like 2 or 3 myths and really sank her teeth in and showed the research and facts behind why the myths are utter bullshit， the damage it does， and the greater societal impact。 I guess… I guess I wanted more of a maintenance phase episode？ Those feel more vigorously researched than these chapters。 This felt very much like a “welcome to fat studies” primer， which certainly isn’t a bad thing but it’s just not what I was looking for and not what I expected since we kind of already got that from her last book。 I don’t know， I adore Aubrey but I’m not sure the book is her best medium。 I think she’s a person who really shines in conversation and that’s why Maintenance Phase has been such a slam dunk — a lot of her cheeky wit and sarcasm felt like it was missing from this book and it just didn’t work for me。 I missed her personality！ The more I sit on this， even as a fat studies primer I think I would recommend many of the other books she mentions in her book （like Belly of the Beast， Hunger， and Fearing the Black Body） before I’d recommend this one… it was just too little if everything because it was trying to do too much at once。 Again， not a BAD book， just not up to par with some of her other content and not nearly as in-depth。 Final rating: 2。75/5Thank you to Libro。fm and the publishers for early access to this book for review purposes。 。。。more
Jordan C
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Aubrey Gordon for President！ Gordon continues to do absolutely essential work in anti-fat activism and education with her new release。 Whereas her last book had a more personal bent， ‘You Just Need to Lose Weight’ comprises twenty non-fiction essays that bust anti-fat myths。 The book is extremely well researched and organized – a full 18% of the ebook consists of citations！ Though I may have enjoyed Gordon’s personal essays and podcast more， this is a terrific resource （and what I’ll be referenc Aubrey Gordon for President！ Gordon continues to do absolutely essential work in anti-fat activism and education with her new release。 Whereas her last book had a more personal bent， ‘You Just Need to Lose Weight’ comprises twenty non-fiction essays that bust anti-fat myths。 The book is extremely well researched and organized – a full 18% of the ebook consists of citations！ Though I may have enjoyed Gordon’s personal essays and podcast more， this is a terrific resource （and what I’ll be referencing when my extended family asks me why I haven’t lost the covid weight yet）。If you are already a big fan of Gordon’s work， a lot of the material in this book will be familiar to you。 Even so， I continued to be surprised and angered by Gordon’s account of the drastic ways in which corporate greed has shaped our government and healthcare systems and fomented anti-fat bias。 Highly recommend to anyone new to the topic and to fans of Maintenance Phase。 Thank you to Edelweiss， Beacon Press， and Aubrey Gordon for an advance copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
destiny ♡ howling libraries
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DNF @ 24% "You Just Need to Lose Weight" is a valuable resource that has a lot to offer for the right audience — most notably， people who want to learn how to fight anti-fatness from ground zero。As someone who has dealt with this in my own life and the lives of my loved ones since I was born， I didn't feel like I was gaining anything except the feeling of being generally miserable because the entire book up to my stopping point was such a painfully honest reminder of how so many people view fat DNF @ 24% "You Just Need to Lose Weight" is a valuable resource that has a lot to offer for the right audience — most notably， people who want to learn how to fight anti-fatness from ground zero。As someone who has dealt with this in my own life and the lives of my loved ones since I was born， I didn't feel like I was gaining anything except the feeling of being generally miserable because the entire book up to my stopping point was such a painfully honest reminder of how so many people view fat bodies （and even "average" bodies in many countries）。Great book for a lot of people， just way too high-risk/low-reward for me with the impact this author's blunt prose had on my mental health。Thank you to the publisher for the review copy！ All thoughts are honest and my own。✨ Representation: the author takes care to discuss the impacts of anti-fatness on BIPOC fat individuals as well as using trans-inclusive terms。✨ Content warnings for: （view spoiler）[graphic anti-fatness， medical trauma， mentions of fat children being removed from families due to their fatness， mentions of racism （hide spoiler）] ———twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog 。。。more
Julie
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Yes。 This。 I want to send certain chapters to people who repeat some of these myths ad nauseam。 Does a decent job of trying to address intersectionality。
Bailey
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Lots of really great information delivered in Aubrey Gordon's typical engaging style。 Anyone who has listened to her podcast Maintenance Phase will have heard some of the content， but there is plenty of new stuff and the highlights were the prompts for reflection and action at the end of each section。 At the beginning of this book， the author mentions that it is designed to be able to be read all at once and/or section by section; I'd recommend reading it section by section as it does get a litt Lots of really great information delivered in Aubrey Gordon's typical engaging style。 Anyone who has listened to her podcast Maintenance Phase will have heard some of the content， but there is plenty of new stuff and the highlights were the prompts for reflection and action at the end of each section。 At the beginning of this book， the author mentions that it is designed to be able to be read all at once and/or section by section; I'd recommend reading it section by section as it does get a little repetitive when taken in all at once。 Overall， this book is a great tool for guiding discussion about the importance of fat acceptance/liberation， and a reminder for all of us to keep our activism intersectional at every point。 I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from Libro。Fm。 。。。more
