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Perfekcyjna w pułapce anoreksji
Szczera, prawdziwa opowieść o walce z anoreksją. O diecie, która wymknęła się spod kontroli, złamanym sercu, perfekcjonizmie i niepewności związanej z wyglądem, presji społeczeństwa i mediów. Przerażający obraz życia z anoreksją – chorobą, która dotyczy nie tylko ciała, ale i duszy…
325 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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August 2, 2014
(This review is of an ARC I received from a Goodreads giveaway.)
Have you ever noticed that when it comes to talking fitness, it tends to be about what men can do and what women look like?
This is a broad generalization, one I'm happy to see pushed off the table when it comes to running (which is all about how fast you can run a mile and how many you can do without stopping). But whether it's with my friends or in fitness groups, I've noticed that for women the talk is all about losing weight, losing inches, and how you look in that bikini or those jeans. With men it's about how many pushups they can do and how many pounds they can bench press.
This is the kind of thing The Ministry of Thin got me thinking about. I found it quite literally a life-changing book.
It's not perfect -- you can see that from a few of the comments I posted as I was reading. I'm genuinely concerned from some of the things Woolf says that she may not be completely free and clear of the anorexia that once dominated her life. (As she points out, "When you develop anorexia or bulimia nervosa, you cross from the normal, healthy world into this realm of madness. It is so hard to cross back.)
But in general, this book is so well-written and makes so many brilliant points about the damage done to women by internalizing unrealistic physical standards that I'm having a hard time fighting the urge to buy a crate of copies and hand them out on street corners.
This book forced me to reexamine my thinking and my habits. It refused to let me weasel away from the question of whether I exercised and watched what I ate because I wanted to be healthy or because I was trying desperately to achieve a certain physical ideal I knew was impossible.
The answer? Honestly? Both.
But Ministry helped me shift that kind of thinking. Of course I still worry about what I look like. But I've been working on not torturing myself anymore, and it's paying off in measures of sanity and happiness.
A few years ago, I put on some unhealthy weight for unhealthy reasons. I took it off over the course of many months by slooowly changing my exercise and eating habits. Very gradually, I figured out workouts and meals I could live with. I was focused on losing weight, but also on gaining health.
For the first time in my life, I did a real pushup, and then five, and then ten. (I can now do 25 in a row on a good day, but that doesn't mean I like to.)
When I was a kid, I couldn't even walk much because of exercise- and allergy-induced asthma attacks. Now I've worked up to being able to jog 6 miles at a stretch. (Notice I say "jog." I can't call what I do "running" and keep a straight face. But at least I'm out there moving and sweating a couple of times a week.)
I learned how great it feels to challenge myself, to push myself to do just a little more than I thought I could in a workout and to see that same spirit and ambition extend into other aspects of my life.
That's the good news.
The bad news is, I also stumbled into some seriously troubling patterns of thought. I don't think they ever blossomed into a full-fledged eating disorder, but I certainly had some disordered eating.
I was able to stop myself from falling over that particular cliff -- but I kept looking at it rather wistfully. Admiring the dreadful view.
Sure, I hated feeling hungry all the time. And yes, it was a drag to think about my body pretty much every minute of the day (and for "think about," read "obsess over," "feel hideously self-conscious about," and "wonder if my friends have been trying to think of a nice way of telling me how horrible I look").
But dang, it sure would be nice to look all sleek and willowy.
I am built like a little workhorse. I'm 5'3" and have almost nothing in the way of a bustline, but that's where any resemblance to a sylphlike physique ends. So far as I can tell, I strongly resemble the Russian peasantry I'm descended from.
Could I content myself with thinking, "Hey, I kick ass -- quite literally, when necessary. I'm 46 years old. I have a great family, fantastic friends, and I just signed with a literary agent. My looks don't scare people -- I even get flirted with sometimes by perfectly presentable men. So screw worrying. I have better things to do with my life than be decorative, damn it"?
Or did I keep torturing myself with comparisons between my own small but stubbornly solid body and the ridiculously slim forms of my friend, an ex-model and ex-dancer, and her equally long lithe dancer daughter -- both of whom are at least five inches taller and several pounds lighter than I am?
Again: both. I was a part-time idiot, but at least I was attempting to fight my own stupidity.
This book is excellent, but I'm not sure it would have been the life-changer it was for me if Woolf hadn't included a genuinely terrifying chapter on the Minnesota Semistarvation Experiment of 1944-45. As the author points out, there's no way this experiment could ever be allowed to proceed nowadays. It was horribly risky, and ended up deeply damaging the participants.
But the story of how 36 initially healthy men descended into mental illness over the course of several months shoved me right off of what could have been a path leading directly into the same madness.
I looked at the obsessions these men developed.
I thought of how much time and energy I was already giving to idiotic concerns about my body -- not its health, but how it compared to Hollywood ideals -- and how much worse it would get if I continued to try to lose even a few more pounds and keep them off.
I realized that I would have to cut even more calories off a reasonably (but not unreasonably) lean, clean eating day, and spend two to three hours a day working out (as opposed to the one to two I currently aim for).
And I said, "What am I DOING?"
So I decided to focus on what my body can do rather than what it looks like. My abs are not perfect, but -- want to watch me do 150 perfect bicycle crunches in a row? My thighs are not "bikini-ready," but have I mentioned they can take me up my apartment's flight of stairs at a run multiple times a day? And what about those patient, unseen lungs that don't pant for breath after that 15-step jaunt? How about a little credit for the work they do for me? Hooray for strong, reliable insides!
I haven't weighed myself for weeks now. I don't plan to except on doctor visits, and even then I'm going to try not to look.
I'd like to think I would have managed to haul myself back to a reasonably sane place without this book, but I'm honestly not sure I could have.
So, yeah. I recommend The Ministry of Thin.
Have you ever noticed that when it comes to talking fitness, it tends to be about what men can do and what women look like?
This is a broad generalization, one I'm happy to see pushed off the table when it comes to running (which is all about how fast you can run a mile and how many you can do without stopping). But whether it's with my friends or in fitness groups, I've noticed that for women the talk is all about losing weight, losing inches, and how you look in that bikini or those jeans. With men it's about how many pushups they can do and how many pounds they can bench press.
