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outsmartyourshelf's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.75
TWs: diet culture, eating disorders. Please do not read further if these trigger you.
"Now I'm not a saint but I'm not a sinner. Now everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner." ('The Fear', Lily Allen)
I bought this book about 8 years ago for an essay in my postgrad course but never got around to reading it in full until now. The author looks at their own history of eating disorders & asks why when women make gains in other areas of their lives, their weight is still such a hot topic. I remember reading in another book years ago that the more successful women become, the more extreme the objectification & the images used to denigrate us become. This book was published in 2012 which means that some of it, especially the popular culture aspect, is definitely dated now, but the view of women in our society is still relevant & still as much of a problem as ever.
If you've ever read any other books on the subject, then there's nothing particularly new here. The tone aimed for seems to have been as witty asides, but it can come across as rather condescending in parts. There's also a sliver of ableism at times where the author assumes that everyone is the same, losing weight is simply a case of eating less & moving more. If it was that simple, there'd be no need for all these diet plans & hardly anyone would be overweight. Some of us do have health conditions & take medications that impact weight loss/gain so it's not that we're scarfing down entire chocolate fudge cakes in one sitting.
There are one or two other issues: unfortunately the author makes the error of repeating the lie that muscle weighs more than fat - a pound in weight is a pound in weight - muscle however is leaner. They also don't mention the reclassification in the late 90s of the healthy/overweight/obese BMI categories when millions of people went from healthy to overweight & overweight to obese overnight without gaining an ounce. Overall it's okay but rather too dated in many ways now.
"Now I'm not a saint but I'm not a sinner. Now everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner." ('The Fear', Lily Allen)
I bought this book about 8 years ago for an essay in my postgrad course but never got around to reading it in full until now. The author looks at their own history of eating disorders & asks why when women make gains in other areas of their lives, their weight is still such a hot topic. I remember reading in another book years ago that the more successful women become, the more extreme the objectification & the images used to denigrate us become. This book was published in 2012 which means that some of it, especially the popular culture aspect, is definitely dated now, but the view of women in our society is still relevant & still as much of a problem as ever.
If you've ever read any other books on the subject, then there's nothing particularly new here. The tone aimed for seems to have been as witty asides, but it can come across as rather condescending in parts. There's also a sliver of ableism at times where the author assumes that everyone is the same, losing weight is simply a case of eating less & moving more. If it was that simple, there'd be no need for all these diet plans & hardly anyone would be overweight. Some of us do have health conditions & take medications that impact weight loss/gain so it's not that we're scarfing down entire chocolate fudge cakes in one sitting.
There are one or two other issues: unfortunately the author makes the error of repeating the lie that muscle weighs more than fat - a pound in weight is a pound in weight - muscle however is leaner. They also don't mention the reclassification in the late 90s of the healthy/overweight/obese BMI categories when millions of people went from healthy to overweight & overweight to obese overnight without gaining an ounce. Overall it's okay but rather too dated in many ways now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Eating disorder
bristoni74's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book about how women must diet constantly, consume only organic food, detox regularly, marry the perfect man, produce beautiful babies "effortlessly", be confident but not a bitch, be professionally successful without being pushy or unfeminine, be naturally beautiful, well-dressed and made-up, stay young despite aging being inevitable and most of all.......be thin!!! I enjoyed this book immensely...a very intelligent look at the pressures women of the Western world face.
tpanik's review against another edition
4.0
Well organized chapters. I enjoyed the modern perspectives of this analysis of women.
hayley_bopp's review against another edition
5.0
My only disappointment with this book is that it wasn't published fifteen years ago - if it had been, maybe I wouldn't have spent my late teens & twenties feeling constantly dissatisfied with my appearance.
Woolf's writing is honest, sincere and easy to read. Page after page, I found myself identifying with the pressures put on/felt by women to look perfect. For the first time, I really took time to reflect on why we are so bothered by body image and who decides what 'perfect' is anyway.
Although I'm not 100% happy with my body (after spending half of my life being ashamed of my wobbly bits it going to take me a little while to completely change my mind-set), I do feel that I can now wear a bikini on my honeymoon in a couple of weeks without feeling mortified that I'm not perfect.
IMHO, this book should be read by all women and should be made compulsory reading for teenage girls - developing a healthy approach to body image early on would surely save them lots of needless anxiety as they mature.
Woolf's writing is honest, sincere and easy to read. Page after page, I found myself identifying with the pressures put on/felt by women to look perfect. For the first time, I really took time to reflect on why we are so bothered by body image and who decides what 'perfect' is anyway.
Although I'm not 100% happy with my body (after spending half of my life being ashamed of my wobbly bits it going to take me a little while to completely change my mind-set), I do feel that I can now wear a bikini on my honeymoon in a couple of weeks without feeling mortified that I'm not perfect.
