Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life [Paperback]

Pattie Thomas (Author), Paul Campos (Foreword), Carl Wilkerson (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2005

Taking Up Space is a sociological memoir about being fat and the physical, emotional and economic costs of trying to pass for thin in a culture that stigmatizes fat people. Making her own life a case study, medical sociologist Pattie Thomas, Ph.D., with the help of her co-author and husband Carl Wilkerson, M.B.A., outlines how stigma limit and shape the life chances of all people and are supported within culture. Through narrative text, poetry, essays, photos and drawings, Dr. Thomas shares her own process and demonstrates how a sociologically examined life can be a source for personal growth. An extensive resource section challenges both the popular reader and the academic to further exploration. Kathleen LeBesco, author of Revolting Bodies: The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity, has called Taking Up Space "a road map through the minefield of the 'war on obesity.'" Foreword by Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth (published in paperback as The Diet Myth).

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Pattie Thomas describes herself as a reluctant warrior in "the war on obesity." She envisions herself, not as a svelte former fattie like the endless commercials viewed offered in the media, but as a Sumo ready to knock down those who wage war on fat and fat people.

The Sumo warrior, she suggests, is a perfect symbol for fat people in the so-called "war on obesity" because Sumos are front-line warriors who traditionally used their girth to open up space for others to win their battles. If the world can accept fat people as they are, then all people would be acceptable and diversity would be celebrated.

Her sociological memoir, Taking Up Space, is about being fat and the physical, emotional and economic costs of trying to pass for thin in a culture and society that wages war on fat people.

It is also about finding one's strength as a fat person both physically and emotionally. Thomas wrote this memoir because "being fat" is a central fact in her life from the point of view of others. Thomas would rather be remembered as a writer, poet, artist, photographer, filmmaker, sociologist, traveler and entrepreneur.

By confronting those who would sum up her life by her size, she has found the time and creativity to develop all those passions. She hopes that she has demonstrated how a sociologically examined life can lead to personal growth.

About the Author

Pattie Thomas describes herself as a reluctant warrior in "the war on obesity." She envisions herself, not as a svelte former fattie like the endless commercials offered in the media, but as a Sumo ready to knock down those who wage war on fat and fat people.

The Sumo warrior, she suggests, is a perfect symbol for fat people in the so-called "war on obesity" because Sumos are front-line warriors who traditionally used their girth to open up space for others to win their battles. If the world can accept fat people as they are, then all people would be acceptable and diversity would be celebrated.

Her sociological memoir, Taking Up Space, is about being fat and the physical, emotional and economic costs of trying to pass for thin in a culture and society that wages war on fat people.

Making her own life a case study, using her doctorate in medical sociology from University of Florida, Thomas, with her co-author and husband Carl Wilkerson, outlines how stigma limit and shape the life chances of all people.

Thomas really is a reluctant warrior, however. She wrote this memoir because "being fat" is a central fact in her life from the point of view of others. Thomas would rather be remembered as a writer, poet, artist, photographer, filmmaker, sociologist, traveler and entrepreneur. By confronting those who would sum up her life by her size, she has found the time and creativity to develop all those passions. She hopes that she has demonstrated how a sociologically examined life can lead to personal growth.

Carl Wilkerson is a deeply passionate human being who has many skills, talents and educational experiences, some of which may seem contradictory in nature and none of which can be said to describe the sum total of his life.

He is a writer, composer, lyricist, filmmaker, humorist, radio producer and performing artist. He has a Bachelor of Science from Wake Forest University in Mathematics and an MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University.

Wilkerson is an entrepreneur. He is a public philosopher. He loves to travel. He has a working knowledge of French and is learning Spanish.

Oh yeah, and Wilkerson is deeply and passionately in love with a fat woman. This last fact about his life is many times the only one to which people pay attention. In the current cultural climate, being associated with fat people is as "bad" as being fat.

That is why, when given the opportunity for yet another collaboration with his wife and creative partner, Pattie Thomas, Wilkerson accepted the challenge with relish.

Thomas faces debilitating illnesses that may be directly related to her efforts to lose weight over a 30 year period. Wilkerson plays the role of her caregiver with compassion. His collaboration in this project directly reflects his desire for the war on fat people to end so that both he and his partner can develop and pursue their passions with as little social and physical barriers as possible.

Together Thomas and Wilkerson demonstrate how the "war on obesity" can be won, not by losing weight, but by simply giving up the battle with the bulge and learning how to carry one’s weight well.

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Pearlsong Press (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597190020
• ISBN-13: 978-1597190022
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pattie Thomas, Ph.D. is a Sociologist who currently teaches at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. She has published over 200 articles as a freelance writer, is an active blogger and multi-media producer, often collaborating with her husband, Carl Wilkerson, MBA. Thomas has faced multiple challenges over the years including the stigmas associated with being fat and being disabled. Rather than let these challenges overcome her, she has used them to energize her work, her advocacy and her life. Of late, Thomas has been involved in promoting Universal Design and Visitability in residential housing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking Up Space:How Eating Well & Exercising Regularly Changed My Life, November 2, 2005

By 

Patsy Nevins "fat activist" (Bangor, ME, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life (Paperback)

Dr. Thomas has written one the finest & certainly one of the most honest books on the subject of living fat in this fatphobic American culture that I have ever read, & I have been involved in fat acceptance for over 25 years, & have read every book I could find on the related subjects of fat & health, fat & legal rights, fat & social acceptance, etc. Dr. Thomas tells us what this "war on obesity" is like from the inside & she shows us the cost, in terms of time, money, health, & self-esteem, of trying to fight one's biology. I identify deeply with her struggle to accept her naturally fat body & learn to live in peace with & even to love it, as it has also been my struggle. I particularly identify with the multiple issues faced by those of us who are fat & disabled, & those who are aging (as indeed we all are) in a culture which so worships youth & its extremely dysfunctional view of health & beauty.

Taking Up Space will be one of the most valued & appreciated volumes in my personal library & it will be re-read many times. I applaud Dr. Thomas's honesty & I admire her courage. It is my sincere hope that many people will read this important book & that many minds & eyes will be opened & that the understanding between fat people & the thin world will be deepened. We all need to do whatever we can to explode these harmful myths, to end fat hatred & to call a ceasefire in this pointless & very destructive war on the bodies, souls, & psyches of the majority of our citizens.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!, January 28, 2006

By 

Janet Fish (Miswestern USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life (Paperback)

This book is so full of information that it is an education in itself. I wish anyone with an opinion on "obesity" would read it. It might actually change one's perspective.

We all deserve regard and respect. Dr. Thomas states her case clearly and well. I'm grateful to her for writing this book.

Janet

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We All Have The Right To Our Own Space!, December 29, 2005

By 

Pat Ballard "Queen of Rubenesque Romance Novels" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking Up Space: How Eating Well and Exercising Regularly Changed My Life (Paperback)

Taking Up Space is a poignant saga of how one woman has come to grips with being large in a society where "thin" is worshiped as the ideal. Dr. Pattie Thomas uses her brilliant writing style to share the pain of her battles. Not just the emotional and psychological pain of being large in a small world, but the actual physical pain of two chronic diseases that she has to contend with. In Taking Up Space, Dr. Thomas often refers to herself as the reluctant warrior. But as she shares her battle with personal weight issues; as she bravely takes on the societal and medical stigmas that daily drain people of size, she truly becomes a brave sumo warrior who leads the way into battle against the poison darts that are constantly hurled at us.