This is the kind of thing The Ministry of Thin got me thinking about. I found it quite literally a life-changing book.
It's not perfect -- you can see that from a few of the comments I posted as I was reading. I'm genuinely concerned from some of the things Woolf says that she may not be completely free and clear of the anorexia that once dominated her life. (As she points out, "When you develop anorexia or bulimia nervosa, you cross from the normal, healthy world into this realm of madness. It is so hard to cross back.)
But in general, this book is so well-written and makes so many brilliant points about the damage done to women by internalizing unrealistic physical standards that I'm having a hard time fighting the urge to buy a crate of copies and hand them out on street corners.
This book forced me to reexamine my thinking and my habits. It refused to let me weasel away from the question of whether I exercised and watched what I ate because I wanted to be healthy or because I was trying desperately to achieve a certain physical ideal I knew was impossible.
The answer? Honestly? Both.
But Ministry helped me shift that kind of thinking. Of course I still worry about what I look like. But I've been working on not torturing myself anymore, and it's paying off in measures of sanity and happiness.
A few years ago, I put on some unhealthy weight for unhealthy reasons. I took it off over the course of many months by slooowly changing my exercise and eating habits. Very gradually, I figured out workouts and meals I could live with. I was focused on losing weight, but also on gaining health.
For the first time in my life, I did a real pushup, and then five, and then ten. (I can now do 25 in a row on a good day, but that doesn't mean I like to.)
When I was a kid, I couldn't even walk much because of exercise- and allergy-induced asthma attacks. Now I've worked up to being able to jog 6 miles at a stretch. (Notice I say "jog." I can't call what I do "running" and keep a straight face. But at least I'm out there moving and sweating a couple of times a week.)
I learned how great it feels to challenge myself, to push myself to do just a little more than I thought I could in a workout and to see that same spirit and ambition extend into other aspects of my life.
That's the good news.
The bad news is, I also stumbled into some seriously troubling patterns of thought. I don't think they ever blossomed into a full-fledged eating disorder, but I certainly had some disordered eating.
I was able to stop myself from falling over that particular cliff -- but I kept looking at it rather wistfully. Admiring the dreadful view.
Sure, I hated feeling hungry all the time. And yes, it was a drag to think about my body pretty much every minute of the day (and for "think about," read "obsess over," "feel hideously self-conscious about," and "wonder if my friends have been trying to think of a nice way of telling me how horrible I look").
But dang, it sure would be nice to look all sleek and willowy.
I am built like a little workhorse. I'm 5'3" and have almost nothing in the way of a bustline, but that's where any resemblance to a sylphlike physique ends. So far as I can tell, I strongly resemble the Russian peasantry I'm descended from.
Could I content myself with thinking, "Hey, I kick ass -- quite literally, when necessary. I'm 46 years old. I have a great family, fantastic friends, and I just signed with a literary agent. My looks don't scare people -- I even get flirted with sometimes by perfectly presentable men. So screw worrying. I have better things to do with my life than be decorative, damn it"?
Or did I keep torturing myself with comparisons between my own small but stubbornly solid body and the ridiculously slim forms of my friend, an ex-model and ex-dancer, and her equally long lithe dancer daughter -- both of whom are at least five inches taller and several pounds lighter than I am?
Again: both. I was a part-time idiot, but at least I was attempting to fight my own stupidity.
This book is excellent, but I'm not sure it would have been the life-changer it was for me if Woolf hadn't included a genuinely terrifying chapter on the Minnesota Semistarvation Experiment of 1944-45. As the author points out, there's no way this experiment could ever be allowed to proceed nowadays. It was horribly risky, and ended up deeply damaging the participants.
But the story of how 36 initially healthy men descended into mental illness over the course of several months shoved me right off of what could have been a path leading directly into the same madness.
I looked at the obsessions these men developed.
I thought of how much time and energy I was already giving to idiotic concerns about my body -- not its health, but how it compared to Hollywood ideals -- and how much worse it would get if I continued to try to lose even a few more pounds and keep them off.
I realized that I would have to cut even more calories off a reasonably (but not unreasonably) lean, clean eating day, and spend two to three hours a day working out (as opposed to the one to two I currently aim for).
And I said, "What am I DOING?"
So I decided to focus on what my body can do rather than what it looks like. My abs are not perfect, but -- want to watch me do 150 perfect bicycle crunches in a row? My thighs are not "bikini-ready," but have I mentioned they can take me up my apartment's flight of stairs at a run multiple times a day? And what about those patient, unseen lungs that don't pant for breath after that 15-step jaunt? How about a little credit for the work they do for me? Hooray for strong, reliable insides!
I haven't weighed myself for weeks now. I don't plan to except on doctor visits, and even then I'm going to try not to look.
I'd like to think I would have managed to haul myself back to a reasonably sane place without this book, but I'm honestly not sure I could have.
So, yeah. I recommend The Ministry of Thin.
January 3, 2015
I really wanted to like this - but I couldn't.
The author's constant personal stories about her experiences with anorexia should have made it better but they just ended up feeling shoved into each chapter and added to the disjointed feeling of the book. Woolf barely scratched the surface of an subject in her chapters, which was too bad since there was so much potential. For all the name-dropping of various feminist authors, I didn't think she really read any of their writings! Or at least understood them…rather than writing about why women go to great lengths to adhere to patriarchal beauty standards in the west - she blamed them for doing so, despite seeming to understand that women would rather not lose earning power, respect, etc when they gain weight, look older, 'ugly', etc. "We do this to ourselves", "they should know better", "how ridiculous they look" were some of the gems I caught in there.
I'd say this read like a blog-post but the blogger Lindy West has written far better. This read like an undergrad's 'personal reflection' essay from her first women's studies class.
