What do you think?
Rate this book
Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You
In Happy Fat, comedian Sofie Hagen shares how she removed fatphobic influences from her daily life and found self-acceptance in a world where judgement and discrimination are rife.
From shame and sex to airplane seats, love and getting stuck in public toilets, Sofie provides practical tips for readers – drawing wisdom from other Fat Liberation champions along the way.
Part memoir, part social commentary, Happy Fat is a funny, angry and impassioned look at taking up space in a culture that is desperate to reduce.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2019
229 people are currently reading
4438 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews
August 4, 2022
I really was hoping that this book would be a firm favourite, and it would make me feel better about the world, but quite honestly, it really doesn't.
Hagen is a "Fat activist" and a comedian, and within these pages, she constantly tells us to love our bodies, and basically, that it's perfectly fine to be fat. In today's society, being over a certain size, is most definitely not okay. In many clothing stores, the curvier woman is not catered for, and if she is, the section is normally hidden away, near the back of the store.
Quite recently, I was going through a magazine for the larger breasted woman, and I noticed that the models used to showcase this lingerie were not only tiny framed, but they had no blemishes, or a smither of cellulite anywhere. Of course, me being me I challenged them, and they assured me that they do have photos of women over a size 16 on file, but they are dotted around the waiting areas in store. For me, that just isn't good enough. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the toxicity of unhealthily thin frames being advertised everywhere we turn, can definitely have a negative and somewhat dangerous lasting impact on women.
I have been at both ends of the spectrum. I've been in a situation where I knew I could do with losing a few pounds, but then I've been terribly underweight where I hadn't enough energy to walk to the shop. It took time to finally accept who I am, and I like that Hagen has acceptance of herself too.
This is no reflection on Hagens personal journey with her body, but she constantly tells the reader to "Love yourself" and "Give yourself a hug". It got terribly repetitive, and surely, if a person is eating constantly, isn't there some mental health issue that is being swept under the carpet? Hagen doesn't address this at all, and just kept on telling people to eat what they want, when they want. I think she should have elaborated on this.
Overall, this was an interesting book with important concepts, but I thought it was too long, repetitive and too vague for the subject matter involved.
Hagen is a "Fat activist" and a comedian, and within these pages, she constantly tells us to love our bodies, and basically, that it's perfectly fine to be fat. In today's society, being over a certain size, is most definitely not okay. In many clothing stores, the curvier woman is not catered for, and if she is, the section is normally hidden away, near the back of the store.
Quite recently, I was going through a magazine for the larger breasted woman, and I noticed that the models used to showcase this lingerie were not only tiny framed, but they had no blemishes, or a smither of cellulite anywhere. Of course, me being me I challenged them, and they assured me that they do have photos of women over a size 16 on file, but they are dotted around the waiting areas in store. For me, that just isn't good enough. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the toxicity of unhealthily thin frames being advertised everywhere we turn, can definitely have a negative and somewhat dangerous lasting impact on women.
I have been at both ends of the spectrum. I've been in a situation where I knew I could do with losing a few pounds, but then I've been terribly underweight where I hadn't enough energy to walk to the shop. It took time to finally accept who I am, and I like that Hagen has acceptance of herself too.
This is no reflection on Hagens personal journey with her body, but she constantly tells the reader to "Love yourself" and "Give yourself a hug". It got terribly repetitive, and surely, if a person is eating constantly, isn't there some mental health issue that is being swept under the carpet? Hagen doesn't address this at all, and just kept on telling people to eat what they want, when they want. I think she should have elaborated on this.
Overall, this was an interesting book with important concepts, but I thought it was too long, repetitive and too vague for the subject matter involved.
May 21, 2019
This is a book that really makes you think and I could probably have written an essay on what I've come away with from reading it. I always considered myself fat but after reading this and the myriad of different class-isms (is that even a word? Probably not) I might have to reconsider and go with chubby-fat. I dunno. I ended up feeling like I don't fit into any camp. This book is about roughly, if we're labelling you size 24 plus. I'm a 16. The big message though is about loving yourself, your shape and size no matter what.
It's not an easy read. The poor woman has had a massive amount of abuse from online trolls as have the people interview for the book. I don't understand the mentality of people and I think social media (no matter how many positives it can bring) makes it very easy to push hate against anyone not of the 'norm' (whatever that may actually be). Sofie talks of being abused in the street as well as social media. This hasn't happened to me or it did so quietly that I never noticed. However I do have a bit of a resting angry face so maybe trolls are too scared to comment. I have sadly known people where it has happened and it's awful. No one deserves to be attacked for their shape (or anything else but this book is about weight) in any instance.
Funnily enough before writing this I was flicking through a website where one reality TV person has likened her ex-boyfriend to an elephant because he's gained a lot of weight. No one appears to have called her on the fat shaming. Every week some celeb is on the front pages of a magazine for gaining weight and it's very rarely a positive headline.
There's a whole world of fativism that I knew nothing of and the term and movement has been going for decades. I think it's very well worth a read to learn about support available if nothing else. As I say, it's not an easy read and did quite often make me feel sad.
The final chapter addresses loving your body. There is nothing in their about doing that through diet, exercise and so on. It's about embracing who you are and the shape you are. It's about avoiding the places and events that would make you feel ashamed to be yourself. Quite liberating by all accounts (not yet tried it).
I think it's a good book for both people who would identify as fat but also for the thinner people out there to learn what it's really like to be marginalised for their weight and about changing language so fat jokes are no longer a thing.
It's not an easy read. The poor woman has had a massive amount of abuse from online trolls as have the people interview for the book. I don't understand the mentality of people and I think social media (no matter how many positives it can bring) makes it very easy to push hate against anyone not of the 'norm' (whatever that may actually be). Sofie talks of being abused in the street as well as social media. This hasn't happened to me or it did so quietly that I never noticed. However I do have a bit of a resting angry face so maybe trolls are too scared to comment. I have sadly known people where it has happened and it's awful. No one deserves to be attacked for their shape (or anything else but this book is about weight) in any instance.
Funnily enough before writing this I was flicking through a website where one reality TV person has likened her ex-boyfriend to an elephant because he's gained a lot of weight. No one appears to have called her on the fat shaming. Every week some celeb is on the front pages of a magazine for gaining weight and it's very rarely a positive headline.
There's a whole world of fativism that I knew nothing of and the term and movement has been going for decades. I think it's very well worth a read to learn about support available if nothing else. As I say, it's not an easy read and did quite often make me feel sad.
The final chapter addresses loving your body. There is nothing in their about doing that through diet, exercise and so on. It's about embracing who you are and the shape you are. It's about avoiding the places and events that would make you feel ashamed to be yourself. Quite liberating by all accounts (not yet tried it).
