Hot Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love Fashion by Virgie Tovar

Hot Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love Fashion Reviews

• 
  ~*kath*~

  Amazing! Empowering reading from cover to cover. Made me think, laugh, cry, and question my attitude to so many things.
  
  Get your hands on it NOW!
• 
  Rachele Maria

  Blogged
  here. I took forever to read this book. And it was certainly NOT because it isn't a good book. I do a weird thing where if something is really kick ass, I don't want it to end or wear out so I take years to read something or I don't wear that perfect fitting skater dress with a peter pan collar. Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion edited by Virgie Tovar was like an amazing size 26 frock. I ooh and aah'd over it when it was being released, even proclaiming my hot and heaviness on Virgie's 50 days of fat ferociousness! Then when I had it my fat hands, I peeked in on some of the pages and read bits here and there. I am sort of happy to say that I just finished it! I secretly wish it would never end though.
  
  The intro itself grabbed my attention and every chapter and author continued to stun me. I love how Virgie wove the stories together, giving you a perspective of so many different fat girls.
  
  The book is fabulous cover to cover. I could relate a little bit to every author. By the end I was ready to join a fat dance troupe or visit the Cook Islands! I highly recommend it to everyone, whether you are just starting your fat acceptance journey, are a fat bitch already, fat admirer or know anyone that is fat. These are stories that rarely get heard and breaks all the rules when it comes to how fatphobic society views fat people. Seeing this project come through and get recognition nearly brought me to tears as I read about all these amazing fat women. Here's to all the fierce fat girls!
• 
  dianne

  Starts out interesting but the stories are pretty redundant.
  i hated myself, then i learned to love myself. the end.
• 
  Tristy

  I am a big fan of Virgie Tovar and her great work as a fat activist as well as her fierce "Fatshionista" approach to life. When I heard about her new book, I thought it was going to be more "fluffy" than it actually is. I was expecting a lot of talk about glitter and how to shop and style a hot fat look and in the wonderful introduction, Virgie shares that she started out wanting to write a fun, light book about fatness. But the wonderful stories she started receiving also shared the darker, harder parts of being fat and finding inner fat acceptance. She very smartly switched the intention of the book to reflect this more whole and complete set of personal stories and I'm so glad she did. This book is PHENOMENAL. The truth-telling is wonderful and heart-breaking and funny and empowering. Often, when you gather this many writers together in one book, it can be a bit jarring going from one person's authentic voice to the next, but it's put together perfectly and it flows beautifully. I truly want the whole world to read this book, including non-fat people. These women's voices are essential and important and it's so empowering to read their stories. Pick this book up today!
• 
  Jamila

  I love this book. It is thought-provoking and empowering. It challenges all of us to work to dismantle size discrimination, bullying, thin-Eurocentric beauty standards, and diet culture.
• 
  Sarra

  I'm only one essay in, but so far, this needed better editing. Slamming on "breaks" instead of "brakes"? Come on. And don't fear the comma! It's necessary!
  
  I've been fat-positive and a fat activist for well over a decade now, so I thought I would love this book. I didn't. It did nothing for me. Perhaps if I was still new to fat acceptance it would have set me aflame, but I'm not, and this book was a struggle for me to finish. It was poorly edited, but that wasn't it. The writing wasn't always great, the stories weren't particularly inspiring (for me), and the book didn't resonate. Perhaps I no longer need my stretch marks to be tiger stripes or my fat rolls to be a battle cry, because I already know that living in the world in my unapologetic fat body is radical and revolutionary. Perhaps I don't want to read graphic descriptions of child masturbation in a book of fat-positive essays. Perhaps it's really fucking irritating that the only two words we can apparently use to describe fat bodies are "fierce" and "fabulous" (seriously, almost every essay used these adjectives and these adjectives only). Perhaps insisting that every fat woman (excuse me, "girl") be "fierce" and "fabulous" is reductive and excluding. Perhaps referring to grown-ass women as "girls" is appalling and gross. Perhaps classism and a blindness to the consequences of consumerist fashion culture is a huge turn-off. Perhaps it was all of those things and more. Regardless, this one's being donated to a used book store or Goodwill.
• 
  Crystal

  I have a personal connection with fat activism and size acceptance so that was one of the main reasons that I picked up this book. I'm a fat girl living in this world that loves to hate and discriminate against everyone who is fat. This book was liberating and made me feel like I could do anything and wear anything that I want, whereas before, I was too afraid to wear what I wanted because I didn't want anyone to make fun of me or laugh at me because of my size. I realized that that may happen no matter what I decide to wear or what I decide to do, so why put my life on hold because I'm afraid of the inevitable? This is a good read, especially if you're fat girl who needs some reassurance and inspiration in this hateful world. I'd recommend for anyone to read it.
• 
  Pamster