The author's constant personal stories about her experiences with anorexia should have made it better but they just ended up feeling shoved into each chapter and added to the disjointed feeling of the book. Woolf barely scratched the surface of an subject in her chapters, which was too bad since there was so much potential. For all the name-dropping of various feminist authors, I didn't think she really read any of their writings! Or at least understood them…rather than writing about why women go to great lengths to adhere to patriarchal beauty standards in the west - she blamed them for doing so, despite seeming to understand that women would rather not lose earning power, respect, etc when they gain weight, look older, 'ugly', etc. "We do this to ourselves", "they should know better", "how ridiculous they look" were some of the gems I caught in there.
I'd say this read like a blog-post but the blogger Lindy West has written far better. This read like an undergrad's 'personal reflection' essay from her first women's studies class.
August 30, 2015
Semi-interesting. Mostly meh. The author wrote a book about anorexia, but this reads like a sequel to that. In the introduction she said she'd try not to talk about her anorexia often, but it was mentioned in almost every chapter, often at length. Some people might not mind that, but it wasn't what I expected. The question of "how the pursuit of perfection got out of control" was never even answered.
January 10, 2016
I'm not sure why I read this book, since I didn't like the author's previous one, An Apple a Day. I guess because I'm kind of curious how society got so obsessed with dieting and skinny celebrities and other superficial crap, and I'm (usually) willing to give an author a second try. The good news is that this book is better. Not great, but mildly interesting and Woolf does have a few good points. Even so, if you only have time for one book on this topic, I'd probably go with a different Wolf--The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, that is.
My biggest problem with the book is that the author still comes across as being totally enmeshed in her own eating issues. She seems quite judgmental towards others, especially fat people. I was particularly annoyed by her comments that she didn't really believe that overweight people who claim to be happy and accepting of their size really mean it, and that anyone can just lose the weight by trying harder, such as: "But scratch the surface of any 'naturally slim' person and I guarantee you will find quite a lot of physical activity, whether that's actual exercise, or simply walking everywhere. So, when I hear people making excuses for being overweight or out of shape, I don't really buy it, because (a) exercise works; (b) most cyclists and runners are slim; and (c) you don't see fat skeletons. It's not rocket science." I read things like that and think, is this woman in touch with reality at all? I know plenty of "overweight" people who work out--some who work out far more often than me (and I am, sorry to admit this, one of those "naturally slim" people she mentions). But now I can tell them that they have no excuse 'cause their bones aren't fat???
I also wondered where she is getting her facts, as there aren't any footnotes. (She does mention running across a link to a study about bananas on Twitter.) For example, she laments the fact that children aren't allowed out to play in their neighborhoods anymore due to fear of perverts, but then states that they are much more likely to run into a sexual predator "safely" indoors on the Internet. But she doesn't give any sources or statistics to back this claim up. At another point, when decrying the influence of porn on mainstream society, she states that one of the biggest sexual health concerns of young women is anal fissures. Again, where did she get that information from? Twitter? Conversations with her friends? A scientific study about sexual behavior? No idea.
She has some observations from her road trip across the United States--"the home of obesity"--as well: "In the U.S., the traditional visit to the movies is accompanied by popcorn and hot dogs, sweets and candy, or even a full Mexican meal: nachos, tacos, and melted cheese. As an American friend tells me, 'It's just what you do--buy movie tickets, visit the bathroom, choose the snacks." I read that and thought, what, I can get a full Mexican meal at the movie theater? Why didn't anyone tell me?? But seriously, I think I have more "American friends" than the author, and we go to the movies quite a lot, and no one eats like that at the theater. For one thing, at the prices they charge, who could afford it? (Source: went to see Star Wars yesterday with my husband and neither of us ate anything. Some people in the audience were seen with popcorn.)
To sum up: good topic, some interesting points, but not very well done.
My biggest problem with the book is that the author still comes across as being totally enmeshed in her own eating issues. She seems quite judgmental towards others, especially fat people. I was particularly annoyed by her comments that she didn't really believe that overweight people who claim to be happy and accepting of their size really mean it, and that anyone can just lose the weight by trying harder, such as: "But scratch the surface of any 'naturally slim' person and I guarantee you will find quite a lot of physical activity, whether that's actual exercise, or simply walking everywhere. So, when I hear people making excuses for being overweight or out of shape, I don't really buy it, because (a) exercise works; (b) most cyclists and runners are slim; and (c) you don't see fat skeletons. It's not rocket science." I read things like that and think, is this woman in touch with reality at all? I know plenty of "overweight" people who work out--some who work out far more often than me (and I am, sorry to admit this, one of those "naturally slim" people she mentions). But now I can tell them that they have no excuse 'cause their bones aren't fat???
I also wondered where she is getting her facts, as there aren't any footnotes. (She does mention running across a link to a study about bananas on Twitter.) For example, she laments the fact that children aren't allowed out to play in their neighborhoods anymore due to fear of perverts, but then states that they are much more likely to run into a sexual predator "safely" indoors on the Internet. But she doesn't give any sources or statistics to back this claim up. At another point, when decrying the influence of porn on mainstream society, she states that one of the biggest sexual health concerns of young women is anal fissures. Again, where did she get that information from? Twitter? Conversations with her friends? A scientific study about sexual behavior? No idea.
She has some observations from her road trip across the United States--"the home of obesity"--as well: "In the U.S., the traditional visit to the movies is accompanied by popcorn and hot dogs, sweets and candy, or even a full Mexican meal: nachos, tacos, and melted cheese. As an American friend tells me, 'It's just what you do--buy movie tickets, visit the bathroom, choose the snacks." I read that and thought, what, I can get a full Mexican meal at the movie theater? Why didn't anyone tell me?? But seriously, I think I have more "American friends" than the author, and we go to the movies quite a lot, and no one eats like that at the theater. For one thing, at the prices they charge, who could afford it? (Source: went to see Star Wars yesterday with my husband and neither of us ate anything. Some people in the audience were seen with popcorn.)
To sum up: good topic, some interesting points, but not very well done.
July 30, 2013
"I'm probably over-thinking this. And revealing my own superficiality."
That quote pretty much summed up this book for me. I felt that the book started off strong for the first few chapters, but somehow it ended up dragging on and focusing on feminism a little bit too much for my liking. Still, some valuable ideas were presented and I could definitely relate to some of issues in regards to the pursuit of perfection, I think every female and male could. I would've liked to read more evidence based research or at least the opinions of a broader audience instead of the author and her friends thoughts on subjects.
