Fat (Object Lessons) by Hanne Blank

Fat (Object Lessons) Reviews

• 
  thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books)

  A really I interesting selection of essays and thoughts on the topic of fat, unbiased it looks at it from both sides. It’s social implications, the need biologically, it’s a fantastic look and the issues and very thought provoking
  
  Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
• 
  Mandy

  I’ve read a lot of these Object Lessons books, thanks to NetGalley, and have always found them a bit hit or miss, but this one I thought was exceptionally good. It’s all about fat, what it is, why we need it, what happens with it and how we perceive it. Fat in all its manifestations and its cultural and societal implications. It’s a personal view but doesn’t ignore the science, and I found it both engaging and enlightening.
• 
  Oxana Tomova

  Fat is the broad and controversial theme of the book Fat. A book with the mission to counter fat-shaming and spread body positivity.
  There are things about the book I liked. Namely not trying to convince anyone that being fat, specifically obese is a good thing. Rather, it tries to convey that just because a person is fat, it doesn't mean they are any less human, any less deserving of respect. It's counterproductive to shame people, especially if they spend their days struggling to become thinner, while being ridiculed. I strongly support being kind to all people, regardless of size, shape, colour, etc. Also, just as women in general and especially women of colour, fat/obese people shouldn't have horrible doctor stories to tell - our doctors should always make sure they are treating people and looking at all possibilities. Maybe later, when they help with whatever ailment, they can add "your knees would thank you so much, if you try to get around 30 minutes of activity a day".
  However, there are two important points I didn't like. First, the book is too focused on the "you shouldn't starve yourself", so much so it misses the "be active and have fun with it". I find good health quite important - it's essential part of feeling good. After all, the food and the fat in it are a source of energy and that energy is most useful when we move around. And second, an extension to my previous point, we should still aim for healthy eating - veggies are great and yummy, a good salad not only tastes great, but brings in essential vitamins and minerals. We should have some variety in what we eat and strive to not starve our bodies of much needed nutrients. Unfortunately, I feel like the book was too focused on the "we shouldn't avoid fat as if it's the plague" and missed on the "we can still eat french fries, but some steamed veggies are a great meal too (and they can be healthy and tasty)".
  
  This book can definitely be of use to people who feel the weight of being ridiculed and mistreated, because they don't fit in the "standard", but I feel like it's only a good starting step and not informative enough.
  
  *Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*
• 
  Pamela

  Fat. It is a necessary part of being human, as without it you will die. As the author states, that is starvation. Fat encases our brains, and other organs, it does things in our body to maintain it, such as regulate our body temperature. There are different types of fat, most of the “extra” society denigrates is generally the white fat, which actually looks yellow. There is also brown fat, which is the type that typically encases our organs. And a mixture of the two that is, of course, beige fat, a small part but useful to survival. This science part was found only in the beginning.
  
  The book dove into several aspects of fat, societal expectations, discrimination, and sexuality as related to being a fat person. Being a large person is not easy, and society rails against it in every way, and surprisingly to me even with salary. A fat person generally makes less than anyone. Discrimination is rampant.
  
  The author’s first book was about being large and sexuality, one of the first of its kind. So then, the focus for the last portion of the book isn’t surprising.
  
  The book is not about weight loss. Gosh no! It’s more about acceptance of the body you have and how it operates. All bodies are different, how the food we eat is used and distributed around the body. This part was enlightening to read.
  
  This book is part of the Object Lessons series, and they are all fairly short, and focused topic reads.
  
  
  
  Thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
• 
  Rachel Matthews

  I am delighted to report that I loved this this little book! I requested a copy on Netgalley on a complete whim looking for something short to read on a topic that seemed interesting. I was rewarded with an intelligent, fresh exploration of our relationship with fat.
  I was intrigued to learn that fat has not always been treated as the enemy of good health with medics of ages gone by often seeing it as a sign of wealth and access to food rather than something to be warded off like an evil spirit.
  The distinction between the fat in our foods and the fat on our bodies was also interesting; I didn't know that fat, depending on where it is on your body, could be different colours for example.
  With so much written about ways to get rid of body fat and cut fat out of your diet, it was refreshing to read something that took a more forgiving view of fat, treating it as any other substance to be studied and understood and not feared.
  I particularly enjoyed the section on fat and race with black and fat being conflated together to become something to be disgusted by and avoided. I was interested as well to read how differently fat men and fat women are viewed in the world with one subject of the book preferring to start treatment to go from being a fat woman to being a fat man just so they could exist in this world as a fat person in peace!
  I would highly recommend this short but fascinating read, you will almost certainly learn something new and maybe be kinder to those love handles after reading it.
• 
  Elisa

  This book is very different from the rest of the Object Lessons that I’ve read. To begin with, unlike other subjects highlighted in the series, fat is not a tangible object when applied to humans. You can touch the effects of the fat in a human, but not the actual fat. It’s clear that the authors have complete freedom when writing these volumes and Hanne Blank has done a feminist manifesto. I was more curious about the science of fat, how does it work? Where does it come from? Blank includes some facts that are fascinating, but the bulk of this short text is mostly about her experiences as a self-described fat woman. She uses no euphemisms, she confronts everything head-on. Her account is eye-opening. A close family member is fat, so it’s not like I wasn’t aware of the daily inconveniences that having a large body causes, but Blank’s unflinching account of her own private experiences is heartbreaking and enlightening. She also has a great sense of humor and, despite some sad parts, she is perfectly OK with her body. Just one small comment, the Woke language is at times hard to follow. Since she’s talking about babies, it’s clear she means people assigned male/female at birth so the whole language seemed like just an effort to be politically correct and it ended up distracting me. Other than that, I enjoyed this read.
  I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ Bloomsbury Academic!
• 
  Jamie Bee

