Fat Is a Feminist Issue [Paperback]

Susie Orbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

THE ORIGINAL ANTI-DIET BOOK IS BACK - In one volume together with its bestselling sequel When it was first published, Fat Is A Feminist Issue became an instant classic and it is as relevant today as it was then. Reflecting on our increasingly diet and body-obsessed society, Susie Orbach's new introduction explains how generations of women and girls are growing up absorbing the eating anxieties around them. In an age where women want to be sexy, nurturing, domestic goddesses, confident at work, and feminine too, the twenty-first-century woman is poorly armed for survival. Never before has the Fat Is A Feminist Issue revolution been more in need of revival. Exploring our love/hate relationship with food, Susie Orbach describes how fat is about so much more than food. It is a response to our social situation; the way we are seen by others and ourselves. Too often food is a source of anguish, as are our bodies. But Fat Is A Feminist Issue discusses how we can turn food into a friend and find ways to accept ourselves for who and how we are. Following the step-by-step guide, and you too can put an end to food anxieties and dieting.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Virtually all feminist debate on body image and beauty imagery owes its existence to Susie Orbach's enduring formulation" -- Naomi Wolf, Bestselling Author Of The Beauty Myth "Susie Orbach's pioneering work isn't just the first to expose the links between sexual politics and female dieting; it remains the classic work on the subject ... it is more essential than ever that Fat is a Feminist Issue be read by every woman" -- Susan Faludi, Bestselling Author Of Backlash "[Orbach's] pungent psychoanalytic insights and plain good sense ensure that this is still the sharpest, and best bible for the food junkie" The Independent

About the Author

Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, writer and co-founder of The Women's Therapy Centre in London and The Women's Therapy Centre in New York. Her books include Hunger Strike, What's Really Going on Here?, Towards Emotional Literacy, Susie Orbach On Eating and The Impossibility of Sex. She lectures widely in the UK, Europe and North America, has written for several magazines and newspapers, and has provided consultation advice for organisations from the NHS to the World Bank. She continues to help many individuals and couples from her practice in London. She is also a visiting Professor at the London School of Economics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books; New Ed edition (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099481936
• ISBN-13: 978-0099481935
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So Much Insight September 26, 2005

By Kelle Sparta

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I haven't been a big fan of the concept of feminism in the past and I had to be talked into buying this book by a friend, but I have to say it has done wonders for me, my attitude and my understanding of my relationship with food, fat and my family. UNlike other self-help books, this one is not designed to take you step-by-step through the process, but was, instead, designed to help people create their own support groups to discuss issues associated with weight and compulsive eating.

I have never considered myself a compulsive eater, so this is not something I would have gone to a group for or read about. But the book holds many insights around weight, attention, nurturance, the ability to care for oneself, a woman's relationship with her mother and more that hit home with me. I finished the book a few days ago and I've already dropped four pounds. I'm not dieting, but I have been addressing the issues that the book triggered for me. I expect that the weight will continue to come off naturally as a result of this work being completed. It's great to have had this resource.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Relief December 9, 2005

By J. Stoddard

Format:Paperback

This book introduced me to the idea that compulsive eaters like myself have something invested in being overweight, which helped me understand my own lose-weight-gain weight cycles. The ideas in this book plus a 6-month program with a health counselor got me off the dieting cycle I've been on for the past 25 years. Going from fat to thinner -- changing my body shape dramatically -- brings up a lot of fear and anger with me, and this book has helped me acknowledge that. Outside help has been great, too. Though the title seems radical, its not a feminist rally cry. I think its really helpful for people struggling with their body size.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Different approach from Evelyn Tribole February 6, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I first read a similar book by Evelyn Tribole called "Intuitive Eating". Both of these books approach weight loss the same way - figure out why you are eating, and then work at it from a psychological approach, rather than going on a specific diet.

What I like about Evelyn's book is that it is for the individual to do by herself, whereas Susan's book is more for a group therapy approach. She also has some other interesting reasons about why I might be overweight, which made for very interesting reading.

However, between the two books, I preferred Evelyn's because it gave more specific information to work with and let me do it by myself, rather than a full support group (as a stay-at-home mom with a 3-year-old, very important).

I did appreciate both books though, because they emphasized the same thing - the overeating is not because of lack of willpower, but because of psychological reasons - and that makes lots of sense to me.