Customer Reviews

Fat! So?: Because You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

i gained a lot of weight as the result of a medical condition. i am not lazy. i don't watch a lot of tv. i don't eat nonstop. i do exercise. but i felt lousy. my size nine was gone & there was little i could do about it. i was depressed & people kept telling me i was lazy, ugly, etc. this book helped me to feel so much better about myself. i read all these negative reviews that are SO irrationally judgemental & i realized that a lot of people, especially those that claim they "used to be" over weight (yeah right. or else they've been post-weight- lossbrainwashed by 'cosmo' & 'jane') just don't get it. ah well. who needs them anyway.

This is the book for any fat person out there. It is a refreshing change for all the media hype telling us that all bad things comes from being fat. Fortunately it isn't true, and this book tells you that as long as you are fit you are ok as fat. It also has a lot of other useful information and should be given to any fat youngster as something they should read. It would help a lot of them to a different perspective on themselves and the world around them.

Wann's book is a breath of fresh air in this body-hating society. Her sassy, courageous attitude gives fat people inspiration to fight back when the world tells them they're an abomination. She also blows common misconceptions out of the water, like that of fat people eating constantly and never exercising. Fat!So? is a great starting point for anyone tired of being hated for something so trivial as their size.

Let's see. The author tells her story as a healthy, active fat woman. A person doesn't believe her and instead decides that she's all sorts of horrible things. Then he wraps up by accusing the author of reinforcing all of these negative stereotypes? Huh?

Don't believe the inevitable backlash from people who do not want a different voice to be heard on fat issues. This is a fantastic book. Its a fun, easy read while also doing a lot of educating along the way. If people find her positions so threatening as to launch into these kind of cruel unfounded personal attacks to discredit her, you know the book is worth reading. This is a provactive book, no doubt, and you should experience her story for yourself. Not from people who are outraged that she's telling her story at all.

I feel that those that gave this book a low rating really missed the point. This book is not about promoting weight gain or excusing someones weight because they're "lazy". This book is about accepting who you are and owning your body and understanding that health is your number one priority and that the number on the scale does not dictate this.

The author constantly pushes healthy eating (eat your broccoli) and activity and movement (bike riding, swimming, etc). She's not saying "oh, you're fat? Okay! Get fatter and who cares what ppl say". It's really about stopping the obsession with trying to achieve a supermodel physique (that most men and women cannot achieve) by eating 1000 calories a day and adhering to a schedule of chronic exercise to maintain that size 0. This book is about SELF ACCEPTANCE and that the only person who can truly make you feel low is yourself and if there are peeps in your life making you feel low, well, bye bye!

This book opens your eyes to seeing people for who they are and not what they weigh. Perhaps because I'm fat and healthy (no medications here!) I understand her stance better than someone who is not fat and chooses to be ignorant of what actually constitutes healthy.

loved this book and I would have really LOVED discovering it as fat teen.

This book was both boring and uninteresting.The writer seem to be making excuses for being fat.She says she exercises .Yet she does'nt believe in diets because you just gain it all back.Well I've know people who lost weight and kept it off .Myself inculed it's not impossible it just takes work.While I agree you don't have to apologize for your size.You also don't have to knock ways not to stay at that size.

For 1998 Fat!So? may have been revolutionary but a lot of the subject matter has been discussed ad nauseam in some form or other. Which confirms two things: it's important to women and there are still too many people not listening.

What started off as a zine, Fat!So? has been one of the bibles for fat acceptance for a number of years. It shows no sign of waning. Marilyn started the zine after her boyfriend said he was embarrassed by her weight and the insurance company said she was a liability. Anyone over 160 pounds can probably relate. From there, Fat!So? grew into a popular website community and equally popular book.

The majority of Fat!So? is divided into four anatomy lessons: The Butt, The Belly, The Chin and The Upper Arm. Within these lessons everything about women and the plus size body is discussed via the ABCs. We even get to see pictures of naked bellies, chins and bums.

