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"You Just Need to Lose Weight"

And 19 Other Myths About Fat People

Part of Myths Made in America

Author Aubrey Gordon
Narrator Aubrey Gordon
$45.00 US
Beacon Press | Beacon Press Audio
On sale Jan 10, 2023 | 7 Hours and 11 Minutes | 9780807006825
Sales rights: World
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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AN INDIE BESTSELLER

“One of the great thinkers of our generation . . . I feel fresher and smarter and happier for sitting down with her.”—Jameela Jamil, iWeigh Podcast

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.
Introduction
How to Use This Book
A List of Terms

PART ONE: “BEING FAT IS A CHOICE’

MYTH 1
“Being fat is a choice. If fat people don’t like how they’re treated, they should just lose weight.”

MYTH 2
“Any fat person can become thin if they try hard enough. It’s just a matter of ‘calories in, calories out.’”

MYTH 3
“Parents are responsible for their child’s weight. Only bad parents let their children get fat.”

MYTH 4
“Thin people should help fat people lose weight.”

MYTH 5
“Weight loss is the result of healthy choices and should be celebrated.”

PART TWO: “BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR HEALTH?”

MYTH 6
“Obesity is the leading cause of death in the United States.”

MYTH 7
“The BMI is an objective measure of size and health.”

MYTH 8
“Doctors are unbiased judges of fat people’s health. Fat people don’t like going to the doctor’s office because they don’t like hearing the truth.”

MYTH 9
“Fat people are emotionally damaged and cope by ‘eating their feelings.’”

PART THREE: “FACT ACCEPTANCE GLORIFIES OBESITY”

MYTH 10
“Accepting fat people ‘glorifies obesity.’”

MYTH 11
“Body positivity is about feeling better about yourself, as long as you’re happy and healthy.”

MYTH 12
“We’re in the middle of an obesity epidemic.”

MYTH 13
“Fat people don’t experience discrimination.”

MYTH 14
“I don’t like gaining weight, but I don’t treat fat people differently.”

PART FOUR: “FAT PEOPLE SHOULD . . .”

MYTH 15
“Fat people shouldn’t call themselves fat.”

MYTH 16
“People who have never been fat have ‘internalized fatphobia.’”

MYTH 17
“No one is attracted to fat people. Anyone who is has a ‘fat fetish.’”

MYTH 18
“Fat people should pay for a second airplane seat.”

MYTH 19
“Skinny shaming is just as bad as fat shaming.”

MYTH 20
“Anti-fatness is the last socially acceptable form of discrimination.”

Acknowledgments
Notes
“Will appeal to anyone interested in discrimination based on body size and other similar forms of systemic oppression.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“An excellent tool for those working to end anti-fat bias. Perfect for fat and thin readers alike, ‘You Just Need to Lose Weight’ is smart and informative—and will spur many important conversations.”
—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

“Gordon tackles pervasive myths about fatness and provides the truth about them and the people they impact…[the book] couldn't have come at a more apt time.”
—Teen Vogue

“A crucial handbook for living in a culture that is dedicated to shaming and punishing fatness…This book should be stocked in every school library and should sit in a place of honor in every doctor's office waiting room—and of course, your bookshelf.”
—Glamour

“Gordon interrogates misperceptions about fatness in this helpful handbook for those ‘struggling to interrupt moments of anti-fatness in their daily lives.’ . . . [A] lucid and impassioned guide to combatting negative stereotypes about body size.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[T]his thought-provoking treatise on fatness will give readers of all sizes plenty to think about.”
—Booklist

“Sharp, stinging commentary…The message of this book is perennially important.”
—Self

“It’s challenging to find books, like Gordon’s, that intelligently and empathetically talk about modern wellness culture in a positive, and, well, real way.”
—Allure

“Chatty and insightful, this book is sure to make readers reflect on their own biases.”
—425 Magazine

“[Gordon] brings skillful analysis, acute understanding and a sense of humor to her work.”
—The Seattle Times

“The book offers actionable steps you can take to help push back against weight bias in your own life, particularly if you’re witnessing it as someone with a smaller body.”
—Insider

“Opens the door for nuance, while shutting it on harmful, prevalent myths.”
—Portland Mercury

“Required reading for anyone who’s ever been tempted to give—or has gotten tired of receiving—weight loss advice.”
—The Skimm

“Gordon has personally laid out structured ways to disrupt and combat anti-fatness. Providing tangible steps and methods on how to do the personal and political work of addressing anti-fatness in social, familial, and cultural settings also allows for the hopeful and foundational work to build a new world founded on the grounds of fat justice.”
—Fat Studies Journal

“The author’s detailed takedown of these myths and her intelligent grasp of social dynamics make this an illuminating audiobook on how to reprogram our stereotypes about those who are visibly different from what we may believe to be ‘normal.’”
—AudioFile Magazine

About

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AN INDIE BESTSELLER

“One of the great thinkers of our generation . . . I feel fresher and smarter and happier for sitting down with her.”—Jameela Jamil, iWeigh Podcast

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction
How to Use This Book
A List of Terms

PART ONE: “BEING FAT IS A CHOICE’

MYTH 1
“Being fat is a choice. If fat people don’t like how they’re treated, they should just lose weight.”

