What to Read When You Feel Down About Your Body
If you’ve ever listened to the podcast, you know me, but you may or may not know that I have a PhD in English with an emphasis on disability studies and children's literature. That all means that I spent a lot of time thinking about how fat bodies are represented in literature for young people, which led me to so many great resources!
Growing up is hard, and navigating young adulthood with a negative perception of your body only makes it harder. I’ve had an entire lifetime to learn to hate my body, but my hope is that the next generation of young people don’t have to experience that. Instead, I hope that body positive resources like the ones listed below can provide the boost everyone needs when normative body ideals seem to be the only thing represented.
These resources are all appropriate for young adult readers, but adult readers will also find these texts interesting and helpful.
Art by Anna Toman
Nonfiction Texts
Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere by Kate Harding
Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere is an excellent survey of how fat individuals can take pride in their appearance and fight back against social norms. Harding writes in an easy-to-understand style and provides both personal experiences and statistics to help prove her points. This book is largely considered a must-read in Fat Studies and activist circles!
Fat!SO? by Marilynn Wann
Marilynn Wann is the OG fat activist, and even though Fat!SO? isn’t the newest body positive book on the block, it still holds up as a good introduction to feeling better about your body. Wann makes it clear that diets don’t work for the majority of people, and subscribing to a diet is basically signing yourself up to fail. There are also tons of fun illustrations and guest articles in this easy to read book!
Everything You Know About Obesity is Wrong by Michael Hobbes
Michael Hobbes hosts the Maintenance Phase podcast with Aubrey Gordon (discussed below), but his solo journalism is worth your time as well. When this article was published by The Huffington Post in 2018, it rocked the general public by sharing information that many fat people had known for years: medical discrimination is the norm, fat doesn’t mean unhealthy, etc. Engaging and featuring beautiful photography by Finlay McKay, this is a must-read.
The Body Project by Joan Jacobs Brumberg
Joan Jacobs Brumberg has spent much of her professional career discussing women’s bodies. While her other book, Fasting Girls, dives into the history of eating disorders, The Body Project focuses on body image in teenagers. This book is simultaneously enlightening and heartbreaking, sharing hard statistics about just how insecure many teen girls feel.
The Other F Word edited by Angie Manfredi
This edited collection of essays is targeted directly at young adults and features thoughtful text and bright, happy illustrations. This collection features essays, art, and poetry from a whole host of familiar names—many of which appear on this very list!
You Just Need to Lose Weight: and 19 Other Myths about Fat People by Aubrey Gordon
Aubrey Gordon created YrFatFriend on Twitter before launching headfirst into writing books and hosting the Maintenance Phase podcast. The research and writing in this book are incredible, and it’s peppered with Gordon’s own life experiences as a fat woman. Down to earth and ultimately hopeful, Gordon will make you feel like there’s a future worth fighting for.
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
This is Gordon’s first book, which features more personal anecdotes than her second, but just as much power. This book really dives into the cultural bias against fat people and how we are trained from an early age to accept it.
Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia by Kate Manne
Kate Manne is a philosopher by trade, so Unshrinking tackles some of the more heady issues around fatphobia. With more recent work than some of the other titles on this list, Manne is part of a wave of writers who have learned and grown from the research that predates them, providing even more of a punch to this book! It’s full of social analysis and personal power.
Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen
Body Talk combines many voices into one text, and is endorsed by the School Library Journal. The collection is marketed directly at young people, aiming to help them understand body positivity from all angles. This book isn’t just about being fat. Instead, it focuses on a whole host of insecurities young people might experience.
The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color by Virgie Tovar
Virgie Tovar is a bright voice in the field of Fat Studies, and her collection dedicated specifically to girls of color highlights an often overlooked part of body positivity. While everyone can benefit from feeling good about their bodies, there are often specific insecurities that plague young women of color. This book seeks to address those nuanced issues!
The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
This title dives into the shame many people feel about their bodies. Taylor emphasizes that the body isn’t apology, and one shouldn’t have to feel like they need to mold themselves into any specific form in order to be accepted.
You Have the Right to Remain Fat by Virgie Tovar
Virgie Tovar’s standalone guide to living in a larger body dives into the social norms placed upon individuals and how we should combat those norms in our everyday lives. Unapologetic and warm, this book feels absolutely empowering.
Fattily Ever After: A Black Fat Girls Guide to Living Life Unapologetically by Stephanie Yeboah
Stephanie Yeboah specifically speaks to her experience as a Black fat woman, fearlessly discussing issues like misogynoir. Yeboah’s writing is conversational, inviting, and most of all funny! She speaks with grace and insight that many need.
Body Positive Power by Megan Jayne Crabbe
Megan Jayne Crabbe is a body positive influencer who went viral for her weekly videos of her #donthatetheshake dances. While Crabbe’s Instagram posts were always uplifting, her book takes the space to really delve into her personal philosophies on body positivity.
You Are Not a Before Picture by Alex Light
You Are Not a Before Picture might read like a self-help book, but it does offer an interesting start for one’s own journey of self-love. The text offers a step-by-step guide on how to love yourself. It’s not what everyone needs, but it could prove useful to many!
YA Fiction Featuring Fat Protagonists
There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandyha Menon
Sandyha Menon is an absolute YA romance queen, and There’s Something About Sweetie is a perfect blend of her focus on Indian culture and romance. After a harsh breakup, Ashish Patel finds himself forced to date a girl his parents pick out for him, following a specific guide to what sorts of dates he must go on. Sweetie is skeptical about dating Ashish because, well, she’s fat. However, both teens find themselves learning more about each other after each outing.