  Really liked it, although I definitely wanted more from a lot of them and, like, weirder? I wanted weirder. I started out thinking, this is maybe gonna be a lot of super basic stuff and not unlike reading blogs. But then some of them talked about some really raw shit and I fucking loved that when it happened. Ended up being really into it.
• 
  Kim

  I think the Fat-acceptance movement and the Healthy-at-every-size movement are really interesting, and I award 2 stars to this collection of essays for making me aware of this perspective on being fat (and other forms of having a body other than the norm for that matter). After reading one inspiring personal history though, the others felt like more of the same to me.
• 
  Hannah

  I'm giving this 4 stars because it takes on a challenging topic with courage, and is inspiring in part because by including 31 personal stories, it helps the reader to experience (for a little while at least) a world peopled by folks who aren't spouting the "fat is bad, thin is good" mentality.
  However, for me personally, this anthology was not entirely helpful at shifting my perspective. It's funny, because some books on body image, or feminism, can actually be kind of triggering, or at least, unconvincing. For me, Hot and Heavy was perhaps less successful than it could have been in part because of two things. One, it had a heavy focus on sex and fashion. I understand, agree with, and applaud folks who write about sex and fashion as political statements. I get that dressing in a way that makes you feel amazing, when society tells you that you should cover up an unacceptable body, is both a personal and a political act. However, I (horror!) have never been super in to fashion, and while I can admire it from afar when I see it, and appreciate beauty, I'm the girl who hates shopping. I'd rather be outdoors. I'd rather be in nature. There's no right or wrong, but for me, the fashion section in this book wasn't as compelling as it might be to someone who LOVES clothes. Secondly, the sex section (and again, all love to the brave writers) at times shared lifestyle choices which I would not be comfortable with, or feel loved and nurtured in, if I was to live that way. So, because some of the values were ones which wouldn't feel good or loving to me, the connection to fat positivity was not as convincing as it could have been.
  However, some takeaways which I did appreciate, and which were also stated in Things No One will Tell Fat Girls by Jes Baker (which I recommend!) include the following:
  Donuts are not morally evil! Carrots are not morally good! You are not a good person if you eat a carrot, or a bad person if you eat a donut. This seems so...simple, and like, duh! But it's the exact opposite of what we hear, say, and experience so much of the time. (As a funny aside, I was in a grocery store the other day and came upon some delicious looking frosted cookies. A female clerk came up to me and said, "oh, oh, you're looking at the bad stuff!" And I said, "they look good to me!" and put the cookies in my cart. She went on to try to sell me bulk nuts(!) ;p which I did not want.
  Anyway, second point: Your body is your body, and you own it. Not someone else. No one else gets to tell you what you should look like, or what you should eat. You are an adult, and YOU and only you call the shots.
  Third point: Do YOU. A profound point that Jes Baker made in her book (see above) was that she had a breakthrough when she stopped looking for a model in the mirror, and started looking for herself. That really hits home for me.
  A final comment is that in Hot and Heavy, and in Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls, the authors mention that actual research shows that thin=healthy/fat=unhealthy is false. And that dieting (which has been repeatedly shown NOT to work in the long run) is actually what is most damaging to the body. There are several books about the science behind this, which I would like to read. But to me, an ultimate takeaway is that human bodies (and human souls, and the complete human that we all are) ALL deserve love and respect, right now, in this moment.
• 
  The Wylie Librarian

  The fat girls of
  Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion are ready to give you a piece of their mind on living large in large bodies. The authors come from all over the spectrum of sociocultural, gender, and sexuality backgrounds, which makes for a very welcome variety of perspectives on being a fat girl in a fat-hating world.
  
  Not being unfamiliar with the Health At Every Size movement, I was expecting to read a lot of affirming stories from women who have battled their way through the trenches of body hatred and come out the other side in a flurry of fat pride and fierce fashion. And for sure, there are plenty of stories about families, and bullies, and heartbreak, and bellies, and liberation, or more accurately, liberation of bellies. But what I hadn't expected was the frankness with which so many of these women confided that they still have days when it is hard to love the body they live in; that even amidst their proud, loud lives, there are still challenging moments.
  
  Though I am a fierce and outspoken proponent of body positivity and Health At Every Size, I don't extend to myself the kind of compassion and advocacy that I extend to others. In reading about these women's lives, I thought, "That will never be me. I just can't love my body 100% of the time so unabashedly. I don't have the strength." And that's where I made my mistake. That is what this collection of writings showed me: I don't have to have the strength 100% of time. The difference is knowing that I always deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, even on those days when I might not be strong enough to say it out loud.
  
