FAT TALK

A freelance journalist and parent navigates the murky waters of raising children in a fat-biased society.

As her daughters grew up, Sole-Smith, author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America, began to notice how often others commented on their bodies, and she understandably worried about the consequences of such superficialities. “Unlearning [a] core belief about the importance of thinness,” writes the author, “means deciding that thin bodies and fat bodies have equal value….You have to believe that being fat isn’t a bad thing. And that means you have to challenge a lot of what you thought you knew about health, beauty, and morality.” Beginning with her personal reflections, the author expands her narrative into a broader sociological exploration, which includes the details from her interviews with families (all struggling with body image and food) and pertinent data and analysis. Sole-Smith is an accessible, concise writer, largely avoiding academic jargon. Even though she explains that everyone has some measure of an ingrained bias, she refrains from making readers feel guilty; rather, she is instructive and encouraging. While digesting hard-hitting comments from children grappling with diet culture, many readers will be able to recognize themselves in similar situations. Sole-Smith provides well-rounded discussions of eating disorders, puberty, calorie counting, fitness influencers, and the myth that a fat child necessarily means that they have lazy or disengaged parents. The author also deconstructs racism and classism endemic to her topic, tracing the historical roots of a variety of prejudices. After highlighting the data and recounting her personal story, Sole-Smith closes with a section entitled “How To Have the Fat Talk,” and she adds a list of further resources notable for the way in which the author divides up relevant books into such categories as memoir, fiction, books on eating, and books on fatness, bodies, and bias.

A thoughtful and intuitive book that is not just for parents.