Perhaps I would of appreciated this book more if I had read Emma Woolf's previous book about her struggle with anorexia.
Best quote from this book: "if losing weight is the answer, what is the question?"
That quote pretty much summed up this book for me. I felt that the book started off strong for the first few chapters, but somehow it ended up dragging on and focusing on feminism a little bit too much for my liking. Still, some valuable ideas were presented and I could definitely relate to some of issues in regards to the pursuit of perfection, I think every female and male could. I would've liked to read more evidence based research or at least the opinions of a broader audience instead of the author and her friends thoughts on subjects.
Perhaps I would of appreciated this book more if I had read Emma Woolf's previous book about her struggle with anorexia.
Best quote from this book: "if losing weight is the answer, what is the question?"
December 26, 2014
This read like a college research paper. I didn't learn anything, there were no new insights, just the usual media, culture, perfectionism theories of why anorexia develops. I felt it was a rant against society.
January 23, 2016
An utter disappointment.
June 29, 2013
The Ministry of Thin is the second book I have read by Emma Woolfthis year, the first being her memoir An Apple a Day: A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia. This book is an intelligent and critical analysis of the destructive affects of the pursuit of bodily perfection. Woolf is unrelenting in her look at the various industries that control the looks and emotions of the women who invest their time and money in them. The Ministry of Thin looks at how the fitness, cosmetic and diet industries are able to tap into the insecurities of the population to persuade them they need to look and maintain their youthful looks for as long as possible.
Woolf explores in detail and with insight the paradoxical behaviours exhibited by women in their desire to become a slimmer and perceived better version of them. Part of what makes this book so readable is that she goes right under the surface of the various ministries (how she refers to various industries that have an agenda to promote) to expose what makes them such a dark pervasive force that contributes to an individual’s warped self image. Woolf writes with conviction as being both an outsider and participant in some of these ministries she is in a unique position to comment on the devastation caused by trying to live a perfect life. She makes occasional reference to her previous anorexia, which rules to live by she states were clear and simple to follow when she had the illness, to highlight and contrast how messy and complex the rules people follow are and how it causes an unnecessary self loathing of oneself.
The pursuit of perfection perpetuates and the enormous pressure from peers and the media are making normal civilian life hell in trying to attain an image of perfection that ultimately cannot last. Woolf’s point remains consistent throughout; if people accepted and liked their body shapes they would not have to undergo a lot of mental anguish and disappointment for failing to be something they are not. The Ministry of Thin is worth reading to learn that having achieved female emancipation in many areas just how much further female sexuality has declined somewhat in modern times and the disturbingly high control direction it could moved in if people are not educated about the manipulation they are exposed to.
Woolf explores in detail and with insight the paradoxical behaviours exhibited by women in their desire to become a slimmer and perceived better version of them. Part of what makes this book so readable is that she goes right under the surface of the various ministries (how she refers to various industries that have an agenda to promote) to expose what makes them such a dark pervasive force that contributes to an individual’s warped self image. Woolf writes with conviction as being both an outsider and participant in some of these ministries she is in a unique position to comment on the devastation caused by trying to live a perfect life. She makes occasional reference to her previous anorexia, which rules to live by she states were clear and simple to follow when she had the illness, to highlight and contrast how messy and complex the rules people follow are and how it causes an unnecessary self loathing of oneself.
The pursuit of perfection perpetuates and the enormous pressure from peers and the media are making normal civilian life hell in trying to attain an image of perfection that ultimately cannot last. Woolf’s point remains consistent throughout; if people accepted and liked their body shapes they would not have to undergo a lot of mental anguish and disappointment for failing to be something they are not. The Ministry of Thin is worth reading to learn that having achieved female emancipation in many areas just how much further female sexuality has declined somewhat in modern times and the disturbingly high control direction it could moved in if people are not educated about the manipulation they are exposed to.
March 21, 2018
I saw this on the "New" shelf at the library and was drawn in by the title . . .
Woolf definitely outlines the problem, but I don't feel she adequately explored solutions. Her attitude toward those who are overweight was incredibly condescending in places as well. (In the chapter "Ministry of Gym" she basically asserted that she doesn't believe people's excuses for being overweight and out-of-shape because "exercise works . . . it's not rocket science.") It's not exactly a kind treatment of those who struggle being overweight (especially if women judging other women is part of the problem, as she later states, and I fully agree that it is).
Overall, she did make some valid points, and it was a quick and interesting read. I have definite hope that we as women will rise up and decide enough is enough when it comes to succumbing to societal pressures of unattainable feminine perfection. Woolf is right . . . we are worth so much more.
Woolf definitely outlines the problem, but I don't feel she adequately explored solutions. Her attitude toward those who are overweight was incredibly condescending in places as well. (In the chapter "Ministry of Gym" she basically asserted that she doesn't believe people's excuses for being overweight and out-of-shape because "exercise works . . . it's not rocket science.") It's not exactly a kind treatment of those who struggle being overweight (especially if women judging other women is part of the problem, as she later states, and I fully agree that it is).
Overall, she did make some valid points, and it was a quick and interesting read. I have definite hope that we as women will rise up and decide enough is enough when it comes to succumbing to societal pressures of unattainable feminine perfection. Woolf is right . . . we are worth so much more.
May 22, 2015
The title of this book was misleading. It didn't deal with 'how' the pursuit of perfection got out of control at all. Rather, it was more of a rant about the current state of affairs on a broad array of feminist topics and didn't add anything to the current dialogue. I was expecting to learn something new, but it all seemed like it had been said before. Further, the book relied heavily on anecdotes and where Woolf referenced actual facts, there were no Notes at the end to show where they came from. How does a book get published without references? The only thing stopping me from giving one star was that it was well written.
September 23, 2014
It was promising, and there were a few ideas I liked, but for the most part nothing was new or particularly noteworthy.
I felt like I was reading a (long) blog.
I felt like I was reading a (long) blog.
April 29, 2023
TWs: diet culture, eating disorders. Please do not read further if these trigger you.
