Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
82nd out of 575 books
—
742 voters
Fat Is A Feminist Issue
by
Susie Orbach
THE ORIGINAL ANTI-DIET BOOK IS BACK - In one volume together with its bestselling sequel
When it was first published, Fat Is A Feminist Issue became an instant classic and it is as relevant today as it was then. Reflecting on our increasingly diet and body-obsessed society, Susie Orbach's new introduction explains how generations of women and girls are growing up absorbing...more
When it was first published, Fat Is A Feminist Issue became an instant classic and it is as relevant today as it was then. Reflecting on our increasingly diet and body-obsessed society, Susie Orbach's new introduction explains how generations of women and girls are growing up absorbing...more
Paperback, 269 pages
Published
January 5th 2006
by Arrow
(first published 1978)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,753)
While I gave this book four stars I say that with rather significant hesitation: This book (in the original 1979 publication format) struck me as largely irrelevant to women of my generation (Y).
The central thesis of this book is that women are fat as a result of institutionalized patriarchy. Women unconsciously make themselves fat for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, to protect themselves from sexuality, to provide a buffer between their bodies and society, to feel they can...more
The central thesis of this book is that women are fat as a result of institutionalized patriarchy. Women unconsciously make themselves fat for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, to protect themselves from sexuality, to provide a buffer between their bodies and society, to feel they can...more
This is a book I have heard mentioned every now and then for many years and I have always wanted to know what the book was about. So when I saw a cheap used copy I couldn't resist buying it to find out.
I'm somewhat overweight and have many serious health problems, which contribute to my weight issues in a number of ways. I didn't expect to relate so much to the different reasons that I could be choosing to stay overweight, but after reading this book I now have no doubt that at least part of my...more
I'm somewhat overweight and have many serious health problems, which contribute to my weight issues in a number of ways. I didn't expect to relate so much to the different reasons that I could be choosing to stay overweight, but after reading this book I now have no doubt that at least part of my...more
Really good. This gave a different perspective on compulsive eating and obesity as a women's issue. I appreciated that, because I think that women experience these issues differently from men, at least in western culture.
I have some reservations. First, the book was written in 1978 and is from a "first wave" feminism perspective. In this way it's a bit dated. That's not necessarily a fault, because I think in some ways feminism hasn't come as far as we think.
The second reservation is that thi...more
I have a very old copy of this, with a different cover than the one shown, so newer versions may be edited or revised. The one I am reviewing is the original edition.
Orbach focuses on compulsive eating from a psychoanalytic perspective, and her thesis is that women who overeat have an inner desire to be fat. She has visualizations and advise for forming consciousness raising groups to help women with this problem, and a little bit of advise on intuitive eating. I think she should have expanded o...more
Orbach focuses on compulsive eating from a psychoanalytic perspective, and her thesis is that women who overeat have an inner desire to be fat. She has visualizations and advise for forming consciousness raising groups to help women with this problem, and a little bit of advise on intuitive eating. I think she should have expanded o...more
Occasionally you pick up and book and it turns out not to be what you expected. The edition of FIFI that I read actually included a second volume and introductions from 2005 and back, so I assume it's one of the most recent editions. I expected FIFI to be largely academic discourse on fat and feminism, and was surprised by how much it was an overeating self-help book. I wasn't sure I fully appreciated that.
Don't get me wrong, as an overeater I think much of the analysis of overeating rings utter...more
Don't get me wrong, as an overeater I think much of the analysis of overeating rings utter...more
Okay, so, body image.
Whoo boy, where do I start.
I'll go upfront with this, I'm not very sure about where I stand on this. There are feminists who completely disregard make-up and other tools of conventional beauty. From what I gather, every woman is beautiful exactly as she is and any attempt at change will only lead to frustration and anger and lowering of self esteem.
And then there is FIFI.
The theory at the heart of "Fat Is a Feminist Issue" is not that all women are perfect, but that they...more
Whoo boy, where do I start.
I'll go upfront with this, I'm not very sure about where I stand on this. There are feminists who completely disregard make-up and other tools of conventional beauty. From what I gather, every woman is beautiful exactly as she is and any attempt at change will only lead to frustration and anger and lowering of self esteem.
And then there is FIFI.
The theory at the heart of "Fat Is a Feminist Issue" is not that all women are perfect, but that they...more
This book was completely different than what I was expecting.
I had heard about the book a long, long time ago. The title intrigued me, and it went on my mental "to read" list, where it resurfaced when I was looking for writings about body image issues. With the word "feminist" in the title, I expected it to be mostly about body acceptance in a society that says no woman is acceptable. Boy, was I wrong!
What was inside was a self-help book about compulsive eating, which can basically be defined as...more
I had heard about the book a long, long time ago. The title intrigued me, and it went on my mental "to read" list, where it resurfaced when I was looking for writings about body image issues. With the word "feminist" in the title, I expected it to be mostly about body acceptance in a society that says no woman is acceptable. Boy, was I wrong!
What was inside was a self-help book about compulsive eating, which can basically be defined as...more
Sep 14, 2011
Emily
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any woman who has ever had the impulse to diet
While most of what Orbach argues is in line with what I believe, she takes it a little too far at times. Orbach tries to connect psychoanalysis and feminism to explain the impulses of compulsive eating, but there were more instances where it felt like she was stretching than there were moments of enlightenment. Not to mention the writing was robotic and far too formal. It felt like I was reading a tenth grader's paper, topic sentences and all. Considering her own experience with compulsive eatin...more
Good ol' feminism.