IMHO, this book should be read by all women and should be made compulsory reading for teenage girls - developing a healthy approach to body image early on would surely save them lots of needless anxiety as they mature.
antheasaw's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book thinking that it is a book targeting the diet industry. However, it went beyond that. It not only talks about the diet industry but also the media and inequality the society is facing. It talks about real issues that we are dealing with and the unfairness of the situation. Apart from that, the author also has personal experiences that she'd been through so it feels relatable.
avidlyreading's review against another edition
5.0
[b:The Ministry of Thin|17973601|The Ministry of Thin|Emma Woolf|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369384442s/17973601.jpg|25197383] is the second book I have read by [a:Emma Woolf|5758710|Emma Woolf|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]this year, the first being her memoir [b:An Apple a Day: A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia|13497613|An Apple a Day A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia|Emma Woolf|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330024307s/13497613.jpg|19041935]. This book is an intelligent and critical analysis of the destructive affects of the pursuit of bodily perfection. Woolf is unrelenting in her look at the various industries that control the looks and emotions of the women who invest their time and money in them. The Ministry of Thin looks at how the fitness, cosmetic and diet industries are able to tap into the insecurities of the population to persuade them they need to look and maintain their youthful looks for as long as possible.
Woolf explores in detail and with insight the paradoxical behaviours exhibited by women in their desire to become a slimmer and perceived better version of them. Part of what makes this book so readable is that she goes right under the surface of the various ministries (how she refers to various industries that have an agenda to promote) to expose what makes them such a dark pervasive force that contributes to an individual’s warped self image. Woolf writes with conviction as being both an outsider and participant in some of these ministries she is in a unique position to comment on the devastation caused by trying to live a perfect life. She makes occasional reference to her previous anorexia, which rules to live by she states were clear and simple to follow when she had the illness, to highlight and contrast how messy and complex the rules people follow are and how it causes an unnecessary self loathing of oneself.
The pursuit of perfection perpetuates and the enormous pressure from peers and the media are making normal civilian life hell in trying to attain an image of perfection that ultimately cannot last. Woolf’s point remains consistent throughout; if people accepted and liked their body shapes they would not have to undergo a lot of mental anguish and disappointment for failing to be something they are not. [b:The Ministry of Thin|17973601|The Ministry of Thin|Emma Woolf|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369384442s/17973601.jpg|25197383] is worth reading to learn that having achieved female emancipation in many areas just how much further female sexuality has declined somewhat in modern times and the disturbingly high control direction it could moved in if people are not educated about the manipulation they are exposed to.
Woolf explores in detail and with insight the paradoxical behaviours exhibited by women in their desire to become a slimmer and perceived better version of them. Part of what makes this book so readable is that she goes right under the surface of the various ministries (how she refers to various industries that have an agenda to promote) to expose what makes them such a dark pervasive force that contributes to an individual’s warped self image. Woolf writes with conviction as being both an outsider and participant in some of these ministries she is in a unique position to comment on the devastation caused by trying to live a perfect life. She makes occasional reference to her previous anorexia, which rules to live by she states were clear and simple to follow when she had the illness, to highlight and contrast how messy and complex the rules people follow are and how it causes an unnecessary self loathing of oneself.
The pursuit of perfection perpetuates and the enormous pressure from peers and the media are making normal civilian life hell in trying to attain an image of perfection that ultimately cannot last. Woolf’s point remains consistent throughout; if people accepted and liked their body shapes they would not have to undergo a lot of mental anguish and disappointment for failing to be something they are not. [b:The Ministry of Thin|17973601|The Ministry of Thin|Emma Woolf|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369384442s/17973601.jpg|25197383] is worth reading to learn that having achieved female emancipation in many areas just how much further female sexuality has declined somewhat in modern times and the disturbingly high control direction it could moved in if people are not educated about the manipulation they are exposed to.
bhepsims's review against another edition
4.0
Finished on 4th march. This book shocked me frequently. There were many horrible things in it that I couldn't believe. I'm familiar with the desire to be thin and eating disorders but the age,surgery,fashion and all that left me sad,annoyed,hopeless. I realised once again that it sucks to be a woman today. The author seems to made lots of research before writing this book, she uses many data and compares those data with her, her friends' experiences, and other data. To be honest there were times that I got bored because well it's not a happy book and it's told kind of like a long essay. But overall I learned many things thus I enjoyed reading this book.
allzen_nochill's review against another edition
1.0
It's rare that I can't finish a book. But when the author mentions how calorie restriction is the "healthier" option after spending two chapters engaging in fatphobic language, I had enough. Woolf consistently mentions "studies" without actually giving her readers citations to double-check, which lends to a lack of credibility in her writing. I have serious doubts as to whether the author is as "recovered" as she claims. While I don't discourage those who are still on their journey from sharing their thoughts and experiences, presenting them as gospel (as Woolf does here) can be dangerous for others.