"Now I'm not a saint but I'm not a sinner. Now everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner." ('The Fear', Lily Allen)
I bought this book about 8 years ago for an essay in my postgrad course but never got around to reading it in full until now. The author looks at their own history of eating disorders & asks why when women make gains in other areas of their lives, their weight is still such a hot topic. I remember reading in another book years ago that the more successful women become, the more extreme the objectification & the images used to denigrate us become. This book was published in 2012 which means that some of it, especially the popular culture aspect, is definitely dated now, but the view of women in our society is still relevant & still as much of a problem as ever.
If you've ever read any other books on the subject, then there's nothing particularly new here. The tone aimed for seems to have been as witty asides, but it can come across as rather condescending in parts. There's also a sliver of ableism at times where the author assumes that everyone is the same, losing weight is simply a case of eating less & moving more. If it was that simple, there'd be no need for all these diet plans & hardly anyone would be overweight. Some of us do have health conditions & take medications that impact weight loss/gain so it's not that we're scarfing down entire chocolate fudge cakes in one sitting.
There are one or two other issues: unfortunately the author makes the error of repeating the lie that muscle weighs more than fat - a pound in weight is a pound in weight - muscle however is leaner. They also don't mention the reclassification in the late 90s of the healthy/overweight/obese BMI categories when millions of people went from healthy to overweight & overweight to obese overnight without gaining an ounce. Overall it's okay but rather too dated in many ways now. 2.5 stars (rounded down)
"Now I'm not a saint but I'm not a sinner. Now everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner." ('The Fear', Lily Allen)
I bought this book about 8 years ago for an essay in my postgrad course but never got around to reading it in full until now. The author looks at their own history of eating disorders & asks why when women make gains in other areas of their lives, their weight is still such a hot topic. I remember reading in another book years ago that the more successful women become, the more extreme the objectification & the images used to denigrate us become. This book was published in 2012 which means that some of it, especially the popular culture aspect, is definitely dated now, but the view of women in our society is still relevant & still as much of a problem as ever.
If you've ever read any other books on the subject, then there's nothing particularly new here. The tone aimed for seems to have been as witty asides, but it can come across as rather condescending in parts. There's also a sliver of ableism at times where the author assumes that everyone is the same, losing weight is simply a case of eating less & moving more. If it was that simple, there'd be no need for all these diet plans & hardly anyone would be overweight. Some of us do have health conditions & take medications that impact weight loss/gain so it's not that we're scarfing down entire chocolate fudge cakes in one sitting.
There are one or two other issues: unfortunately the author makes the error of repeating the lie that muscle weighs more than fat - a pound in weight is a pound in weight - muscle however is leaner. They also don't mention the reclassification in the late 90s of the healthy/overweight/obese BMI categories when millions of people went from healthy to overweight & overweight to obese overnight without gaining an ounce. Overall it's okay but rather too dated in many ways now. 2.5 stars (rounded down)
August 17, 2023
In 2012, Woolf published An Apple a Day, a memoir (drawn from a Times column that she wrote) about trying to recover from anorexia. In 2013, she followed up with The Ministry of Thin, in which she takes an extremely unscientific look at the pressure that girls and women are under to look and sometimes act a certain way.
And...I can only think that Woolf was still deep in her disorder when she wrote this. She speaks of anorexia as a thing of her past, but she also says that I literally don't go near butter (loc. 267); wonders whether, despite her anorexia, she was ever actually mentally ill (loc. 2597); describes women who don't have 'fuller figures' as 'the perfect ones' (loc. 3167); argues repeatedly that size is purely down to behaviour rather than, e.g., genetics; and tries unconvincingly to argue that she doesn't have a problem with fat bodies:
This [fear] is the way I feel about fat in food. However, fat as body shape seems quite different. It interests me. I wonder what it would be like to become very large. (loc. 606)
but then continues with fun things like this:
I know it's easier than it sounds. I know that, despite having come close to death, I would still choose battling anorexia over battling obesity. No one wants to be fat. Everyone wants to be thinner. (loc. 760)
The book isn't entirely about body size—Woolf also talks about, for example, the pressure to be made up a certain way (she tells us that the fact that she sometimes leaves the house without mascara is down to 'my own laziness' (loc. 1643))—but as far as I can tell most of this book is her attempt to delude herself into thinking that she's perfectly healthy and normal now, and any residual terror of butter or disdain for fat people is just natural because she's a woman in today's (or 2013's) society. I do not recommend reading this if you have ever had an eating disorder. I do not recommend reading this if you have a bigger body. I do not recommend reading this in general.
Woolf was still only very recently into some semblance of recovery when she wrote this. It's been ten years, and I really hope that things have continued to improve for her. But...somewhere along the way, I wish an editor had looked at this and said, 'Look, interesting concept, but let's table this for a few years until it feels less raw and you can think about actual science and research instead of your continued tithing at the Church of Thin.'
And...I can only think that Woolf was still deep in her disorder when she wrote this. She speaks of anorexia as a thing of her past, but she also says that I literally don't go near butter (loc. 267); wonders whether, despite her anorexia, she was ever actually mentally ill (loc. 2597); describes women who don't have 'fuller figures' as 'the perfect ones' (loc. 3167); argues repeatedly that size is purely down to behaviour rather than, e.g., genetics; and tries unconvincingly to argue that she doesn't have a problem with fat bodies:
This [fear] is the way I feel about fat in food. However, fat as body shape seems quite different. It interests me. I wonder what it would be like to become very large. (loc. 606)
but then continues with fun things like this:
I know it's easier than it sounds. I know that, despite having come close to death, I would still choose battling anorexia over battling obesity. No one wants to be fat. Everyone wants to be thinner. (loc. 760)
The book isn't entirely about body size—Woolf also talks about, for example, the pressure to be made up a certain way (she tells us that the fact that she sometimes leaves the house without mascara is down to 'my own laziness' (loc. 1643))—but as far as I can tell most of this book is her attempt to delude herself into thinking that she's perfectly healthy and normal now, and any residual terror of butter or disdain for fat people is just natural because she's a woman in today's (or 2013's) society. I do not recommend reading this if you have ever had an eating disorder. I do not recommend reading this if you have a bigger body. I do not recommend reading this in general.