Beth Menendez
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Yep， I’m an unapologetic Aubrey Gordon fan。 Read this book for a lot of reasons- read it to support your friends， your family， that coworker who cracks you up。 Read it to learn more about how the numbers and catch phrases we bandy about maybe aren’t so accurate。 That those “ideals” we think we should uphold are really made out of straw。 Read it to realize that every body is it’s own beautiful creation。 Love love love this book
Lindy
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I am admittedly a fan of Gordon’s other book and her podcast Maintenance Phase， so my admiration of this book should not be surprising。 Full disclosure: I am a white cisgender small fat person， so while I do sometimes encounter negative responses to my body， I am generally pretty privileged。 I really appreciated the organization that makes this easy to revisit as certain myths arise。 I also loved the questions for reflection， recommended actions， and in some cases scripts for responding to other I am admittedly a fan of Gordon’s other book and her podcast Maintenance Phase， so my admiration of this book should not be surprising。 Full disclosure: I am a white cisgender small fat person， so while I do sometimes encounter negative responses to my body， I am generally pretty privileged。 I really appreciated the organization that makes this easy to revisit as certain myths arise。 I also loved the questions for reflection， recommended actions， and in some cases scripts for responding to others， like medical professionals。 Highly recommend for anyone looking to learn more， question their own relationships with these myths， and be a better advocate for themselves and others。 ALC provided by LibroFM 。。。more
Traci Thomas
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Really good work on anti fat discrimination。 Detailed and organized in a very clear effective way。 For both fat and thin people。 A really commitment to intersectionality and activism。 Only drawback is that it got redundant by the end。
maddie （thenmaddieread）
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Absolutely required reading for anyone looking to deconstruct their fat-hatred。 Aubrey is a clear and entertaining writer with tons of citations for further reading， and each chapter ends with some reflection questions or calls to action。 Read with a pencil in hand。I do think that structurally， the book could have been improved by combining some of the chapters。 It's tough to have a longer， scientifically-based debunking chapter with lots of citations followed up by one or two more social-emotio Absolutely required reading for anyone looking to deconstruct their fat-hatred。 Aubrey is a clear and entertaining writer with tons of citations for further reading， and each chapter ends with some reflection questions or calls to action。 Read with a pencil in hand。I do think that structurally， the book could have been improved by combining some of the chapters。 It's tough to have a longer， scientifically-based debunking chapter with lots of citations followed up by one or two more social-emotional ones， which are just as important but are often noticeably shorter and tougher to base in anything more substantial than "this is clearly very mentally harmful。" There are a few of them that could have been combined into one more impactful chapter but clearly got broken apart to hit 20 myths。Thank you Beacon and Edelweiss for the ARC！ 。。。more
Jessica - How Jessica Reads
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Not as funny or profane as Maintenance Phase; but Gordon's voice still clearly resonates。 Each chapter includes a fat-related myth that is carefully debunked， and then ends with reflection questions and action steps， making You Just Need to Lose Weight an excellent tool for those working to end anti-fat bias。 Not as funny or profane as Maintenance Phase; but Gordon's voice still clearly resonates。 Each chapter includes a fat-related myth that is carefully debunked， and then ends with reflection questions and action steps， making You Just Need to Lose Weight an excellent tool for those working to end anti-fat bias。 。。。more
BiblioBeruthiel
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If you're a big Maintenance Phase/Aubrey Gordon fan already then some of this you will have heard before but this is a great read for anyone。 Highly recommend it！ If you're a big Maintenance Phase/Aubrey Gordon fan already then some of this you will have heard before but this is a great read for anyone。 Highly recommend it！ 。。。more
Morgan
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“You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and it didn’t disappoint。 Gordon does a fantastic job of explaining （and debunking） common myths people hold about fatness as well as giving people reflection questions and some applicable steps to combat the myths in daily life。 I highly recommend this for anyone new to this topic as well as fans of Aubrey Gordon’s work。 Thank you to Edelweiss and Beacon Press for t “You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and it didn’t disappoint。 Gordon does a fantastic job of explaining （and debunking） common myths people hold about fatness as well as giving people reflection questions and some applicable steps to combat the myths in daily life。 I highly recommend this for anyone new to this topic as well as fans of Aubrey Gordon’s work。 Thank you to Edelweiss and Beacon Press for the e-arc。 。。。more
Cari
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