The 'Fat' Female Body

by Samantha Murray

Investigating the current interest in obesity and fatness, this book explores the problems and ambiguities that form the lived experience of 'fat' women in contemporary Western society. Engaging with dominant ideas about 'fatness', and analysing the assumptions that inform anti-fat attitudes in the West, The 'Fat' Female Body explores the moral panic over the 'obesity epidemic', and the intersection of medicine and morality in pathologising 'fat' bodies. It contributes to the emerging field of fat studies
by offering not only alternative understandings of subjectivity, the (re)production of public knowledge(s) of 'fatness', and politics of embodiment, but also the possibility of (re)reading 'fat' bodies to foster more productive social relations.

Genres: Nonfiction

196 pages, Hardcover

First published December 9, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Samantha^^Murray SFF short story writer

Reviews

[Cass Boe]

In my opinion, this was a really accessible way to explain phenomenology and Merleau-Ponty. I feel like phenomenology has CLICKED for me now!! I went back and read a chapter of Black Skin, White Masks by Fanon and I got sooo much more out of it because phenomenology makes so much more sense. So very grateful for this book!! I feel like reading the whole book gives the fullest picture of phenomenology because the book builds on itself. I wouldn't recommend just reading the Merleau-Ponty chapter if you want phenomenology to click for you , too. The rest of the chapters helped me understand the Merleau-Ponty chapter much more, I think. Overall, some very interesting, helpful arguments! Perhaps a bit universalizing of the fat woman experience? I could see people having critiques about that. But I think the arguments about liberal humanism in medical discourse and fat activism are still helpful. I really like the concept of tacit body knowledges, as well. Also, I am very interested in this experience of fat women having a mind/body split, where they don't believe their fatness is who they TRULY are. I think I'd like to explore that further. This book has given me so much to think about! LOVE when that happens!