  More to Fat and Fatness Than You Think
  
  As a lifelong fat woman, I was curious about what this book would be when I saw it at one of my favorite book review sites. I was surprised at the blend of topics discussed. In the book. The author relates her own experience as a fat woman as it pertains to the particular chapter topic. I found myself surprised by both the commonalities and differences with my own experience. While her story certainly has the “downs” many fat women experience all the time, I was surprised at some of her positive experiences. In all my 50-plus years, I don't think I've had a positive experience with others when it comes to my being a fat woman; they've all been negative. While she does touch briefly on the science of fat, I felt like that was mostly overlooked, unfortunately. I did like the chapter where she spent a fair amount of time going over the social history of how we went from “fat is where it's at” to “thin is in.” Its basis is surprisingly multifocal. The author also touches on the fact that how fat is viewed in often racist or sexist ways. Much of this book is the author's own musings on the fat topics (fact, friend, foe, fetish, figure) as they relate to her life. I wish the book had more objective portions. The book also has some profanity, which I never like to see, especially in nonfiction. All in all, though, I did find this to be a fascinating read.
  
  I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
• 
  Katie Beswick

  I really enjoyed this little volume, and thought it was insightful and almost entirely clear and direct in its analysis- the only thing that jarred was the sex/gender politics. Maybe that it is a me problem - but how can you have a book that looks at biological processes (including acknowledging the different ways that male and female bodies store and use fat) and still use phrases like ‘assigned female at birth’? Doesn’t this book entirely prove that the sex binary is still useful for understanding aspects of our embodied experiences? I appreciated the author’s attempt to directly parse this issue rather than simply taking it for granted, but felt that a linguistic insistence on sex being socially constructed rather than material fact kind of undermined the very brilliant material/biological/cultural analysis that the author is working with.
• 
  Verity Halliday

  Fat by Hanne Blank is an excellent addition to the Object Lessons series by Bloomsbury. I appreciate the freedom that expert authors are given to explore their subjects and, in the case of Fat, this freedom was particularly well utilised.
  
  Fat explores the biology of fat, the sociological implications of fat, fat as food, fat as part of our human bodies and the intersection of fatphobia with racism, sexism and classism. Interesting and thought-provoking, this is a well-rounded book recommended to all, but particularly to the well-rounded.
  
  Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.
• 
  Nicki Kendall

  ⭐⭐⭐Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This book is a short, thought provoking and interesting read on the topic of fat. It's not your typical book about the negativities of fat nor is it your typical body positive book on fat. Instead it explores what fat is, both from positive and negative perspectives. It covers things from people's inherent dislike/fears of fat, to others love/fetishness over fat. It definitely leaves you looking at the word fat and all its connations in a very different way. #fat #hanneblank #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #bookstagram #bookqueen #netgalley #amazonkindle
• 
  Sharondblk

  In this slim volume Hannah Blank covers a lot of ground, from the personal and her relationship to her fat body, the history of fat and the racist past (and present) sexual fetishisation, fat in food and on.The story of fat is told through a political, feminist, economic and gender lens. While I definitly learnt some things there is so much serious material to cover and this is a small book. Each chapter could be an entire PHD, but it serves as an interesting taster.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley for the preview copy.
• 
  Charlotte

  This is one of the best Non fiction books I have read this year. I would say I, as a fat woman, am fairly well read when it comes to body positivity, health at every size and fat politics, but this book was just something else. Almost half literary prose and half political I feel the need to read this again and again. Theres lots to let sink in about this book! I think I need to now get all of the authors backlist!
• 
  Kayo

  Just seemed to be a whole lot of whining. Read the whole thing, and seriously confused. Excuse me while I go have a cookie, and log it to MyFitnesspal.
  
  Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.
• 
  Doreen

  Giving this four stars because it’s so short—way too short! I expected a longer study, similar to Blank’s work on virginity and heterosexuality. Still, it’s a book that makes one reconsider one’s assumptions about the relationship of body fat to gender, race, status, and power. Enjoyed the many moments of autobiographical recollection as well.
• 
  Ivana Galapceva

  Object Lessons published by Bloomsbury is a series of short and beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. It's one of my favourite series, and I'm always thrilled when there is a new release to be published.
  ⁠
  In Fat, cultural historian Hanne Blank, discusses fat from all angles, picking apart definitions, meanings and stereotypes. She looks at fat as vetoed in today's healthy life craze (which only leads to more fat being consumed in secret and guilt prevailing), while simultaneously praised by chefs and Keto fetishists⁠. She also discusses fat and sex, which I found particularly interesting, and will be looking up further works from her on the subject. Blank presents fat as both desired and hated when it comes to sex, drawing appalling examples from her life as a fat woman. ⁠
  ⁠
  In Hanne Blank's world, Fat is a state, a possession, a metaphor, a symptom, an object of desire. It's a delightfully interesting and well argued read!⁠
• 
  Kristine

  Fat by Hanne Blank is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early November.
  
  Hidden, cinched, and burned, fat is indeed something that we all rarely talk about, viewed historically and culturally in many different ways, such as the physical manifestation of shame, love, greed, and ease.
  
• 
  Angel Lemke

  As usual, Hanne writes in a way that is accessible for those new to a concept while still be enlightening for those familiar with the field. The last chapter is particularly lovely from start to finish.
• 
  Sian D

  A thought provoking book about fat in all senses of the word. Really interesting stuff about race and fatness, and how fat genders are perceived by wider Western society. My favourite chapter was 'fetish'.
• 
  Lily

  Read for class really informational based at first. I think everyone should read this book to have a better understanding of fat and our perceptions of what it means to be fat and what it means to be feminine
• 
  Axel

  Great read. Interesting and very enlightening