Book Recommendation: The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce

Posted On November 22, 2022

Hi Readers! I came across a post from Buzzfeed Books which had nonfiction book recommendations to read for Nonfiction November. The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce caught my eye. I knew I had to read it. And given that the book was a collection of 30 stories in the form of prose, poems, illustrations and more was an added advantage. This review is again going to be short, because even though there were 30 chapters, a lot of the content was similar. So, here are my key takeaways.

~~REPRESENTATION~~

What really struck me with this book was how diverse the authors were. The articles are written by fat people who are trans, gay, indigenous, cis, black and people with disability. People are judged just because they are fat. But being fat and trans or fat and asexual has more challenges. Reading about their stories was a learning. There were new points of view and perspectives in this book that really made me think.

Secondly, I also liked how many of the authors have described representation of fat people in movies or books as almost always negative or dumb or lazy. Such as Dudley Dursley or Monica Geller.

“It hurts to not see yourself represented, or to always see yourself represented negatively.”

~~PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH~~

The connection to physical and mental health with respect to fat people is written amazingly by Isabel Quintero. The constant bullying of fat children, constant small talk about diets and workouts, constant fake statements from people saying that you don’t look fat, constant reminders that you are fat. All of this leads to stress, anxiety, depression and more problems. Making fat people feel small in such a way is obviously going to lead to mental health problems. So yes, we know that we are fat. We may or may not be healthy. But what’s not going to help? You all pushing us into the brink of mental health problems.

“But how can one be considered healthy if we don’t love our bodies? If worrying over calories or cheat days or diets causes anxiety? Makes us feel defeated?”

~~WHO IS HEALTHY?~~

Whenever it comes to talking about body positivity, there are always people who will ask, “But what about your health?” From the 30 articles, only one or two have addressed this, which I thought was unsatisfactory. I know that you don’t have to justify or defend yourselves to anyone. But, as a fat person, I do think about it often. Fat people can be healthy and lean people can be unhealthy. But it’s never so black and white, is it? We all have days where we feel the best in our bodies and days where we don’t. In that sense, the take on health was a bit amateurish and touched upon briefly. Lastly, I learnt that there are HAES (health at every size) doctors, so that was news!

“While we know that fat people are stigmatized in every area of their lives, it holds a different weight when doctors – not fashion designer or magazine editor – have a negative view of people of size.”

~~FASHION ADVICE~~

There is more about fashion in this book than is required. That fat people wear loose or black or flattering clothes because they have to is an assumption and again a very black and white thing. An introvert who is fat will obviously love black clothes and not be a fan of wearing something shiny with 5-inch hot pink heels. I love wearing oversized clothes because they are comfortable. For most people, fashion is about comfort despite their size. But, I do understand why this is talked about, because again, it is addressed to the majority of fat people (I suppose) who do see clothing as a way to minimize themselves.

Lastly, the struggles that a fat person undergoes while shopping for new clothes in a mall being nightmarish is something I completely relate to. The emotions on this process are very well put in the book. The chapter ‘A Body Like Mine’ captured it perfectly.

“Body sovereignty is doing something because you want to, not because you’re supposed to. A fat man eating ice cream in public is an act of protest against a world that shames and demonizes him. A tall trans woman who wear six-inch heels flaunts her pride in the face of gender norms. A Black nonbinary person who wears their kinky hair naturally looks white beauty standards in the eye and says, “I don’t need you.””

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

“Saying “I’m fat” is (and should be) the same as saying the ocean is wet, my favorite dress is green, dirt is gritty, and Emma Watson’s hair is brown. It’s not a good thing, it’s not a bad thing, it simply is what it is.”

I am sure that there are a lot of books about fat acceptance. They might be better, but I really enjoyed reading this because it was the first of a kind that I have ever read. It talks about a lot of topics ranging from fat acceptance, fat activism, being yourself, wearing what you want, confidence in who you are and owning your body and your story. If you are looking to start somewhere, this book is really good.

Some of the chapters that I loved immensely were ‘Write Something Fat’, ‘A Poem That’s About Nature and Fatness’, ‘How to be the Star of Your Own Fat Rom-Com’, ‘The Story of my Body’, ‘Fat and Thriving’, ‘Fat Acceptance is (Really) Real’ and ‘Reasons to Hang In There’.

I have rated The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce by Angie Manfredi at 4/5 stars!

Until next time,