Woolf was still only very recently into some semblance of recovery when she wrote this. It's been ten years, and I really hope that things have continued to improve for her. But...somewhere along the way, I wish an editor had looked at this and said, 'Look, interesting concept, but let's table this for a few years until it feels less raw and you can think about actual science and research instead of your continued tithing at the Church of Thin.'
February 25, 2015
While interesting, this book does not break new ground, but rather affirms what we suspect, know, experience (and at times reads like a research paper, particularly the last chapter, titled "Conclusion".) Still, the culture of body image and distortion is a rich and valuable topic to explore.
My favorite passage, quoting a Jacqueline Maley editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald:
"One of the more insidious trends of the modern era . . . is the moral sanctity people attach to their food choices. Eating is no longer something we do for taste and energy consumption; it is a political act. The ability to select and consume biodynamic, macrobiotic, locally sourced and fully organic food is surely the greatest middle-class indulgence of our time."
Now, that's a piece I want to read in full!
My favorite passage, quoting a Jacqueline Maley editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald:
"One of the more insidious trends of the modern era . . . is the moral sanctity people attach to their food choices. Eating is no longer something we do for taste and energy consumption; it is a political act. The ability to select and consume biodynamic, macrobiotic, locally sourced and fully organic food is surely the greatest middle-class indulgence of our time."
Now, that's a piece I want to read in full!
June 13, 2015
I had such high hopes for this book, everything about it seemed to ooze potential when I saw it glinting at me on the library shelf. But when I started reading it quickly became apparent that no single contributory factor to poor body image in women was going to receive a lot of attention from the author, and what was written about each was heavily peppered with relentless anecdotes about the author's personal experience with anorexia. This could have added to the overall book, but in too high a volume and not surrounded by much other content of any significant value, it sounded hollow and preachy. I spent half the book feeling like I was having both sides of a well-trodden argument read back at me, and the other half like I was being told off for not realising how life is just as hard, if not harder, for the underweight as the overweight in today's society.
November 13, 2019
This is a book about how women must diet constantly, consume only organic food, detox regularly, marry the perfect man, produce beautiful babies "effortlessly", be confident but not a bitch, be professionally successful without being pushy or unfeminine, be naturally beautiful, well-dressed and made-up, stay young despite aging being inevitable and most of all.......be thin!!! I enjoyed this book immensely...a very intelligent look at the pressures women of the Western world face.
March 22, 2019
The truly sad thing is that most of the women reading this book have already figured most of this out. Still, a good example of having a clear argument against the negativity of the media, the danger of fad diets and the punishing self-hatred that most females (and, increasingly, males) face.
August 25, 2014
Maybe a 3.5. The beginning started out slowly, with a lot of information we already know, but she got more insightful as the book continued on.
February 7, 2019
I LOVED this book. As a fellow ED alumnus, I I felt this author's thoughts particularly on anorexia (which, curiously she never refers to as anorexia nervosa) and bulimia were 100 % on point. I’d never heard of the 1940s starvation study and plan to read more about that amazing bit of research. All the chapters in the book which focused on elective plastic surgery, Botox, makeup, tweezing and shaving, social media pressure, tabloids, male versus female beauty expectations, and pregnancy bodies were beautifully written and spot on. Finally, there exists a modern book written by a modern woman who doesn’t hatefully rail on society or men or the patriarchy but simply points out where we as women are doing a horrible disservice to ourselves.
February 13, 2019
Middle class feminist drivel.
This book isn't good. It lacks any real cohesion, doubling back on itself and repeating statements from previous chapters. It contains other threads of perceived iniquities towards women, that only barely, tenuously link up and the prose throughout is flat and dull.
I enjoyed the author's first book - a memoir of her battle with anorexia - because it is something I personally find completely alien & impossible to comprehend and she wrote from the heart with illuminating personal revelation. But this was just a mess. It felt like she'd been given a deal for the second book on the strength of the first (which itself had probably been given the go ahead due to the author having a Guardian column and being the descendent of Virginia Woolf) but whatever insightful feminist perspectives she pledged to weave together with the theme of body image, just didn't work.
Aside from the fact that feminism is a redundant, toxic, delusional, decadent movement concerned only with female supremacy, the logic presented didn't add up. Every time she presented the reader with another 'issue' women allegedly face in the #CurrentYear it basically kept boiling down to the same thing: women are the ones buying into this nonsense and women are the ones doing the judging.
Be it the curse of the celebrity/women's magazines (a truly awful gash-fest if ever there was) giving women 'unattainable beauty standards' (stop buying/reading them then!) or the way women judge the way celebs look in those magazines (stop being a bunch of schadenfreude-filled harpies then!) or the pressure to lose weight straight after giving birth (stop listening to retards and concentrate on raising your baby...maybe??) it keeps coming back to the same point: women are their own worst enemies.
And like so many feminists before the author cries out "why can't we as women come together and support one another?", while she reels off further examples of how women do stupid things like starve themselves, wear the same latest 'fashions' as one another (complaining if anyone turns up in anything similar, despite all stores selling the same unoriginal crap), stagger around in shoes they can't walk in and give every other woman who walks in the door, that cursory 'once-over' - looking for faults in order to assuage her own insecurities.
Naturally she also tries to throw in the ubiquitous bit of man-hating (trying to compare the more accepted sight of a man with a woman 15 years his junior, to the same age difference with genders reversed, before having to admit that the viability of woman's fertility declines over time, whilst men are evolutionarily programmed to be more attracted to healthy women of child bearing age, in order to further the continuation of our species (I know...biology is a b****h. Deal with it!) But even she has to concede that when she pressed her friends for their opinions on getting older, whilst it was a real concern to the women she questioned, the men came back with a resoundingly consistent "Not bothered".
Whilst trying to hype up a point about women's bodies on screen, she talks about a film featuring a scene where several women with regular non-Hollywood bodies featured....the male friend she was with said he found them all sexually attractive. Oopsie. Not the vile, outpouring of misogyny she was banking on I guess.