Like most advocates of fat acceptance she wants people to "embrace the F-word." The 3 letter word not the 4 letter one so "no one can use it against you ever again." Previous surgeon general C. Everett Koop, his close relationship to the diet companies and a brief timeline of Prescription diet drugs for the last hundred years are discussed. She doesn't like him. She also addresses childhood obesity, how to educate teachers about fat prejudice and making exercise fun, not a punishment.

There's an awesome essay titled Fat Kills by Betty Rose Dudley. In it she discusses her experience of visiting a doctor for a cough only to have the doctor deter to the topic of weight loss. Every time. You can read the essay at the Fat! So? website. There are many other essays by women of volume. Without the contributors Marilyn Wann wouldn't have had a book. The insights and experiences of others is what makes Fat! So? so good. Readers are able to see bits of themselves in others as well as learn what other fat people have dealt with.

Another favourite section of mine is the -Yeah, Right!- area. If you ever wished you had a comeback for a snide comment directed toward you this area will give you lots of ideas. Skip to this section for an instant boost.

As for the negatives there weren't many. Since its printing in 1998, some of the links are now expired but that's to be expected. At times Wann came across as promoting weight gain which I don't think is any better than promoting weight loss. Also the similarities of phrenology (using callipers to measure bumps on the skull) and bariatric medicine (the study of obesity) was a bit tedious and hard to follow. Lastly she encourages fat sex but there is no mention of safe sex. Fat people need to be aware of safe sex too. Especially since the book isn't directed toward adults only. Direction to more information would have been a nice addition to this area.

Fat!So? isn't all about the seriousness of being fat, fat acceptance and standing up for ourselves. Wann likes to have a little fun and it shows in a few of her mock essays, bountiful women cartoons from various artists and other extra goodies that take you from reading to interactive play.

There are with two cut'n paste projects; 17 fun things to do with your bathroom scale and, my favourite, the Venus of Willendorf Paper Doll. Remember those little flip books you had as a kid? You would flip through the pages and the image would appear to be running or jumping. Well in the top right hand corner is the cover diva shaking her groove thing. It's adorable. I like surprises. It took me until page 49 before I even realized it.

Another gem, almost unnoticed at the bottom of every page in very small print is -154 Ways to be a fatso-; like fill your home with fat positive art or refuse to apologize for your size. It's like an added bonus mini book.

Although Fat!So? is not the exclusive bible for fat acceptance that it use to be, it's a good read and shows what women have been trying to say for years: Accept me as I am. (...)

This book is one of the most enjoyable fat-positive books around. It is fun to leaf through, or sit down and spend a long time with. Marilyn is very articulate and offers a great deal of factual material, and she is constantly reminding us to love ourselves and make the most of our lives.

I am also a psychotherapist, and I recommend this book to my clients, fat or thin, as a way to start the dialog about body image. No one in this culture escapes the demoralizing messages that only the very thin people have the right kind of bodies, or that near anorexia is equivalent to "health."

Marilyn promotes Health at Every Size, which makes so much more sense. Why evaluate your health or beauty status by your weight or BMI?

Thank you, Marilyn, for your courage and your zest for life. It is infectious!

Marilyn Wann is a witty, intelligent, flabulous fat girl! If you're fat, thin, or anywhere in between and want a refreshing fatittude, this is the book that will help you get it!

Marilyn Wann has written the funniest, most intelligent, and engaging book you can imagine. I got my hands on a copy nearly two years ago and have read the book over and over since; I even keep a copy on my desk to share with colleagues and friends. Every time I read FAT!SO? I find myself laughing ("little LB, the pound of fat who went around the world), crying (some of the stories of discrimination are heartbreaking) and generally wrapped up in the amazing world of FAT!SO?.

As a fat aerobics instructor and personal trainer I recommend FAT!SO? to all my clients. If you've ever hated your body, no matter what size you are, I recommend it to you, too. FAT!SO? will change the way you think about your body the way no other book can.