I think it's a good book for both people who would identify as fat but also for the thinner people out there to learn what it's really like to be marginalised for their weight and about changing language so fat jokes are no longer a thing.
April 29, 2024
It seems very in to dunk on the fat acceptance/body positivity movement at the moment, I guess with the return of all things early 2000s the fat hatred was bound to come back in force, and I needed a break from the constant barrage of "you're delusional if you think people should treat fatties like human beings" that has been my online experience lately so I reached for this book.
Hagen was easy for me to agree with as I find her views are generally aligned with mine (as in you don't have to find fat people attractive you just have to treat them with the same dignity and respect you expect to be treated with) so it was more of a comfort read than anything for me. She doesn't claim the body positive movement either so if you're not here for getting told to just love your body this one might be up your alley.
Hagen was easy for me to agree with as I find her views are generally aligned with mine (as in you don't have to find fat people attractive you just have to treat them with the same dignity and respect you expect to be treated with) so it was more of a comfort read than anything for me. She doesn't claim the body positive movement either so if you're not here for getting told to just love your body this one might be up your alley.
May 16, 2019
Yes, so much yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sofie doesn't write anything I don't already know. I've read Jes Baker's books and fiction around being fat. But she tells it with such clarity, humour light and love, it's easy to get lost in book. I loved reading it. I'm glad she's here, I'm glad this book exists and I think it's a must read for everyone.
Fat people of the world, unite!
Fat people of the world, unite!
May 19, 2019
Love fat // smash capitalism
March 15, 2020
Another book by a comedian, this time much more subject-focused than autobiographical, but while it was heartfelt, it was reminiscent of one of those climate change arguments that cherry picks studies, then concludes that well, even if it is happening, we'd be better off adapting to the inevitable than changing our behaviour.
There are two main elements to the book, arguing fat discrimination exists, and how this should be changed. Some aspects of the former are undeniable, and the story of the doctor finding that Hagen's blood pressure was normal, then refusing to give her medication due to the health risk for those with high blood pressure, was disgraceful. But it is only 'legal to discriminate against fat people' in the same way you can discriminate against eye colour or haircut, it's just not codified in law. It's not as though you can be sacked for being fat, and anyway, how would you define fat? It can't be BMI, because BMI is deeply outdated according to a later chapter.
Like so many Guardian articles, capitalism gets the blame. And it's not all wrong, companies do prey on making you feel unworthy and offering their product as a cure. But the lack of massive clothes sizes in stores is not a capitalist conspiracy, it's just that there are not enough morbidly obese customers to make such product lines profitable, just as if a man has size 14 feet, very few places have shoes that fit. Beauty is not as subjective or socially constructed as Hagen would like it to be either. Babies and children look at conventionally attractive people for longer, way before manufactured standards of beauty can make an impression. If 5000 years of western society hasn't found fat people attractive (covered in the book), is that not in itself telling?
The worst section was on health, or "what society perceives as 'healthy' ". Society, or indeed tons of peer-reviewed academic studies. Hagen cites one study that was later found to conflate obesity with poor diet and activity levels, as though this was the only study that found a link between obesity and poor health. I can only assume Hagen hasn't yet found Google Scholar, because the papers' conclusions on obesity and health are fairly consistent, and are not positive. She states that activity levels matter more than fat, and that of obese people '35% are metabolically healthy'. So presumably 65% aren't, and this is meant to support your argument how? If you can't fit in a toilet cubicle, need to buy two seats on a plane, and find stairs a struggle, it is really society that has the problem?
If this book had stayed on safer ground, arguing that bullying is not nice and that telling people they need to lose weight is unhelpful, I could have respected the message a lot more. But Hagen goes too far, trying to show that there is nothing unhealthy being morbidly obese, co-opting the classic smoker's excuse that someone very old has had 40 fags a day so clearly the lung cancer and smoking statistics can be ignored. This book will get a lot of very supportive comments from the right audience, but its arguments were very flawed.
There are two main elements to the book, arguing fat discrimination exists, and how this should be changed. Some aspects of the former are undeniable, and the story of the doctor finding that Hagen's blood pressure was normal, then refusing to give her medication due to the health risk for those with high blood pressure, was disgraceful. But it is only 'legal to discriminate against fat people' in the same way you can discriminate against eye colour or haircut, it's just not codified in law. It's not as though you can be sacked for being fat, and anyway, how would you define fat? It can't be BMI, because BMI is deeply outdated according to a later chapter.
Like so many Guardian articles, capitalism gets the blame. And it's not all wrong, companies do prey on making you feel unworthy and offering their product as a cure. But the lack of massive clothes sizes in stores is not a capitalist conspiracy, it's just that there are not enough morbidly obese customers to make such product lines profitable, just as if a man has size 14 feet, very few places have shoes that fit. Beauty is not as subjective or socially constructed as Hagen would like it to be either. Babies and children look at conventionally attractive people for longer, way before manufactured standards of beauty can make an impression. If 5000 years of western society hasn't found fat people attractive (covered in the book), is that not in itself telling?
The worst section was on health, or "what society perceives as 'healthy' ". Society, or indeed tons of peer-reviewed academic studies. Hagen cites one study that was later found to conflate obesity with poor diet and activity levels, as though this was the only study that found a link between obesity and poor health. I can only assume Hagen hasn't yet found Google Scholar, because the papers' conclusions on obesity and health are fairly consistent, and are not positive. She states that activity levels matter more than fat, and that of obese people '35% are metabolically healthy'. So presumably 65% aren't, and this is meant to support your argument how? If you can't fit in a toilet cubicle, need to buy two seats on a plane, and find stairs a struggle, it is really society that has the problem?
If this book had stayed on safer ground, arguing that bullying is not nice and that telling people they need to lose weight is unhelpful, I could have respected the message a lot more. But Hagen goes too far, trying to show that there is nothing unhealthy being morbidly obese, co-opting the classic smoker's excuse that someone very old has had 40 fags a day so clearly the lung cancer and smoking statistics can be ignored. This book will get a lot of very supportive comments from the right audience, but its arguments were very flawed.
August 18, 2019
Sofie is wicked smart and funny and cool and I’m a bit in love with her. This is one of the best books I’ve read all year.
Could have done without Lena Dunham’s name on the cover though.
Could have done without Lena Dunham’s name on the cover though.
July 29, 2019
Det her er en vigtig bog, den virker grundigt researchet, og den har lært mig Rigtigt Meget.
Både om Fat Liberation bevægelsen og om hvordan, det er at være tyk i en tyndhedsfetischerende verden, men den har også rettet lyskeglen mod mine egne privilegier og integrerede fatfobia.
Stærk bog om kroppen og alt der der udenom.
Jeg synes faktisk at alle burde læse den. Det synes jeg ikke om ret mange bøger.
