Rating: 3/5
Trigger Warning: Body Positive Power is a book about diet culture and eating disorders, and this review may therefore contain triggering content for certain readers. Please don't read if you feel this topic may negatively effect you in any capacity.
You might be aware of the body positive movement which is steadily growing over on instagram, but have you met Megan Jayne Crabbe - better known as BodyPosiPanda - yet?
Her book Body Positive Power is all about diet culture, her own struggles with eating disorders, and the way body positivity saved her. It's a real insight into the world of ED and examines the way our culture values thinness, confounding the terms 'thin' and 'healthy'.
Everything in Body Positive Power is backed up by facts and numerical data, which makes it a really educational read...as well as slightly terrifying. Referencing studies like Minnesota Starvation Experiment and hundreds of surveys which indicate the astoundingly high numbers of women affected by disordered eating, a large part of reading this book is spent coming to terms with the statistics. As an example of why I found it so difficult to take in some of the stats here's the one that has stuck with me most: the average age that females first start restricting their food intake is eight years old. Eight. That is both insane and horrific.
Crabbe also makes reference to her own journey throughout the book, from the beginnings of her restricting habits, to the lowest point in her eating disorder, to finding body positivity. The stories she tells about her own experiences add weight to the text (no pun intended), reminding us of the reality of what the facts tell us. For many numbers and facts can seem like an abstract concept, something that can't affect us or we can't relate to, but by explaining how Crabbe reached the height of her illness and the smaller steps that took her to something extreme, it's easier to understand the way eating disorders take over.
Body Positive Power was incredibly informative about the dangerous cycle of dieting and the negative ways culture can influence us. It also emphasises the absolute power in loving yourself i.e. body positivity. This shouldn't come as a shock considering the title of the book, but between some of the shocking facts about diets and the anger towards diet culture, the idea of body positivity doesn't rise until about halfway through the book. This fits with the story Crabbe is telling about her own experience, but I do think it's important to note that there are portions of the book which may be difficult to read, especially if you're looking for a book which encourages body positivity.
The emphasis is obviously on loving yourself and your body, but a lot of the book deals head on with the damage that diet culture, society, and restrictive eating can do. Whilst this is signposted in the book, I do feel the body positive side of things could have been emphasised more than it was.
I found the section near the end which focused on fitness and the focus that instagram in particular puts on being fit (think #fitspo or #gympic) particularly interesting. Essentially, Crabbe asserts that this focus on 'fitness' is just as damaging as focusing on 'thinness'. Just because it has been repackaged as caring about health, doesn't make it any less damaging - physically or mentally. I can't do this section justice in a short paragraph but I really think this is a topic worth exploring and would love to read more on it.
Body Positive Power is definitely a really interesting read, with lots of informative observations and shocking facts. I'd advise reading it, or at the very least checking out @bodyposipanda on instagram to find out more about the body positive movement - it is a wonderful online space, and this book is a solid introduction to what it's all about.
If you want more information on eating disorders, please check out some of the resources listed below:
Comments