I expected the book "The Fat Girl's Guide to Life" to be really inspirational. Here was a woman proud of her larger than average physique, wanting to change the stigma of the "fat girl." I don't know a single woman (or man for that matter) that hasn't dealt with body issues at some point in their lives. It really is sad that today, while a family in a third world country are starving to death, we are starving/gorging ourselves on purpose! Talk about American indulgence....
Well...I didn't like the book. It was less of an empowering monologue and more of a manifesto of Wendy Shanker and her life as a fat jew. I'm sorry, but I personally don't care about the life of Wendy Shanker. She's an average, rather cliched writer, kind of boring life; it seems the only drama in her life has been her on-going battle of her bulge!
Even worse was that is made me feel worse about myself, reminding me of my bad spots instead of my toned torso. And she relied way too much on stereotypes (fat girls with gay best friends, anti-curly hair) that fat girls relate to. Since I fit into those categories (gay best friend, curly hair) it seemed like a big cop-out, especially since most females want either or both.
However, on the rare page or two, Wendy did make a good point (or say something really clever):
"People take your cue on how to behave around you. If you act ashamed of yourself, they will be ashamed of you. If you act proud--even if it's just an act--people will kowtow"
"I've rarely met a man who feels like he has TOO MUCH vagina access...The dude's more like, 'Psych! I get to put my penis in a vagina! Hooray for me!'"
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