Både om Fat Liberation bevægelsen og om hvordan, det er at være tyk i en tyndhedsfetischerende verden, men den har også rettet lyskeglen mod mine egne privilegier og integrerede fatfobia.
Stærk bog om kroppen og alt der der udenom.
Jeg synes faktisk at alle burde læse den. Det synes jeg ikke om ret mange bøger.
August 1, 2020
It’s half a year into lockdown and the memes are getting fierce.
Largely, we’re sniggering about how we’re constantly baking and eating, our clothes don’t fit and we cant even recognize ourselves anymore. (I think I saw something about a unicorn pre-lockdown becoming a rhinoceros post)
Safe to say it was the right time to read Sofie’s Happy Fat. Looking through the contents, I saw a chapter called ‘How to love your body” and I sighed. I didn’t want more feel-good messages. I wanted a breakdown of the way anti-fat bias is entrenched in our culture, how inextricably ‘thin’ is linked to ‘fit’ and how fat-shaming will never be equal to thin shaming because having people tell you that you’ll “fly away with the wind” isn’t the same as it being more likely to not get hired because you're a size 24.(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...)
And that’s what Sofie gave me. A fat-activist and a comedian, using a part memoir/ part social commentary style, she explains what anti-fat bias really is and how deep it goes. Weaving into the book thoughtful interviews from inspiring people, she talks about fat representation in media, in apparel stores, concern-trolling (“I’m just worried about your health”/ “you’re promoting obesity”) and the insidious diet industry.
One of my key takeaways has been to stop calling the movement ‘body positivity’ which is a watered-down, palatable name for what the movement has always been- FAT LIBERATION. Sofie says in the book- “They took the word FAT and replaced it with the word BODY to erase the very existence of fat people and make it more palatable and sexy to consumers. Then they took the searing and urgent call to arms that is the word LIBERATION and changed it to POSITIVITY almost as if to say: ‘Shh, sit down, don’t make a fuss. Smile. Smile and be still-quite-thin’.”
The moment you change the word to positivity, you change the narrative from calling out the oppressor to putting the onus on the fat person to change their perspective. As if things are as they are because the victim isn’t positive enough. And while fat liberation focuses on the folks most in need of liberation, body positivity today is usurped by slightly curvy girls (and I was one of them who used this term for myself) telling you how to wear a size 6 crop top in 5 different ways when a fat person cant sit on a subway or eat a salad in peace.
Folks who want to understand and learn about the struggles of fate people, this book is a great place to start. It’s like a conversation, like I’m catching up with Sofie over burgers and a milkshake. And occasionally tearing up, and/or furiously nodding. Accessible, immensely readable and extremely important to read.
Largely, we’re sniggering about how we’re constantly baking and eating, our clothes don’t fit and we cant even recognize ourselves anymore. (I think I saw something about a unicorn pre-lockdown becoming a rhinoceros post)
Safe to say it was the right time to read Sofie’s Happy Fat. Looking through the contents, I saw a chapter called ‘How to love your body” and I sighed. I didn’t want more feel-good messages. I wanted a breakdown of the way anti-fat bias is entrenched in our culture, how inextricably ‘thin’ is linked to ‘fit’ and how fat-shaming will never be equal to thin shaming because having people tell you that you’ll “fly away with the wind” isn’t the same as it being more likely to not get hired because you're a size 24.(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...)
And that’s what Sofie gave me. A fat-activist and a comedian, using a part memoir/ part social commentary style, she explains what anti-fat bias really is and how deep it goes. Weaving into the book thoughtful interviews from inspiring people, she talks about fat representation in media, in apparel stores, concern-trolling (“I’m just worried about your health”/ “you’re promoting obesity”) and the insidious diet industry.
One of my key takeaways has been to stop calling the movement ‘body positivity’ which is a watered-down, palatable name for what the movement has always been- FAT LIBERATION. Sofie says in the book- “They took the word FAT and replaced it with the word BODY to erase the very existence of fat people and make it more palatable and sexy to consumers. Then they took the searing and urgent call to arms that is the word LIBERATION and changed it to POSITIVITY almost as if to say: ‘Shh, sit down, don’t make a fuss. Smile. Smile and be still-quite-thin’.”
The moment you change the word to positivity, you change the narrative from calling out the oppressor to putting the onus on the fat person to change their perspective. As if things are as they are because the victim isn’t positive enough. And while fat liberation focuses on the folks most in need of liberation, body positivity today is usurped by slightly curvy girls (and I was one of them who used this term for myself) telling you how to wear a size 6 crop top in 5 different ways when a fat person cant sit on a subway or eat a salad in peace.
Folks who want to understand and learn about the struggles of fate people, this book is a great place to start. It’s like a conversation, like I’m catching up with Sofie over burgers and a milkshake. And occasionally tearing up, and/or furiously nodding. Accessible, immensely readable and extremely important to read.
July 22, 2020
obviously saying important stuff, and also pretty funny. i honestly feel like hagen needs to be way more radical from the start - lets pull down the structures that oppress us! as such i was a little more disappointed that she wasn't more critical the haes movement. while obviously their statement 'you can be healthy whatever size you are' is factually true and proven by evidence (which hagen demonstrates pretty well here), i reject the importance that they put on health. yes any body can be healthy, but that also means any body can be unhealthy, and fat people who are unhealthy and thin people who are unhealthy have just as much worth as every other person in the world.
it feels like the section about people concern trolling is a lot more about proving fat people can be healthy rather than pointing out that health is a privilege and people shouldn't be discriminated against for being unhealthy. (tbf i am reading this book in the middle of a pandemic as a chronically ill person who has suddenly become hyper aware of how much my government and my fellow citizens are devaluing the worth of every sick and old person's life in the country, so i am hyper aware of ableism (or healthism - is there a word for discriminating people for poor health?) at the moment)
also i wish she had edited out all references to known bad guy, homophobic loser chris pratt.
it feels like the section about people concern trolling is a lot more about proving fat people can be healthy rather than pointing out that health is a privilege and people shouldn't be discriminated against for being unhealthy. (tbf i am reading this book in the middle of a pandemic as a chronically ill person who has suddenly become hyper aware of how much my government and my fellow citizens are devaluing the worth of every sick and old person's life in the country, so i am hyper aware of ableism (or healthism - is there a word for discriminating people for poor health?) at the moment)
also i wish she had edited out all references to known bad guy, homophobic loser chris pratt.
May 10, 2019
*thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, 4th Estate, William Collins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
2.5 stars.
