Aubrey Gordon

And 19 Other Myths about Fat People

You Just Need to Lose Weight

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.

Marcy Pursell 

Overall, I liked this book, and wanted to support Aubrey Gordon and her platform. That said, I also have listened to all the episodes of 'Maintenance Phase' since they first dropped, and a lot of this book just felt like a repetition of those episodes. Additionally, as a plus-size person, these myths weren't things I didn't already know or live in my day to day existence, BUT, overall, a good read and reminder of what a portion of the population deals with on a regular basis.

I greatly appreciate the emotional labor and research that went into this book on busting anti-fat myths. It’s presented in a clear and concise way. Definitely recommend.

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

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