Looking at fat through the eyes of an anthologist is something that everyone should have the chance to experience; this book gives us just that. To live in a culture that is different from our own we find that the fear of fat is far more complex and different than what we may believe. The book puts together 13 anthropologists who share their experiences with different cultures and how they react towards fat.
From the deserts of Niger where Arab cultures find young girls stuffing themselves into what is deemed beautiful, the most beautiful girl in town is also the biggest. In Brazil the use of diet aids and cosmetic surgery shows how their society conforms to extreme beauty ideals. The book is finished by a chapter written with a fat acceptance activist which gives a great response to all of the questions brought up in the proceeding chapters, like why people ask for skim milk in line at starbucks but will add cream to it later hiding in the corner hoping to not be seen. We might not find out answers to how we can one day come to terms with fat but she gives a voice to so many that need one.
In all this book not only brings fat to the forefront of our culture and shows that it is far more diverse than we might of once thought.
To buy, Fat: The Anthropology of an Obsession
It is a great book. Well worth the read.