Fearing the Black Body

Fearing the Black Body traces how modern attitudes about weight and body size emerged from anti-Black racism in Europe and America. Sociologist Sabrina Strings examines historical documents spanning from the 1500s to present day to reveal the origins of fatphobia. The book analyzes multiple historical influences on the development of anti-fat attitudes, including the Atlantic slave trade, Protestant religious beliefs, Renaissance art, and scientific racism. Through archival research, Strings documents how cultural attitudes about body size became intertwined with racial prejudice over centuries. The research spans art history, medical texts, Protestant religious documents, and fashion magazines to demonstrate how standards of beauty and body size evolved. Strings focuses particularly on how these evolving standards impacted perceptions of Black women's bodies. This scholarly work challenges contemporary assumptions about health, weight, and race by exposing their complex historical foundations. The book contributes to ongoing discussions about body image, medical bias, and the lasting impacts of historical racism.

Readers describe this historical analysis as thoroughly researched, with extensive primary sources documenting how race and body size became interlinked in Western culture. Positive reviews highlight: - Clear connections between Protestant beliefs, slavery, and early diet culture - Documentation of how "ideal" body types were racialized - Academic rigor while remaining accessible to non-scholars Common criticisms: - Repetitive arguments and examples - Focus primarily on Protestant/Anglican perspectives - Limited discussion of modern implications - Dense academic writing style One reader noted: "Makes clear how fatphobia and racism reinforce each other, but gets bogged down in repetitive historical examples." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.34/5 (2,900+ ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (1,200+ ratings) Google Books: 4/5 (300+ ratings) Professional journals and academic reviewers rate it highly for research quality while general readers sometimes find the scholarly tone challenging.

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🔍 In Renaissance art, fuller figures were initially celebrated and associated with wealth and status among European elites, marking a stark contrast to later anti-fat attitudes 📚 The term "fat phobia" first appeared in print in 1919 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, though the prejudices the term describes existed long before 👥 Author Sabrina Strings is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine, and spent over a decade researching this book 🌍 During the slave trade era, European colonizers used body size differences to create racial hierarchies, claiming these physical distinctions proved their supposed superiority 📖 The book won the 2020 Association for Humanist Sociology Book Award for its groundbreaking analysis of the intersection between racism and fat prejudice