  A theme that echoes throughout this collection is that living well and happy in a large body is a political act. Refusing to give in to the diet industry and refusing to be ashamed of living in a fat body is essentially a raised middle finger to the Thin Culture Status Quo. The women of
  Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love & Fashion roar their disapproval of the Status Quo and live their lives loud to let all the other fat girls know that you can have the life, and love, and sex, and fashion that you want just as you are. I want to join that rebellion, and I'm glad these women have helped to pave the way.
• 
  Autumn

  I started this in late April. It is now late August, and I've only managed to get about halfway through it. Not a good sign. So, I am giving up on this- but I might come back to it and read a bit of it here and there. It's more of a book that you can jump around in, and read a little at a time, than a read-straight-through collection. I had high expectations for this collection of essays, but many of the pieces just didn't work for me for one reason or another, I'll chalk it up to "Not my cup of tea..." rather than criticize the collection as a whole, which I don't want to do. I'm grateful that this book exists, and I did enjoy elements of many of these essays, but overall this book felt uneven to me as a reader.
• 
  Snem

  This is an important book, not just for fat women, but I would recommend it to anyone on a journey towards body positivity. It felt very empowering to read examples of fat women who own it so well. I also appreciated that these women didn't just wake up one day in love with themselves, it was a process. At some points, especially towards the end, I felt a little looked down on for not being the type of fat woman who is particularly glamorous. Some big women don't like to dress up often just as some slim women don't. It read as if the writers might have felt that I wasn't fully comfortable with my body and not as cool if I'm more of a t-shirt and jeans gal.
• 
  Johanna

  Could have been sooooo much better. Poorly edited. Wanted to hear more from all these women. Instead I felt like a lot of the entries were just plugs for their respective projects. Super disappointing. I wanted to learn more about how to be as fierce and fab as some of these women....and there was very little of that beyind the usual FA platitudes. Not deep at all. We need more FA literature that actually helps us embody the skin we are in. Being one of the few books about this topic ain't good enough.
• 
  Emily Joyce

  Granted, I'm a little biased towards this collection being that I'm a contributing author. But I was overwhelmingly impressed with the quality of writing in Hot & Heavy, and the insights of the other essayists. Virgie Tovar, high priestess of radical self love and glittery shoes, has a skill at making defiant body politics both seductive and empowering.
• 
  Alana Knapp

  Virgie Tovar does exceptional work! I've been a big fan of hers for many years. When I finally found a copy of "Hot & Heavy," I was so excited to add this to my self-love shelf. The introduction was so powerful and passionate! There were a lot of moments that were really wonderful, but I found myself wishing for a smidge more variety of experience and substance in the essays. Some of them seem to end rather abruptly and left me wondering what the story was about. But, on the whole, I thought this was a fun (and fierce) collection of fat babes telling their stories!
• 
  Kylie Q. Rada

  This was... good. I really enjoyed a few of the essays, and was less than in love with others. I'm generally not a huge fan of explicit sexual content, but that's probably more of a me issue than a book issue. In particular, I loved Virgie Tovar's (the editor's) 2 pieces in this collection. Averaged out at about 3 stars for me.
• 
  Christine K

  I've got mostly non-plus sized friends and it's interesting to be sitting around and then hear the fat hate come out of nowhere as if you're not even there. Not to say people can't talk about what they want but it is a surreal kind of situation where you wonder how true friends can be if they seem to hate fat so much they can't even consider their audience. Every once in awhile it's good to read some body positive writings. This book is broken into three themed sections of essays: Life, Love and Fashion. I enjoyed life and fashion the most. The middle section had too many essays cum erotica which wasn't why I was reading. I was looking to expand on the idea of not waiting until you're an "ideal size" to live your life and get a sense of fat girl camaraderie in this often isolating world.
  
  Something I didn't like was how so many of the essays seemed to hint at various projects people are involved with. I would have also preferred to read at least A FEW essays from "regular" girls that work maybe in health, like I do, or business, etc. I'm not really interested in short miniskirts, etc, that's not a part of my life because it's not practical for me.
• 
  Cristina

  I don't remember if I found this book via Goodreads or Amazon, but I'm just glad I found it. I was in a period in my life where I needed a little body positive lit, so I ordered it, not expecting too much beyond the occasional plus size affirmative. However, this book completely surpassed my expectations. It was smart, cute and full of great resources for fellow chubbettes looking to come into that self-acceptance.
  