This was just OK and unfortunately I did find its just a bit boring in parts. But I do need to state that I am not exactly in the best state of mind to fully read and review this, and I won't be for quite some time. This has nothing to do with fatphobia, but my current mental health issues. There were parts that I had to skip over as I found them triggering. But for the most part, what I liked the most, was her self-love and self-acceptance. That is something that ALL of us need to have no matter of our gender, race, body size/shape/height and so on. I do hope that helps others out there dealing with their own issues.
This book may not have been for me right at this time but I do hope that I pick its up again and give it another go in the far future.
2.5 stars.
This was just OK and unfortunately I did find its just a bit boring in parts. But I do need to state that I am not exactly in the best state of mind to fully read and review this, and I won't be for quite some time. This has nothing to do with fatphobia, but my current mental health issues. There were parts that I had to skip over as I found them triggering. But for the most part, what I liked the most, was her self-love and self-acceptance. That is something that ALL of us need to have no matter of our gender, race, body size/shape/height and so on. I do hope that helps others out there dealing with their own issues.
This book may not have been for me right at this time but I do hope that I pick its up again and give it another go in the far future.
June 17, 2019
I wanted to love this book, I wanted it to be the book of my dreams. But it wasn’t. It just wasn’t what I expected. I thought it was going to be something that made me feel better about myself and the world we live in but it really didn’t.
I enjoyed the interviews dotted through the book and found I related to some of Sophie’s personal stories, I think this is what I wanted from the book. A book about her I could relate to, to get inspiration from, allow me to be okay with me but it wasn’t. It was very focused on one point of view YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF, which is fine and dandy for some people but just wasn’t what I was looking for.
I also found it rather repetitive, it felt a little like I was reading the same chapter over and over. I love Sophie as a comedian but this book didn’t hit the mark for me, with that said if she wrote a true memoir I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up. 3/5
With thanks to Sophie Hagen, Netgalley, 4th Estate Books and HarperCollins UK for an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed the interviews dotted through the book and found I related to some of Sophie’s personal stories, I think this is what I wanted from the book. A book about her I could relate to, to get inspiration from, allow me to be okay with me but it wasn’t. It was very focused on one point of view YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF, which is fine and dandy for some people but just wasn’t what I was looking for.
I also found it rather repetitive, it felt a little like I was reading the same chapter over and over. I love Sophie as a comedian but this book didn’t hit the mark for me, with that said if she wrote a true memoir I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up. 3/5
With thanks to Sophie Hagen, Netgalley, 4th Estate Books and HarperCollins UK for an ARC of this book.
May 25, 2020
Detta är definitivt boken för dig som letar efter kroppspositivism. Sofie blandar sitt eget liv, fakta och intervjuer med tjocka människor (som ofta även drabbats av någon annan diskriminering).
Jag gillar Stina Wollter och valde därför den svenska ljudboken. Jag gissar att originalet, som verkar vara på engelska och inte danska, i ljudboksformat läses upp av Sofie själv.
Jag hade nog förväntat mindre fakta och intervjuer och mer av Sofies liv därav mitt betyg på boken.
Jag gillar Stina Wollter och valde därför den svenska ljudboken. Jag gissar att originalet, som verkar vara på engelska och inte danska, i ljudboksformat läses upp av Sofie själv.
Jag hade nog förväntat mindre fakta och intervjuer och mer av Sofies liv därav mitt betyg på boken.
January 22, 2021
En bok för alla tjocka människor och de som bryr sig om oss. Många av mina erfarenheter kan jag hitta speglad i litteratur. Att vara vit, ung kvinna, medelklass, bibliotekarie, bokälskare mm. Men sällan kan jag spegla mig i erfarenheten av att vara tjock. (det är därför jag har en tagg för böcker som handlar om tjocka personer och om fatstudies).
Jag gillar att Sofie Hagen inte bara skriver om tjockhet. Hon är också den typ av feminist jag identifierar mig med, en intersektionell feminist. Alltså att man förstår att många olika aspekter påverkar hur man blir utsatt för förtryck och vilka privilegier man har. Man kan inte prata om en sak åt gången. Man måste ta i beaktande att t.ex. grad av tjockhet, funktionsvariation, sexualitet, ras, huruvida man är trans eller cis påverkar den tjocka upplevelsen.
Hagen pratar om sitt eget liv men intervjuar också andra tjocka personer med olika förutsättningar. Hon gör upp med fördomar, trauman som följd av fettfobi, en förenklad och felaktig syn på hälsa och kapitalism.
Jag gillar att Sofie Hagen inte bara skriver om tjockhet. Hon är också den typ av feminist jag identifierar mig med, en intersektionell feminist. Alltså att man förstår att många olika aspekter påverkar hur man blir utsatt för förtryck och vilka privilegier man har. Man kan inte prata om en sak åt gången. Man måste ta i beaktande att t.ex. grad av tjockhet, funktionsvariation, sexualitet, ras, huruvida man är trans eller cis påverkar den tjocka upplevelsen.
Hagen pratar om sitt eget liv men intervjuar också andra tjocka personer med olika förutsättningar. Hon gör upp med fördomar, trauman som följd av fettfobi, en förenklad och felaktig syn på hälsa och kapitalism.
June 16, 2020
This book is wonderful!
I've been a fan of Sofie Hagen since I found a video of one of her shows a few years ago and discovered she's a non-male danish comedian, which is rare. Reading this book only made me like her more.
She delves into many different annoyances she's faced with in everyday life because she's fat. Seeing these experiences through her eyes was very eye-opening.
But she also goes much further and discusses the systematic oppression towards fat people that's rooted in patriarchy and capitalism. Many of her insights were things I myself had to realize as a young teenager to feel good about my body and looks. So I really think this book can help many people, young and old, with realizing the way the 'perfect body' is a concept promoted for companies to earn money on people's insecurities.
I also loved to learn more about the fat-activism movement which I don't think I've ever heard about, which is a fault on my part.
Throughout the book, she includes interviews with a diverse range of people. Generally, the book is extremely focused on diversity and intersectional feminism and I loved it!
My favorite chapter was Chapter 7 where she goes deep into the stereotype of how being fat is a health risk. She basically answers it with: Yes it is, but (almost) only because nurses and doctors fail to take fat people seriously. When they propose a concern about their health they're too often met with the view that 'if you just lost some weight you would feel better' even when it later turns out their ache was because of a tumor... Everything she discusses is cited and sourced.
And then of course, it's so funny. I love her humor and the way she balanced the seriousness of the issue with jokes.
I highly recommend checking it out! Whether or not you're fat, it'll teach you a lot.
I've been a fan of Sofie Hagen since I found a video of one of her shows a few years ago and discovered she's a non-male danish comedian, which is rare. Reading this book only made me like her more.
She delves into many different annoyances she's faced with in everyday life because she's fat. Seeing these experiences through her eyes was very eye-opening.
