Naava reviewed The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
Review of 'The Body Is Not an Apology' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I received the Second Edition of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
I first considered starting this review with the words "I'm not sure if I'm in the target audience for this book as I'm a White person living in a predominantly White country and predominantly White social circles" but then I realized: that is exactly why I should be reading this book. My social circles in real life might be 100 % White, but online, things are different. And I have some learning to do! I might have battled and fought and partially won learnt racism a decade ago, but as long as I say "partially", there's still learning to do. And another thing — this book isn't solely about race and racism. It's more about the intersection of multiple non-default bodies. I might exist in a fat body, but there's still …
I received the Second Edition of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
I first considered starting this review with the words "I'm not sure if I'm in the target audience for this book as I'm a White person living in a predominantly White country and predominantly White social circles" but then I realized: that is exactly why I should be reading this book. My social circles in real life might be 100 % White, but online, things are different. And I have some learning to do! I might have battled and fought and partially won learnt racism a decade ago, but as long as I say "partially", there's still learning to do. And another thing — this book isn't solely about race and racism. It's more about the intersection of multiple non-default bodies. I might exist in a fat body, but there's still learnig to do. I might exist as a nonbinary person in a body that others are keen on gendering, and oh boy there is still learning to do.
The book should have more solid scientific information about how exactly body hatred impacts our lives and well-being. I don't know if there are studies about that, though. Thorough long-term studies. I want them.
The book goes through how to start dismantling your learnt hatred of certain kinds of bodies (fat, trans, Black, etc, or any combination of identities/bodies). I found them to be rather useful, but a part of me wanted to read about people who'd fought (and won or were in the middle of fighting) learnt hatred and prejudices. Now, that might be out of the scope of this book, but seriously. It would give so much hope for the future if there was a book that had interviews of people who used to be -phobic but have embarked on the journey of battling that learnt phobia or hatred or prejudices. I know we're out there, and I know some of us aren't afraid of sharing our stories.
All in all, I found the book... well, a part of me wants to say "enjoyable", but facing your shadows and dissociating while reading isn't enjoyable. But sometimes it's necessary. I have therapy coming in three days, I know I'll have something to discuss...
I wanted more, though. More something. I don't know...