  I really appreciated many of the articles. Some resonated more than others, but the part that I loved most of all was the author bio. I know it's weird, but I just always wanted to be a sexologist and to hear about what Virgie Tovar did and all the work she put into fat studies really really really made my reading experience. I knew I was in the caring hands of someone that got it, a true bodhisattva (enlightened being).
  
  I hope more big girls read this because it really helps put things in perspective. I don't know if to keep it in my personal library or donate it to the public library so others could benefit from it. I'll sleep on it.
• 
  Megan

  This is the first body positive book I've read, and oh was it a breath of fresh air while dealing with the atrocity Eat Bacon, Don't Jog! I think it makes a good starting point and I like the idea of it. The execution could have been improved.
  
  First, as a lot of the reviews here say, the stories got repetitive, and quickly. I think it might have been better if I'd read a story a day or something instead of trying to read it in large chunks.
  
  The stories went a little something like this: I am ____, I am fat, I am proud now of my body but I used to be ashamed, here's a little bit of what changed my mind, it was hard but my life is so much better now.
  
  There was a little variation, and some of the authors were better than others. I could have done without the explicit sex essay, but I understand that's just personal preference and I actually kind of think the collection was better for it (variety, you know?)
  
  I don't know that I'd read it again, but it was worth reading once!
• 
  Monica Boyd

  I just finished Virgie Tovars book and I especially loved her story and Deb Mailin's interview about their adventures in plus size fashion flea markets, swaps and e stores. I actually remember getting a candle at a fat positive convention labeled alight.com - I read curves magazine, and I think some of the pieces in this book fit in there. I'd be happier if the lesbian magazine called curves had more fierce, fat fashionista feminists like Virgie Tovar in it, even if she isn't a lesbian. Thanks for friending me on FB Virgie! And if you or anyone reading this comes down to Orange County, CA look up our group Size Acceptance For Empowerment So. Cal. We are on Facebook, have a web page, SoCalSAFE.org and a yahoo group. We swim, dance (Fatima's), game nights, mini retreats (planning Desert Hot Springs this Fall), and on and on. We are also listing our stuff and plus size clothing swaps on Meetup.com Curvy Corner. Join us!
• 
  Mel Luna

  This is a compilation of essays by women of size. It's fantastic. To be honest I spent the first half of the book in tears, the subject hit so close to the bone. Also, systemic oppression is a painful topic no matter how you approach it. I got all my tears and processing out of the way in the first half and was able to simply enjoy the rest of it, especially the fashion bit near the end. By the time I got there I was feeling empowered and inspired by these fabulous women.
  
  This book opened my mind and changed my relationship to my own body, and the bodies of others. The only drawback to such radical (queer, cursing, sex-positive) content is the fact that my conservative christian mother would never be able to connect to the valuable experience these brave and beautiful souls are sharing. I still might try to read some passages to her when she comes to visit...
• 
  Stefanie

  As I big girl, I was able to relate with the struggles the various writers faced. I really enjoyed that they learned to just accept themselves and enjoy life as it is. We need more books that talk about body positivity, period. It doesn't matter what size you are, it's about the overall enjoyment of living.
  
  Fantastic read for anyone uncomfortable in their own skin. I will never see fat as a negative word again.
  
  Bravo! Encore to all the gorgeous empowering, educated, women that made this book possible!
• 
  Alexis Coe

  "Truce" by Abby Weintraub enjoys an interesting distinction in the new fat-positive anthology, Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love, and Fashion (Seal Press 2012). It is by far the most powerful and, at the admission of the author, one that least matches the mission of the book. Read my whole review over at SF Weekly:
  http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitioni...
  
• 
  Sarah

  This was a wonderful anthology. A collection of passionate writers who tell very visceral and relatable stories. Even though several of the stories recounted dark times in each writers' life (which frequently paralleled my own experiences) the entire anthology is infused with hope, light and fierceness. Reading this book leaves you with a positive feeling and can be a great starting point for anyone who is exploring the body positive movement and what it can mean for them.
• 
  Monica

  I feel like I should give this book more than 3 stars because these women are pretty fierce. I guess I just feel that for me, with decades of fat positive reading (books and blogs) behind me, a lot of it wasn't very new. But if you're newer to fat activism or being body positive, I'd definitely recommend it.
• 
  Madi

  I absolutely LOVE this book. It's all about trashing body and fat shaming and learning to feel good in your skin, regardless of size. Sometimes we all need a pick me up and this book was filled to the brim with fierce pick me ups that made me feel empowered and gorgeous to be someone with "more to love".