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Charlie Vega is a multifaceted person, but many of the people closest to her just can’t accept her body. Charlie’s overbearing mother, who frequently encourages Charlie to lose weight, doesn’t exactly help. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega explores how body image relates to cultural expectations, as well as intimate relationships with our parents and friends.
Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
An epistolary novel told in the form of diary entries, Gabi, A Girl In Pieces follows Gabi’s last year in high school. She discovers a lot about herself and her friends during the tumultuous year, including important lessons about her body. She also falls in love with poetry, which she uses to explain her deepest feelings.
Phoebe’s Diary by Phoebe Wahl
Phoebe Wahl is mostly a children’s illustrator, but her illustrations and comics in Phoebe’s Diary demonstrate just how hard it is to be a teenager, especially when you feel out of place. Full of rich pictures and text, the book is adapted from Wahl’s own teenage diary, making it extra personal.
Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos
Vivian Ellenshaw is fat, but she’s not particularly interested in losing weight. Nonetheless, she’s forced to attend fat camp, but this book isn’t really about that. Instead, it’s a thriller full of monsters and the horrors of sketchy weight loss schemes!
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
After Mila’s best friend dies in an apparent suicide pact, the witchy teen goes on a mission to find out what really happened—even if it means bringing the dead back to life. Exciting and fast-paced, this book is perfect for someone yearning for a creepy YA mystery!
What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume
Maisie Martin doesn’t want to be in a beauty pageant. In fact, it’s the last thing she wants to do. She’d rather hide herself away forever. Ultimately, a summer homework assignment meant to help chronicle the summer turns into an account of how Maisie overcame all the odds in her way—even herself.
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Willowdean Dickson (nicknamed Dumplin’ by her mom) is fat and proud, but her feelings of self-worth are complicated when she enters a local beauty pageant. As she prepares for the pageant, Will is also faced with her first ever real relationship, which dredges up all sorts of conflicting feelings about her body. Can she maintain the confident self-image she’s always had?
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Molly Peskin-Suso is used to having crushes, and she’s well aware how fast her hopes could be dashed if she makes her yearnings public. After all, she’s fat. When her twin begins seeing someone new, Molly finds herself crushing on a mutual friend, but there’s another boy that also strikes Molly’s fancy… Albertalli brilliantly weaves together a narrative that speaks about body image, sexuality, and mental health in one fell swoop!
I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee
Skye Shin is destined to be a K-Pop star, even though her body type defies every stereotype the genre has. She’s fat, and everyone knows that fat girls shouldn’t be seen, and certainly shouldn’t dance and shake with the best of them. However, Skye nails her group audition and finds herself thrown into the world of performances, practice, and reality TV. Combining the world of K-Pop with issues of body positivity and romance, I’ll Be the One is a must for YA fans!
Other Media
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon rule. Their irregularly updated podcast features topics relating to fatness, including in depth looks at old and new diets (everything from Angela Lansbury’s diet book to the keto diet to the carnivore diet), and discussions about pop culture and body image. Together, they investigate the spread of misinformation while keeping the tone light and hilarious.
Huge, TV show available to stream on AppleTV
Although Huge (based on a novel of the same name) might feel dated in 2024, it was absolutely groundbreaking when it released. The show chronicles one girl’s experience at a weight loss camp, weaving a whole cast of experiences into one cohesive season. While it was never renewed, the show concludes on a hopeful note.
My Mad Fat Diary, TV show available to stream on Hulu
Also based on a book (My Mad Fat Teenage Diary by Rae Earl), this UK TV show follows a fat protagonist absolutely bent on finding love. Simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious, My Mad Fat Diary is ultimately a comedy worth watching.
This site documents all things fat fashion, covering anything related to clothing and accessories. It includes shopping guides, but also provides cultural commentary on the fashion industry as it relates to fat women and men.
This blog and zine is dedicated to giving fat women a platform to sound off on any topic they’d like. It’s full of art and personal stories, each written by someone different. While some of the images might not be deemed “appropriate” by the state of Mississippi where I live (thank you, restrictive and archaic laws), it’s overall meant to be artistic, not pornographic.
This line provides size-inclusive sewing patterns for crafty types that want to try making their own clothing! It also includes step-by-step sewing tutorials for many of its fun patterns.
A film by Jeanie Finlay that documents Aubrey Gordon’s career. Y’all know I’m an Aubrey Gordon stan, so of course I’m hyped to watch this!
Copper Union is an independently run, size-inclusive designer that features fun fashions for everyone. Her marketing is personal and inviting, and it’s always worth trying to snag an item on sale!
Historical Fat People is an Instagram account dedicated to documenting fat people throughout history. While it’s not necessarily offering commentary on anyone’s body, it does demonstrate that fatness is not a new phenomenon, which is comforting!
The description of this Instagram account is all in its name! It’s a space dedicated to celebrating the joy of dance and how inclusive dance can be. Though the creator sadly passed away earlier in 2024, the account is still dedicated to its original mission.
Val is dedicated to discussing a range of social justice issues, including size and disability— plus she has very cute dogs that are also featured! Insightful and engaging, Val is saying things many other influencers would hesitate to explain.