But she also goes much further and discusses the systematic oppression towards fat people that's rooted in patriarchy and capitalism. Many of her insights were things I myself had to realize as a young teenager to feel good about my body and looks. So I really think this book can help many people, young and old, with realizing the way the 'perfect body' is a concept promoted for companies to earn money on people's insecurities.
I also loved to learn more about the fat-activism movement which I don't think I've ever heard about, which is a fault on my part.
Throughout the book, she includes interviews with a diverse range of people. Generally, the book is extremely focused on diversity and intersectional feminism and I loved it!
My favorite chapter was Chapter 7 where she goes deep into the stereotype of how being fat is a health risk. She basically answers it with: Yes it is, but (almost) only because nurses and doctors fail to take fat people seriously. When they propose a concern about their health they're too often met with the view that 'if you just lost some weight you would feel better' even when it later turns out their ache was because of a tumor... Everything she discusses is cited and sourced.
And then of course, it's so funny. I love her humor and the way she balanced the seriousness of the issue with jokes.
I highly recommend checking it out! Whether or not you're fat, it'll teach you a lot.
May 10, 2019
Combining comic memoir with powerful polemic, Sofie Hagen's Happy Fat is so much better than I could have hoped (and my hopes were extremely high). Hagen eloquently and intelligently dismantles fatphobia, rightly laying the blame for it at the feet of capitalism and demonstrating how fatphobia is an intersectional issue linked to white supremacist, colonialist, patriarchal neo-liberalism. This makes it sound like a serious, academic read but it's really not, maintaing a lightness of tone throughout. Absolutely essential reading for people of any size.
December 2, 2020
Such an important book!
In a world where being fat overshadows everything else, Sophie keeps it as real as it gets.
As an overweight person who gets body shamed almost on a daily basis, I could feel where she was coming from.
Right from childhood, even before a child can fathom what being fat means, you are labelled as a fat kid.
I vividly remember my summer holidays, when my aunt held my wrists in her hands and declared I was fat. I was eight. Or maybe younger. And not even fat, but this cycle kept repeating. It comes from every walk of life, wether it's a family member or a complete stranger, people think they are doing you a favour by telling you to lose that damn weight.
Even now people who haven't met me in years casually, offhandedly pass a comment or two on my weight.
It has reached to a point where now I just brush it off, but when I listened to Sofie recount her experiences, I almost went ME TOO SISTER after every story (obviously sans the one's with famous people/comedians).
But you get the gist.
In a world where none of your achievements are worth enough if your body isn't of a type that is deemed trivial, where fatness overshadows almost everything else, this book was a much needed reminder that accepting your body for its flaws is the key.
There are many body positivity movements happening now but still as a society I feel fat shaming is a common thing and however good the other person's intentions are, it's never cool to make someone feel worthless for the way their body looks. You never know what the other person is going through. So be kind, be accepting and read this book.
In a world where being fat overshadows everything else, Sophie keeps it as real as it gets.
As an overweight person who gets body shamed almost on a daily basis, I could feel where she was coming from.
Right from childhood, even before a child can fathom what being fat means, you are labelled as a fat kid.
I vividly remember my summer holidays, when my aunt held my wrists in her hands and declared I was fat. I was eight. Or maybe younger. And not even fat, but this cycle kept repeating. It comes from every walk of life, wether it's a family member or a complete stranger, people think they are doing you a favour by telling you to lose that damn weight.
Even now people who haven't met me in years casually, offhandedly pass a comment or two on my weight.
It has reached to a point where now I just brush it off, but when I listened to Sofie recount her experiences, I almost went ME TOO SISTER after every story (obviously sans the one's with famous people/comedians).
But you get the gist.
In a world where none of your achievements are worth enough if your body isn't of a type that is deemed trivial, where fatness overshadows almost everything else, this book was a much needed reminder that accepting your body for its flaws is the key.
There are many body positivity movements happening now but still as a society I feel fat shaming is a common thing and however good the other person's intentions are, it's never cool to make someone feel worthless for the way their body looks. You never know what the other person is going through. So be kind, be accepting and read this book.
March 14, 2020
I was lucky enough to go to Sofie Hagen's book signing in the Edinburgh Book Festival 2019 🎉
[image error]
This book is simply phenomenal
Fatphobia is rampant in our culture. People treat 'fat' as a concept that is scary and undesirable, and fat individuals are treated badly, harrassed and abused widely. It's time to put a stop to it, and Sofie Hagen's impactful nonfiction is here to punch us in the gut.
I started from the lowest point possible. The confidence came with time - and it all started when I realised that fat people are worthy. Fat people are deserving of happiness and entitled to take up space. Fat people are not lesser humans. You can be happy and fat, being happy and fat is an option.
Happy Fat is one of those rare nonfiction books that is actually successful in holding up both the enjoyable, light and funny tone, and the important, strong message. Sofie Hagen's stand-up comedy is brilliant - she is witty, compassionate, feminist and really funny. Her personality also shines in the book and I laughed out loud quite a few times, but the light tone doesn't dull the impact of the message. Sofie manages to convey painful experiences and stereotypes with care, and the book includes multiple interviews to gather together multiple perspectives of fatness.
When you are told to 'lose weight', it is almost said with a hint of 'how dare you?' How dare you be fat, when we have accepted that it is wrong? How dare you be fat, when I am not allowing myself to be fat? Or, how dare you be fat when I am fat too and I hate it?
Fat isn't dangerous, unhealthy or a result of laziness. The heightened health risks with increased weight can be explained by the stress and prejudice that fat individuals experience in their everyday life. Would you feel great if you had to be afraid of being treated horribly every time you leave your home? If you had to be afraid that you wouldn't be able to fit into chairs, toilets or find any clothes from shops? I hope you stop to appreciate how horribly stressful that would be. Research hasn't been able to tease apart the influence of mental health problems and increased stress on health risks related to higher weight.
Instead of weight however, many studies have reliably made a connection between health risks and poor eating habits and lack of exercise. These habitual things sometimes lead to increased weight, but often they don't! Thin people can be metabolically obese with horrid eating habits, and fat people can be completely healthy. Your size says nothing of how healthy you are. Nothing.
Read this book,and then look at yourself in the mirror and forgive yourself for everything you have put your body go through.
Your failed diets were never your fault. It was never going to work. You never failed. You and your body did exactly what you were destined to do. Lose some weight and gain back even more. Your body and your willpower didn't let you down - the diets don't work. You work just fine.
The very minor cons
I need to really stretch myself to give this book 4-stars instead of 5, but the truth is that it could have been a tiny bit better.