MYTH 2
“Any fat person can become thin if they try hard enough. It’s just a matter of ‘calories in, calories out.’”

MYTH 3
“Parents are responsible for their child’s weight. Only bad parents let their children get fat.”

MYTH 4
“Thin people should help fat people lose weight.”

MYTH 5
“Weight loss is the result of healthy choices and should be celebrated.”

PART TWO: “BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR HEALTH?”

MYTH 6
“Obesity is the leading cause of death in the United States.”

MYTH 7
“The BMI is an objective measure of size and health.”

MYTH 8
“Doctors are unbiased judges of fat people’s health. Fat people don’t like going to the doctor’s office because they don’t like hearing the truth.”

MYTH 9
“Fat people are emotionally damaged and cope by ‘eating their feelings.’”

PART THREE: “FACT ACCEPTANCE GLORIFIES OBESITY”

MYTH 10
“Accepting fat people ‘glorifies obesity.’”

MYTH 11
“Body positivity is about feeling better about yourself, as long as you’re happy and healthy.”

MYTH 12
“We’re in the middle of an obesity epidemic.”

MYTH 13
“Fat people don’t experience discrimination.”

MYTH 14
“I don’t like gaining weight, but I don’t treat fat people differently.”

PART FOUR: “FAT PEOPLE SHOULD . . .”

MYTH 15
“Fat people shouldn’t call themselves fat.”

MYTH 16
“People who have never been fat have ‘internalized fatphobia.’”

MYTH 17
“No one is attracted to fat people. Anyone who is has a ‘fat fetish.’”

MYTH 18
“Fat people should pay for a second airplane seat.”

MYTH 19
“Skinny shaming is just as bad as fat shaming.”

MYTH 20
“Anti-fatness is the last socially acceptable form of discrimination.”

Acknowledgments
Notes

Praise

“Will appeal to anyone interested in discrimination based on body size and other similar forms of systemic oppression.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

“An excellent tool for those working to end anti-fat bias. Perfect for fat and thin readers alike, ‘You Just Need to Lose Weight’ is smart and informative—and will spur many important conversations.”
—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

“Gordon tackles pervasive myths about fatness and provides the truth about them and the people they impact…[the book] couldn't have come at a more apt time.”
—Teen Vogue

“A crucial handbook for living in a culture that is dedicated to shaming and punishing fatness…This book should be stocked in every school library and should sit in a place of honor in every doctor's office waiting room—and of course, your bookshelf.”
—Glamour

“Gordon interrogates misperceptions about fatness in this helpful handbook for those ‘struggling to interrupt moments of anti-fatness in their daily lives.’ . . . [A] lucid and impassioned guide to combatting negative stereotypes about body size.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[T]his thought-provoking treatise on fatness will give readers of all sizes plenty to think about.”
—Booklist

“Sharp, stinging commentary…The message of this book is perennially important.”
—Self

“It’s challenging to find books, like Gordon’s, that intelligently and empathetically talk about modern wellness culture in a positive, and, well, real way.”
—Allure

“Chatty and insightful, this book is sure to make readers reflect on their own biases.”
—425 Magazine

“[Gordon] brings skillful analysis, acute understanding and a sense of humor to her work.”
—The Seattle Times

“The book offers actionable steps you can take to help push back against weight bias in your own life, particularly if you’re witnessing it as someone with a smaller body.”
—Insider

“Opens the door for nuance, while shutting it on harmful, prevalent myths.”
—Portland Mercury

“Required reading for anyone who’s ever been tempted to give—or has gotten tired of receiving—weight loss advice.”
—The Skimm

“Gordon has personally laid out structured ways to disrupt and combat anti-fatness. Providing tangible steps and methods on how to do the personal and political work of addressing anti-fatness in social, familial, and cultural settings also allows for the hopeful and foundational work to build a new world founded on the grounds of fat justice.”
—Fat Studies Journal

“The author’s detailed takedown of these myths and her intelligent grasp of social dynamics make this an illuminating audiobook on how to reprogram our stereotypes about those who are visibly different from what we may believe to be ‘normal.’”
—AudioFile Magazine

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