I have really mixed feelings about this book, mainly becasue it reads so much like a self-help title in too many places. I first read it years ago and now work in a higher education context where a large part of our programme deals with physical activity, exercise and health. Although I do some teaching in the area, it is not my research area at all: what astounds me about so much of what I read from those research programmes is their absolute failure to grapple with politics - I don't mean poli...more
This was so long ago that my dear friend i just recommended it to was maybe not even here yet?! It's been in print ever since it's debut and apparently still going strong.
Anyway, here's my deal with it: i don't really remember what's in here. What i remember is that I was 5'10", 135 lbs, excelling in 21 college hours, running 4-6 miles per day, living on protein powder and orange juice. I had 2 marriage proposals, several other men hidden away and I felt fat. Not fat as in too large, i finally r...more
Anyway, here's my deal with it: i don't really remember what's in here. What i remember is that I was 5'10", 135 lbs, excelling in 21 college hours, running 4-6 miles per day, living on protein powder and orange juice. I had 2 marriage proposals, several other men hidden away and I felt fat. Not fat as in too large, i finally r...more
This book has been a great help to me over the years when fight my weight-both when it's been "too high" and, though never in my own self-image, dangerously low. More than any other book I can think of, it has helped put my weight into a different and far more helpful context.
Recommend: for all women with body-image problems.
Recommend: for all women with body-image problems.
This book still held some revelations despite the fact that it was written before I was born. It goes well with the book "The Beauty Myth" which is more of a cultural expose while this book is more of a self help guide. However there is precious little discussion of how women today are held captive by the societal concepts of beauty so it's nice to have multiple books available on the subject. I suggest this book to any person who has ever had an issue with food and control, basically everybody.
I don't know if I think stress-eating disorders is a feminist issue. Yes, women suffer more from eating disorders and have a larger pressure to be thin, but really so much of our body/food issues seems universal. So, I'd probably rather read a general analysis than a feminist one in this case.
I guess I didn't disagree with 100% of this book. Maybe it's just that the mindset it examines has very little in common with the way I see food, and my thin privilege gets in the way a bit, but I just didn't buy it. Also the writing style was unengaging and I glossed over the last two chapters in an effort to just get it read.
Her advice: Don't diet. Change your attitude to food. Gaining weight is linked to your relationship with your mother. (Her idea of a "fat" person is someone who's a size 12, btw).
Actually a pretty cool book. The title is misleading.
Actually a pretty cool book. The title is misleading.
I absolutely loved the first part of this book where Susie discussed implications of the political and societal expectations for women's bodies. Once I got further into the book I became disappointed however, because it was very much a (somewhat) out of date self-help guide for compulsive eaters.
I had such good hopes for this book, but I kind of disagreed with a lot of it, so I had a hard time getting into it. It was interesting, but for helpfulness I definitely would recommend "Women, Food and God" instead.
Jul 11, 2009
Liz
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
feminism-dv,
general-non-fiction
Some thirty years old but still relevent today. I felt the cover was somewhat misleading because it's not really a weight loss book but a book about the relationship of women and food, the expectations of society, and a woman's role as mother. Says something about how little society has changed in certain areas as I related to it even though we have supposedly come a long way since the seventies. Some things she addresses have changed a bit, but the contradictary pressures on women to be nurturi...more
This was not at all what I expected. And no, it is not about excuses. It is about gender politics, of which body appearance plays a part. Very interesting examination of largely unconscious societal mores.
Although this book is a bit dated with its feminist rant, it still has some gems of wisdom to offer the reader, of any sex really, on shifting one's relationship to his/her body.
Sort of hard to get through, and maybe masquerading as a diet book.....I read maybe a quarter of it. Could have been good if I gave it more of a chance!
Fat is a Feminist Issue is sort of like the ancestor of books like FAT!SO? and Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere, but rather than preaching body acceptance this book is more like a self-help manual for compulsive over-eaters. You can definitely get a whiff of the advice that is given out in the more modern books.
Why is this book out of print?
Oct 08, 2011
Spook Harrison
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Women & Men
Shelves:
health-mental,
worthwhile-texts
While some situations regarding how women are treated have indeed changed between the original publication date of the book, FIFI II and the various editions, this book still had some amazing insights for me. I've always considered myself a feminist, and I've read quite a lot about how we relate to food as human beings and women, and still this book had a number of intriguing new ideas for me to mull over, and a few new ways to look at things. I really enjoyed the book.
it didn't change my life but i keep thinking about it. useful,rational advice.
Aug 10, 2008
Dee
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone with "weight issues"
Shelves:
most-favored
This book contributed to me learning to care about myself despite a lifelong struggle to weigh less. It particularly examines the symbolic nature of fat, eating, size, and society's norms for women and men. Several of us formed a group to study this book, and it was one of the most supportive and educational endeavors I have ever experienced.
Apr 14, 2008
Kathryn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
gender-social-queer-studies
I loved this book! It was great! I thought it would be just another fat positive book...I WAS WRONG! It not only told about how we as women are inindated with these ideas of what a women should look like and should act like. They say fat-ness is a big F YOU to society. They also go into the signs of unhealthy compulsive eating. I liked it a lot!
Interesting, if retro, analysis and self-help text approaching body issues from a feminist perspective. Reads like an 80s precursor to fat studies stuff. Helpful if you struggle with fat/internalized stuff and interesting feminist document even if you don't!
The first few chapters were really good, really hooked me up but it lost me later. After midway, the info is kind of outdated and I found it a little difficult to get into it.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Dr. Susie Orbach - the therapist who treated Diana, Princess of Wales, for her eating disorders; the founder of the Women's Therapy Center of London; a former columnist for The Guardian; a visiting professor at the London School of Economics; and the author of 1978 best-seller Fat is a Feminist Issue - is, aside from Sigmund Freud, probably the most famous psychotherapist to have ever set up couch...more
More about Susie Orbach...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Oct 05, 2011 03:47pm
Oct 05, 2011 06:16pm