I think the beginning of the book doesn't work - the writing style in the first two chapters needed some editing (the flow of the writing style got significantly better after those two chapters), and the structure of the book was off. I felt like after Sofie's memories & childhood with fatness was explained, the book should have jumped straight into the difficulty of being fat from too small spaces and other people making assumptions of health, and then return to the need for fat rep. If you find yourself struggling with the beginning, don't give up!
All together it is a fantastic book! Go read it!
[image error]
This book is simply phenomenal
Fatphobia is rampant in our culture. People treat 'fat' as a concept that is scary and undesirable, and fat individuals are treated badly, harrassed and abused widely. It's time to put a stop to it, and Sofie Hagen's impactful nonfiction is here to punch us in the gut.
I started from the lowest point possible. The confidence came with time - and it all started when I realised that fat people are worthy. Fat people are deserving of happiness and entitled to take up space. Fat people are not lesser humans. You can be happy and fat, being happy and fat is an option.
Happy Fat is one of those rare nonfiction books that is actually successful in holding up both the enjoyable, light and funny tone, and the important, strong message. Sofie Hagen's stand-up comedy is brilliant - she is witty, compassionate, feminist and really funny. Her personality also shines in the book and I laughed out loud quite a few times, but the light tone doesn't dull the impact of the message. Sofie manages to convey painful experiences and stereotypes with care, and the book includes multiple interviews to gather together multiple perspectives of fatness.
When you are told to 'lose weight', it is almost said with a hint of 'how dare you?' How dare you be fat, when we have accepted that it is wrong? How dare you be fat, when I am not allowing myself to be fat? Or, how dare you be fat when I am fat too and I hate it?
Fat isn't dangerous, unhealthy or a result of laziness. The heightened health risks with increased weight can be explained by the stress and prejudice that fat individuals experience in their everyday life. Would you feel great if you had to be afraid of being treated horribly every time you leave your home? If you had to be afraid that you wouldn't be able to fit into chairs, toilets or find any clothes from shops? I hope you stop to appreciate how horribly stressful that would be. Research hasn't been able to tease apart the influence of mental health problems and increased stress on health risks related to higher weight.
Instead of weight however, many studies have reliably made a connection between health risks and poor eating habits and lack of exercise. These habitual things sometimes lead to increased weight, but often they don't! Thin people can be metabolically obese with horrid eating habits, and fat people can be completely healthy. Your size says nothing of how healthy you are. Nothing.
Read this book,and then look at yourself in the mirror and forgive yourself for everything you have put your body go through.
Your failed diets were never your fault. It was never going to work. You never failed. You and your body did exactly what you were destined to do. Lose some weight and gain back even more. Your body and your willpower didn't let you down - the diets don't work. You work just fine.
The very minor cons
I need to really stretch myself to give this book 4-stars instead of 5, but the truth is that it could have been a tiny bit better.
I think the beginning of the book doesn't work - the writing style in the first two chapters needed some editing (the flow of the writing style got significantly better after those two chapters), and the structure of the book was off. I felt like after Sofie's memories & childhood with fatness was explained, the book should have jumped straight into the difficulty of being fat from too small spaces and other people making assumptions of health, and then return to the need for fat rep. If you find yourself struggling with the beginning, don't give up!
All together it is a fantastic book! Go read it!
March 16, 2020
I was able and happy to read this. This doesn't sound like a compliment but let me explain. I am on medication that makes me drowsy, if I'm not really pulled in by something I can fall asleep while trying to read on the bus. It's a pain, there have been things I've wanted to read but they've been too dry and I couldn't.
I thought I couldn't read non-fiction but this has proven me wrong! Hooked, beginning to end. That being said, I did see some reviews when adding this to my list about it being triggery for people with weight issues and I can see why that might be hard for some. Sofie is very honest about the challenges and experiences she has had. I'd definitely recommend it for thin people who haven't had to deal with these problems so they can better understand. As difficult as it must have been, it's great that she's been able to get the insight she has into her own psychology and experience. Like her I would recommend those who can get support to do the same.
That is the only down side I can find in what this book says; it doesn't acknowledge that being fat is often a consequence of a disequilibrium in your relationship with food. Encouraging people to eat what they feel like eating without also encouraging them to examine why they feel that way isn't helping. If you're comfort eating (which is what I used to do) that isn't going to address the underlying thing causing you to seek out that comfort.
But I read this book because I lost weight - I found my inner thinnie - and it didn't make everything better. My primary motivator was health reasons but I realised while reading this that, despite knowing rationally that the world doesn't work that way, part of me still expected it would make everything better. I'm definitely going to address how I look at things though on my hike to self love.
I thought I couldn't read non-fiction but this has proven me wrong! Hooked, beginning to end. That being said, I did see some reviews when adding this to my list about it being triggery for people with weight issues and I can see why that might be hard for some. Sofie is very honest about the challenges and experiences she has had. I'd definitely recommend it for thin people who haven't had to deal with these problems so they can better understand. As difficult as it must have been, it's great that she's been able to get the insight she has into her own psychology and experience. Like her I would recommend those who can get support to do the same.
That is the only down side I can find in what this book says; it doesn't acknowledge that being fat is often a consequence of a disequilibrium in your relationship with food. Encouraging people to eat what they feel like eating without also encouraging them to examine why they feel that way isn't helping. If you're comfort eating (which is what I used to do) that isn't going to address the underlying thing causing you to seek out that comfort.
But I read this book because I lost weight - I found my inner thinnie - and it didn't make everything better. My primary motivator was health reasons but I realised while reading this that, despite knowing rationally that the world doesn't work that way, part of me still expected it would make everything better. I'm definitely going to address how I look at things though on my hike to self love.
April 25, 2020
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book though I'm sorry to say that I didn't get too far with it. If it gets a lot better someone is welcome to let me know but it didn't cut it for me. It seems like it was an opportunity for the author to spend 336 pages having a rant on how there are not more opportunities for 'fat' people and how she has had a hard time because of her weight. There are parts that are meant to be funny but fell flat like when she admitted that someone told her to stop in the middle of her giving them a blow job at a party.
Maybe she references the amazing larger women later on in the book but I found myself thinking about Oprah, Gabourey Sidibe (whose biography I've read and is amazing., Queen Latifah, Rebel Wilson. Well she references Rebel Wilson's part in Pitch Perfect because of the negative characterisation there but she has been in other films.
I thought that I might have been the target market reader being overweight myself but it just annoyed me too much. Oh and she could have reference James Corden who has given a brilliant response to a fat shamer before on his show.
Maybe she references the amazing larger women later on in the book but I found myself thinking about Oprah, Gabourey Sidibe (whose biography I've read and is amazing., Queen Latifah, Rebel Wilson. Well she references Rebel Wilson's part in Pitch Perfect because of the negative characterisation there but she has been in other films.
I thought that I might have been the target market reader being overweight myself but it just annoyed me too much. Oh and she could have reference James Corden who has given a brilliant response to a fat shamer before on his show.
