Fearing the Black Body

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

How the female body has been racialized for over two hundred years

There is an obesity epidemic in this country and poor black women are particularly stigmatized as “diseased” and a burden on the public health care system. This is only the most recent incarnation of the fear of fat black women, which Sabrina Strings shows took root more than two hundred years ago.

Strings weaves together an eye-opening historical narrative ranging from the Renaissance to the current moment, analyzing important works of art, newspaper and magazine articles, and scientific literature and medical journals—where fat bodies were once praised—showing that fatphobia, as it relates to black women, did not originate with medical findings, but with the Enlightenment era belief that fatness was evidence of “savagery” and racial inferiority.

The author argues that the contemporary ideal of slenderness is, at its very core, racialized and racist.  Indeed, it was not until the early twentieth century, when racialized attitudes against fatness were already entrenched in the culture, that the medical establishment began its crusade against obesity. 

An important and original work, Fearing the Black Body argues convincingly that fatphobia isn’t about health at all, but rather a means of using the body to validate race, class, and gender prejudice.

This is not a casual read in any way - it is a deep look into the cultural and sociological aspects of being "black and fat" affects women. Think of Reubens and his paintings (white women, of course) - they were accepted and adored (fatness proved you could afford to eat!) but then reviled as time went on. Once they were not slaves or "the help" and walking amongst the rest of the population, they noticed more and then women started to freak out over their size....what if they ended up that size?? #womenaresuchbitches

As a BBW this book hit me to the core - people really do hate me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They revile me. They fear to end up like me - BBWs are accepted more in the USA than anywhere else- I have gotten VERY RUDE AND GRAPHIC THINGS yelled at me my entire life, yet in NY & NJ last month I kept getting asked for my phone number. My hubby was ticked off, I was flattered!

Miss Strings did her research and the resulting work is not dry or dull ... it is a fascinating read that every skinny and fat woman should read. The health care system aspect is a little confusing to me as I have universal health care but I have been treated badly by nurses and doctors alike for being fat. The costs are staggering, but are they really worse than the costs incurred by diabetes? Smoking? Opioid addiction? (Note: there is a preponderance of high blood pressure in African Americans but that has a historical reason - the slaves who survived coming over on the ships had more salt in their body: 150 years later their descendants have the same high blood pressure problem as a result. 

This was an interesting book that explained how being fat was first a phobia over 200 years ago.  The author went into great detail as to how black women in particular have been looked down upon due to being overweight.  This was a really interesting book.

Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings was phenomenal. Her explanation on when, who and where the relationships between race, weight and examining centuries of Western artistic values blew me away!  Starting with the renaissance era to current day had me highlighting nearly the entire book. Everything she found was backed with notes a reference, Strings dotted her I’s and crossed her t’s in this gem. I love books that give clarity and understating on things in life we always questioned. Thanks to Netgalley and NYU Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an outstanding examination about fatphobia body size, especially in regard to black women. The author uses primary sources from the history of the United States to draw attention to the ways in which fat women, and fat black women in particular, were and are thought of by white society. Engaging with class, the medical establishment, religion, and education, Strings deftly identifies patterns of thought in America that gave rise to anti-fat stigma and the fear of the fat black woman. I recommend this highly for all women.

This is one of the best researched and most in-depth books I've ever written, about a subject I knew hardly anything about. The subject might seem small, the racial influences on the fear of obesity, but it goes in depth about the history of black people in Europe and the rise of the ascetic aesthetics. 

A very interesting and highly recommended read.

A must read especially in our present time. When will we stop seeing the black body as something to be feared but one to be uplifted. This book is one that I will recommend for my book club.

This book is a welcome addition to the growing list of books that showcase racial profiling, consciousness, and societal attitudes about race. It should be included in the conversations on race that must be done.