When asking men if they preferred the super-skinny proportions of a catwalk model or those of Marilyn Monroe or Kelly Brooke, few chose the skinny super models. It felt like every time she wanted to try and use men as a reason to blame for the insecure neuroses of women, she merely ended up proving that women are the cause of their own misery.
She even had a go at those women who have decided to choose to be wives and mothers, rather than go out to work, dismissing the work they do in both raising children and supporting their husbands as some kind of negative anachronistic weakness.
This book is just so confused. Whatever point it started out trying to make was refuted at every turn. It felt poorly edited and incredibly indulgent. But then that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to feminist writing. The take home message? Women are a bunch of ridiculous basket cases who create non-issues to lose their minds over and any real notion of solidarity or a sisterhood is laughable. Another reason to despise and distrust and dismiss identity politics.
This book isn't good. It lacks any real cohesion, doubling back on itself and repeating statements from previous chapters. It contains other threads of perceived iniquities towards women, that only barely, tenuously link up and the prose throughout is flat and dull.
I enjoyed the author's first book - a memoir of her battle with anorexia - because it is something I personally find completely alien & impossible to comprehend and she wrote from the heart with illuminating personal revelation. But this was just a mess. It felt like she'd been given a deal for the second book on the strength of the first (which itself had probably been given the go ahead due to the author having a Guardian column and being the descendent of Virginia Woolf) but whatever insightful feminist perspectives she pledged to weave together with the theme of body image, just didn't work.
Aside from the fact that feminism is a redundant, toxic, delusional, decadent movement concerned only with female supremacy, the logic presented didn't add up. Every time she presented the reader with another 'issue' women allegedly face in the #CurrentYear it basically kept boiling down to the same thing: women are the ones buying into this nonsense and women are the ones doing the judging.
Be it the curse of the celebrity/women's magazines (a truly awful gash-fest if ever there was) giving women 'unattainable beauty standards' (stop buying/reading them then!) or the way women judge the way celebs look in those magazines (stop being a bunch of schadenfreude-filled harpies then!) or the pressure to lose weight straight after giving birth (stop listening to retards and concentrate on raising your baby...maybe??) it keeps coming back to the same point: women are their own worst enemies.
And like so many feminists before the author cries out "why can't we as women come together and support one another?", while she reels off further examples of how women do stupid things like starve themselves, wear the same latest 'fashions' as one another (complaining if anyone turns up in anything similar, despite all stores selling the same unoriginal crap), stagger around in shoes they can't walk in and give every other woman who walks in the door, that cursory 'once-over' - looking for faults in order to assuage her own insecurities.
Naturally she also tries to throw in the ubiquitous bit of man-hating (trying to compare the more accepted sight of a man with a woman 15 years his junior, to the same age difference with genders reversed, before having to admit that the viability of woman's fertility declines over time, whilst men are evolutionarily programmed to be more attracted to healthy women of child bearing age, in order to further the continuation of our species (I know...biology is a b****h. Deal with it!) But even she has to concede that when she pressed her friends for their opinions on getting older, whilst it was a real concern to the women she questioned, the men came back with a resoundingly consistent "Not bothered".
Whilst trying to hype up a point about women's bodies on screen, she talks about a film featuring a scene where several women with regular non-Hollywood bodies featured....the male friend she was with said he found them all sexually attractive. Oopsie. Not the vile, outpouring of misogyny she was banking on I guess.
When asking men if they preferred the super-skinny proportions of a catwalk model or those of Marilyn Monroe or Kelly Brooke, few chose the skinny super models. It felt like every time she wanted to try and use men as a reason to blame for the insecure neuroses of women, she merely ended up proving that women are the cause of their own misery.
She even had a go at those women who have decided to choose to be wives and mothers, rather than go out to work, dismissing the work they do in both raising children and supporting their husbands as some kind of negative anachronistic weakness.
This book is just so confused. Whatever point it started out trying to make was refuted at every turn. It felt poorly edited and incredibly indulgent. But then that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to feminist writing. The take home message? Women are a bunch of ridiculous basket cases who create non-issues to lose their minds over and any real notion of solidarity or a sisterhood is laughable. Another reason to despise and distrust and dismiss identity politics.
October 3, 2014
This is a very entertaining book about the way we see ourselves, the sometimes constant struggle to stay young, thin, and desirable, and the many things we do to achieve this look. Emma Woolf is a former anorexic, the great-niece of the author Virginia Woolf, and a health and beauty columnist for The London Times and other papers, and a presenter on English Television's Channel 4 and Radio 4. This is a carefully-researched book that casts doubt on the way we live our lives and our view of our own bodies. And some of it is decidedly humorous. Because obesity is considered by many to be a disease of affluence, Ms. Woolf has made a number of trips to the United States in the name of research, and her initial view of America is rather amusing: she sees us as a nation of supersized beings lumbering between any number of fast-food joints, grossly overstocked supermarkets, and cooking vast dinners replete with any number of gravies and sauces. And then she starts reeling off the facts and it becomes less funny: Over 58 million Americans are overweight; Over 40 million Americans are obese; Over 3 million Americans are morbidly obese (in case you're counting, that's a third of the population); More than 80 percent of Americans do not engage in adequate physical activity; More than 25 percent of all Americans are considered to be "completely sedentary". And as we get older, it seems that we almost go to war with our own bodies in the name of what we think we should look like. For instance, the 40-year-old actress Jennifer Aniston, in order to keep her face "young and glowing", has developed a preference for chemical face peels ("It's extremely intense...you look like a battered burn victim for a week. The dead skin on your face just kind of falls off, for eight days.") Or how about Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, aka the Vampire Facelift, wherein blood is drawn from your arm, spun in a centrifuge to separate out the platelets, and then injected back into the wrinkles in your face for a newer, younger you? This is one book I won't soon forget.