August 29, 2020
“The escape from your body has to stop now.”
this book is both a warm hug and a bed of nails. it made me think, it made me cry and it made me feel! so! many! things!
a wild and intense ride that I definitely needed atm
this book is both a warm hug and a bed of nails. it made me think, it made me cry and it made me feel! so! many! things!
a wild and intense ride that I definitely needed atm
November 13, 2019
Funny, inclusive and most importantly, angry. This book felt like the comedy memoir version of Dietland (without the terrorism and stuff) and everyone should read both of these books immediately
January 20, 2021
Where to start? It's a great read and I'd argue an important one for anyone who has felt pressured to lose weight. Sofie explores fatness in society, including both unconscious and conscious bias, the capitalist roots and the history of the myth that fat = unhealthy. Spoiler: fat does not in fact mean unhealthy, and that view absolutely needs to be challenged.
This book aims to ensure intersectional feminist voices are heard and highlights the different priviledges, including those within the "body positivity" movement.
I loved it.
This book aims to ensure intersectional feminist voices are heard and highlights the different priviledges, including those within the "body positivity" movement.
I loved it.
September 12, 2021
This was so lovely! I listened on audiobook as it was all my library had in and I'd highly recommend as it's read by the author and her Danish accent is the best. Part memoir, part fat liberation manifesto, and absolutely relatable. This could be a good place to start for straight-sized non-fats to start learning more about anti-fat bias as the personal touch was quite effective and definitely immediately personalized the various obstacles fat people face in the world.
January 11, 2023
I think every person should read this. Every. Single. Person. Who. Is. Living.
April 25, 2020
It was a good essay on fatness/fatphobia but it wasn't documented enough to my taste. There are three or four interviews thrown it for intersectionality points that look out of place. The aggressive tone can be funny sometimes but is irritating the rest of the time. Some of it was due to the fact that it was written for someone who was at level 0 of deconstructing fatphobia but the rest was just that the author was trying to get a 'shock' from people except... if you're reading this book, you're probably on your way. I felt like the message would have been clearer with self-compassion than guilt tactics.
Despite the personal anecdotes not being comprehensive on a chronological scale, they were mostly touching. Except when they veered on crude description of het sex for coolness factor - she says she is queer but she only talks about penises. As a lesbian: ew.
Anyway, a lot of the discourse was good to read again, or read in this particular writing, and I'm glad I read it.
Despite the personal anecdotes not being comprehensive on a chronological scale, they were mostly touching. Except when they veered on crude description of het sex for coolness factor - she says she is queer but she only talks about penises. As a lesbian: ew.
Anyway, a lot of the discourse was good to read again, or read in this particular writing, and I'm glad I read it.
[The Fat Underground] coined phrases such as, 'A diet is a cure that doesn't work, for a disease that doesn't exist.'
and maybe wonder why the very basic action of physically showing yourself and your body affection makes us cringe. We have a long way to go.
I wrote about Sleeping Beauty and how she - and all other thin, beauty-privileged, empty skin-vessels - could just go suck on a massive ham and shut up. I wrote something along the lines of, 'Beautiful people can apparently just be sleeping and still get more attention than ugly people - what have we got to do, learn to juggle?'
When fat people say to me, 'Oh, I could never love myself, I don't have that confidence,' I tell them this. 'You don't have to have confidence, you just have to be able to understand the basic principle of maths. The more we hate our bodies, the richer these companies get. Ergo, they make us feel bad, in order to make money. Ergo, you do not hate your body because your body is wrong. You hate your body because someone lied to you.'
There are more naked and murdered women on television and in films than there are fat women.
You deserve to wear something that feels nice on your skin as much as anyone. There is no reason why this fictional future you, who might never happen, gets to wear all the cool outfits.
August 6, 2019
4 stars! Thank you 4th Estate for sending me a review copy
A month or so after reading Happy Fat by Sofie Hagen, a paragraph in the last chapter is still very relevant in my relationship with Fativism
Hagen wrote, “ If this is the first you ever read about fatness in this way, chances are, you are surrounded by fatphobia in your workplace and your family and social life .... if you want to completely rid your life of toxic fatphobia, you may need to have some difficult conversations with colleagues, friends and family.”
Before this book, I knew my heart recoiled when I hear nasty comments alluding to fatness but I also know that I have laughed at so many fat jokes growing up. So it is only natural that after reading it, I began to have these difficult conversations with people around me but more importantly, with my fatphobic subconscious.
Happy Fat is a memoir and social commentary that focuses largely on fatness but occasionally on “otherness”. That’s one shinning thing about the book. It does a just job of including so many different forms of identities that have been “othered”.
Hagen gently (and sometimes not so gently) helped me see how really privileged I am, being slim and having a socially acceptable physique. It was mad eye opening! Things I never gave a thought to let alone imagine that there are people that struggle with them daily like public toilets, health system and even transportation. Another point for inclusion in the book for the addition of interviews done with other Fat activists with different life dynamics. We have Stephanie Yeboah, a fat, black cis woman, Dina Amlund, a fat activist and badass academic, Kivan Bay, an artist, researcher, trans/queer guy and Matilda Ibini, a British-Nigerian who’s fat, disabled and is a screenwriter who adores Afrofuturism.
Happy Fat is very eye-opening. It’s not the best book on fativism out there but I think it’s a perfect one for beginners like me. And that Hagen is a comedian is just mind blowing! I mean, comedy is a field that has long being equated to “making fun of the ‘others”.
May 6, 2019
Happy Anti Diet Day everyone!
Happy Fat is part memoir, part social commentary. Hagen dives into anecdotes from her life and gives an honest portrayal – sometimes hilariously so, sometimes deeply touching – how she moves through the world as a fat person, the many messages she had internalized about fat bodies (and then shed), the barriers put in in front of her, and the joys. Within the book, Hagen tackles a lot of topics, some in more detail than others. She writes about the need for representation (and the vile backlash she received when she said so online), love and sex, the fraud relationship of health and weight and health concern trolling (a chapter based on a lot of studies), the way most physical spaces are not built to accommodate fat bodies, queerness, disordered eating and diet culture, and the difference between body positivity and fat liberation (as well as the history of the latter).
Overall this is a wonderful book, even though I found the first chapters at times a bit unfocused. Some jumps from anecdote to anecdote felt jarring and if they weren’t going anywhere. But in the end, these are minor hang-ups. I know, that I am not the ideal audience. Happy Fat is aimed at people who had not yet access to thoughts from the fat liberation movement and are new-ish to all the discussed themes. But while there were many facts and analysis included, I had already seen before (and Hagen never pretends she is the first to put these ideas forward), I was hooked and read the book in a matter of days. I laughed, I recognized some of my own experiences, I enjoyed reading many of the anecdotes and thought about all the people who will benefit greatly from this book.
