Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-SmithRating: ✩✩✩✩✩
This book is a deeply researched and often emotionally fraught treatise on how diet culture hurts all of us. The mix of science and narrative provides a solid base of knowledge while not overwhelming already concerned parents with too much jargon. After all, medical professionals using scare quotes to threaten anyone outside of a randomly assigned height-weight ratio with imminent demise is how we got into so much of this mess! Offering guides on how to avoid the common pitfalls of diet culture, including how it slips in the corners no matter how hard we try, this book provides realistic and accessible support to parents looking to break the cycle for our children.
Personal note: the chapter on dealing with extended family (specifically how to combat the boomers who comprise a significant portion of the grandparent population) was especially helpful. As someone raised in the standard issue white-boomer-fatphobia* of the 90s and early 00s, my spouse and I are working hard to deconstruct that behavior before it damages another generation. Many of my parenting and age cohorts will genuinely appreciate feeling seen on this issue.
Overall, I wish I could have every parent, teacher and healthcare provider read this book and implement a weight-neutral approach to raising healthy and happy children.
*And here I use “phobia” intentionally, the genuine terror of not performing feminine thinness correctly cannot be overstated as a issue in my formative years
Personal note: the chapter on dealing with extended family (specifically how to combat the boomers who comprise a significant portion of the grandparent population) was especially helpful. As someone raised in the standard issue white-boomer-fatphobia* of the 90s and early 00s, my spouse and I are working hard to deconstruct that behavior before it damages another generation. Many of my parenting and age cohorts will genuinely appreciate feeling seen on this issue.
Overall, I wish I could have every parent, teacher and healthcare provider read this book and implement a weight-neutral approach to raising healthy and happy children.
*And here I use “phobia” intentionally, the genuine terror of not performing feminine thinness correctly cannot be overstated as a issue in my formative years
Published by: Henry Holt & Family Release Date: 25 April 2023
1 comment:
i had not heard of this book but it's sounds like it's such a powerful book.
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