October 21, 2014
I'm not generally a huge fan of self-help/pop culture books but I really liked this one. Woolf, who is a recovered anorexic, writes about the history of the perfect looking woman and how culture promotes perfection in women. She covers such topics as diets, detoxing, fashion and beauty, age and surgery and how these issues contribute to the quest for perfection. She points out how much our culture promotes being thin and how society focuses on celebrities and their seemingly perfect look. She writes about how women are held to a different standard than men; for example, men can go gray and be told they look more dignified while women may feel pressure to dye their hair when it starts to gray. She encourages woman to think differently about themselves and not to allow culture to pressure them into an unrealistic/unattainable image of themselves.
Overall, the book is well-written and definitely thought provoking. I was both maddened and saddened by the information in the book (not the message of the book itself but in the facts supporting the information) and hope the cultural messages change in a dramatic way in the coming years.
"Ask yourself, honestly, if you could choose, how would you look?"
Overall, the book is well-written and definitely thought provoking. I was both maddened and saddened by the information in the book (not the message of the book itself but in the facts supporting the information) and hope the cultural messages change in a dramatic way in the coming years.
"Ask yourself, honestly, if you could choose, how would you look?"
July 11, 2013
My only disappointment with this book is that it wasn't published fifteen years ago - if it had been, maybe I wouldn't have spent my late teens & twenties feeling constantly dissatisfied with my appearance.
Woolf's writing is honest, sincere and easy to read. Page after page, I found myself identifying with the pressures put on/felt by women to look perfect. For the first time, I really took time to reflect on why we are so bothered by body image and who decides what 'perfect' is anyway.
Although I'm not 100% happy with my body (after spending half of my life being ashamed of my wobbly bits it going to take me a little while to completely change my mind-set), I do feel that I can now wear a bikini on my honeymoon in a couple of weeks without feeling mortified that I'm not perfect.
IMHO, this book should be read by all women and should be made compulsory reading for teenage girls - developing a healthy approach to body image early on would surely save them lots of needless anxiety as they mature.
Woolf's writing is honest, sincere and easy to read. Page after page, I found myself identifying with the pressures put on/felt by women to look perfect. For the first time, I really took time to reflect on why we are so bothered by body image and who decides what 'perfect' is anyway.
Although I'm not 100% happy with my body (after spending half of my life being ashamed of my wobbly bits it going to take me a little while to completely change my mind-set), I do feel that I can now wear a bikini on my honeymoon in a couple of weeks without feeling mortified that I'm not perfect.
IMHO, this book should be read by all women and should be made compulsory reading for teenage girls - developing a healthy approach to body image early on would surely save them lots of needless anxiety as they mature.
August 16, 2018
A clearly laid out introduction to the concepts of how marketing targets women, and how the patriarchy is behind it all. Having read "The Beauty Myth," a few years ago however, I found that this did not explore the concepts in any depth. I was personally looking for an expansion on the topic but did not necessarily get it. While I thought she covered some interesting ideas around the "ministry of thin," I couldn't help but think that the research was a bit lacking. Again though, I think that this is maybe because I had already read Beauty Myth and that book was very academic and less personal.
Woolf is a former anorexic, and while it's helpful to have someone's personal anecdotes to underscore the harmful nature of the advertising world, I couldn't help but sense a bit of fat shaming/ fat fearing tone in her book.
Overall, it's a nice introduction, but if you're looking for something more studious and less personal, skip this and go right to Naomi Wolf's, "The Beauty Myth."
Woolf is a former anorexic, and while it's helpful to have someone's personal anecdotes to underscore the harmful nature of the advertising world, I couldn't help but sense a bit of fat shaming/ fat fearing tone in her book.
Overall, it's a nice introduction, but if you're looking for something more studious and less personal, skip this and go right to Naomi Wolf's, "The Beauty Myth."
March 5, 2016
Finished on 4th march. This book shocked me frequently. There were many horrible things in it that I couldn't believe. I'm familiar with the desire to be thin and eating disorders but the age,surgery,fashion and all that left me sad,annoyed,hopeless. I realised once again that it sucks to be a woman today. The author seems to made lots of research before writing this book, she uses many data and compares those data with her, her friends' experiences, and other data. To be honest there were times that I got bored because well it's not a happy book and it's told kind of like a long essay. But overall I learned many things thus I enjoyed reading this book.
November 24, 2015
The author bemoans everything that she feels is wrong with our current society and suffers from golden age thinking where makeup was minimal, clothes were just clothes, children played in the street (and women were only expected to have dinner on the table at 5). As to how we can improve and evolve from the current state of things she offers very little. She seems to believe that 'society' does this to women but doesn't acknowledge women do this to each other and chose to do these things to themselves for a myriad of reasons, but also completely ignores that we do so because we enjoy looking good and feeling good for ourselves alone.
September 6, 2016
I picked up this book thinking that it is a book targeting the diet industry. However, it went beyond that. It not only talks about the diet industry but also the media and inequality the society is facing. It talks about real issues that we are dealing with and the unfairness of the situation. Apart from that, the author also has personal experiences that she'd been through so it feels relatable.
January 5, 2017
I ate through this book (no pun intended). It was such a good analysis of why we as women feel compelled to work toward achieving an unattainable standard of perfection. It further shares how our desires to be thin can be contradictory to those desires we have to be strong, confident women. As someone who continues to struggle with body image, this was a humbling reminder to love and accept what you have been gifted, no alterations needed.
May 13, 2018
A very absorbing read
Emma Woolf is very open about her own experiences as well as relating those of other people. Some truths about eating disorders and how those living with them think and feel are uncomfortable but you never feel judgement from Woolf just a lot of empathy.
She's also done a fantastic job of pulling together the myriad of external cultural influences and assumptions that impact on the way we see ourselves and each other.
Emma Woolf is very open about her own experiences as well as relating those of other people. Some truths about eating disorders and how those living with them think and feel are uncomfortable but you never feel judgement from Woolf just a lot of empathy.
She's also done a fantastic job of pulling together the myriad of external cultural influences and assumptions that impact on the way we see ourselves and each other.
July 22, 2018
This started off interesting and then went downhill for me. About half way through the book the author had stopped really talking about weight and dieting and was blathering on about fashion and sex in a way that was barely related to the books subject matter. It also feels more like a personal memoir than a proper non fiction book as there are a lot of personal anecdotes and none of the information is really backed up by proper sources
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