For an extended review go to my blog: https://www.haveyouread.de/moving-thr...
I received a review copy from Fourth Estate.
Happy Fat is part memoir, part social commentary. Hagen dives into anecdotes from her life and gives an honest portrayal – sometimes hilariously so, sometimes deeply touching – how she moves through the world as a fat person, the many messages she had internalized about fat bodies (and then shed), the barriers put in in front of her, and the joys. Within the book, Hagen tackles a lot of topics, some in more detail than others. She writes about the need for representation (and the vile backlash she received when she said so online), love and sex, the fraud relationship of health and weight and health concern trolling (a chapter based on a lot of studies), the way most physical spaces are not built to accommodate fat bodies, queerness, disordered eating and diet culture, and the difference between body positivity and fat liberation (as well as the history of the latter).
Overall this is a wonderful book, even though I found the first chapters at times a bit unfocused. Some jumps from anecdote to anecdote felt jarring and if they weren’t going anywhere. But in the end, these are minor hang-ups. I know, that I am not the ideal audience. Happy Fat is aimed at people who had not yet access to thoughts from the fat liberation movement and are new-ish to all the discussed themes. But while there were many facts and analysis included, I had already seen before (and Hagen never pretends she is the first to put these ideas forward), I was hooked and read the book in a matter of days. I laughed, I recognized some of my own experiences, I enjoyed reading many of the anecdotes and thought about all the people who will benefit greatly from this book.
For an extended review go to my blog: https://www.haveyouread.de/moving-thr...
I received a review copy from Fourth Estate.
March 22, 2020
Happy Fat is a response to the daily challenges and criticisms Sofie Hagen has received in regard to her body size. She discusses diets, body shaming, internalized fatphobia, daily struggles that others may have never realized could be a struggle for another.
The footnotes were perfect! They were educational with a hint of comedy. (My kind of writing)
I wanted to highlight SO much of this book (but that’s kind of like book blasphemy, right?) so many notes and sentences that truly hit home and was everything I’ve tried to express but couldn’t form words.
One thing she discusses is that there’s a misunderstanding in thinking being body positive means you are confident or brave. Really, it’s a daily struggle to remind yourself you are worthy and good enough. This was beautiful. I could tell we are about the same age because the way she describes growing up with the internet and Twitter is how I see it, yet my sibling doesn’t. I don’t know if I relate more because of our age similarities, but I did connect with her points because I grew up in the same atmosphere
The way Sofie negates criticism with comedy is top notch. I found myself cackling at her comebacks. I also enjoyed the different interviews given. The different perspectives helped form a bigger picture of the issue.
My favorite chapters are the last chapters, How to be a good friend to fat people and How to love your body. It discusses being an ally, without speaking over those oppressed. It talks about realizing your privilege, which I think it a hard, yet, needed truth for many to hear in order to help eradicate fatphobia.
Overall, a truthful read with lots of comedy sprinkled in to help lighten the mood. I did find it to be rather long and repetitive, especially the second half. 3.5 stars from me.
Thank you, @harpercollins360 for this gifted copy. Happy Fat comes out in the US April 7th.
The footnotes were perfect! They were educational with a hint of comedy. (My kind of writing)
I wanted to highlight SO much of this book (but that’s kind of like book blasphemy, right?) so many notes and sentences that truly hit home and was everything I’ve tried to express but couldn’t form words.
One thing she discusses is that there’s a misunderstanding in thinking being body positive means you are confident or brave. Really, it’s a daily struggle to remind yourself you are worthy and good enough. This was beautiful. I could tell we are about the same age because the way she describes growing up with the internet and Twitter is how I see it, yet my sibling doesn’t. I don’t know if I relate more because of our age similarities, but I did connect with her points because I grew up in the same atmosphere
The way Sofie negates criticism with comedy is top notch. I found myself cackling at her comebacks. I also enjoyed the different interviews given. The different perspectives helped form a bigger picture of the issue.
My favorite chapters are the last chapters, How to be a good friend to fat people and How to love your body. It discusses being an ally, without speaking over those oppressed. It talks about realizing your privilege, which I think it a hard, yet, needed truth for many to hear in order to help eradicate fatphobia.
Overall, a truthful read with lots of comedy sprinkled in to help lighten the mood. I did find it to be rather long and repetitive, especially the second half. 3.5 stars from me.
Thank you, @harpercollins360 for this gifted copy. Happy Fat comes out in the US April 7th.
September 11, 2020
I borrowed this book from the library, but now wonder if I should buy it so that I have it with me at all times, a kind of self-acceptance power burst, or Batman-esque utility belt. It's that powerful, and that relevant.
For anyone who has ever felt self-conscious about their body, this book slowly, calmly and inexorably breaks down why we feel that way, and how not to feel that way. It's a fairly long book with a very pervasive message that is repeated using many different examples - some reviewers haven't liked the repetitious nature, but for me it felt central to the idea of fatphobia, and of self-love/self-acceptance. We are being repetitively told by the media, by our entertainment, by our retailers, by individual people - that there is a body ideal, and that this is what we should be working towards. It makes sense to me that to override such a prevalent message, you need a bit of repetition to counter it.
It's also funny. I haven't come across Sofie Hagen before, but will be looking up her touring dates now (when such things are resumed). Her footnotes, her asides about her life are hilarious - I physically laughed twice while reading, which is very rare for me (I'm usually more of a inward smile person). She's warm and she's matter-of-fact and she makes body acceptance and body love seem possible. She wants us to rise up against capitalism, and makes that seem possible too.
Would recommend to anyone & everyone - fat, thin and in-between. This book feels necessary.
For anyone who has ever felt self-conscious about their body, this book slowly, calmly and inexorably breaks down why we feel that way, and how not to feel that way. It's a fairly long book with a very pervasive message that is repeated using many different examples - some reviewers haven't liked the repetitious nature, but for me it felt central to the idea of fatphobia, and of self-love/self-acceptance. We are being repetitively told by the media, by our entertainment, by our retailers, by individual people - that there is a body ideal, and that this is what we should be working towards. It makes sense to me that to override such a prevalent message, you need a bit of repetition to counter it.
It's also funny. I haven't come across Sofie Hagen before, but will be looking up her touring dates now (when such things are resumed). Her footnotes, her asides about her life are hilarious - I physically laughed twice while reading, which is very rare for me (I'm usually more of a inward smile person). She's warm and she's matter-of-fact and she makes body acceptance and body love seem possible. She wants us to rise up against capitalism, and makes that seem possible too.
Would recommend to anyone & everyone - fat, thin and in-between. This book feels necessary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews