You’ve probably seen this book in stores.
It’s a bestseller and claims to be the tough-love guide that will finally kick your ass into being skinny. Since it’s written by former models, it must be helpful, right?
Skinny Bitch, as photographed by me in my poorly lit rom.
While I am inclined to label the authors of Skinny Bitch as stupid, perhaps they are just evil geniuses. I don’t mean that in a good way. When this book hit the shelves in late 2005, the vegan/vegetarian world exploded. Lentils and tofu was everywhere. I’m serious. There we were, a bunch of happy hippies and punks and whatever other stereotypical veg*n you can think of, and suddenly there was an influx of newcomers to every message board and veg fest around the country. The phrase Skinny Bitch was tossed around several times, and those of us who hadn’t read it generally assumed it must be a great book to make so many people want to become vegan.
I had never read it because I had also assumed it was a kind of beginners guide which I didn’t need/want to read. Until last week. Like many others, I decided to take advantage of Borders Bookstore’s closing clearance sales. I got some really awesome books- The Purity Myth and Full Frontal Feminism (both by Jessica Valenti of one of my favorite websites, feministing), and…umm…some comic books. (Shh. I’m a closeted nerd). As I teetered towards the checkout line, arms filled awkwardly with books, the health/nutrition aisle caught my eye. Unfortunately, all that was left were some silly diet books and…Skinny Bitch! My curiosity from 2005 was piqued, and it was ridiculously cheap, so I added it to the pile.
Thus began a week of rage, sadness, frustration and disbelief.
Why was this published? Why was this written? Why did this become so popular?, I wondered to myself dramatically in tears. (Okay, not really…but still)
Firstly, let’s examine the whole premise of this book. It’s called Skinny Bitch – A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous! And that’s, apparently, what it is. Nowhere in this book did they mention being happy with your weight, no matter what it is. Believe me, I was hoping for some body positivity with every page turn. Instead, they decided to use the easiest marketing tool around – you can’t sell books by telling women to be happy, but you can sell books that support every horrible thing society has already made us believe: your weight is your worth, and by weight, they mean thinness. Guilt, shame and “you need to be this way to be pretty and confident and loved” messages sell; it’s what we all want, isn’t it? To be on top, the one everyone envies, the prettiest, most awesome, most confident person in the room? Right?
….Right?
Well, I have a secret that will save you 224 pages and a lot of stress: you can achieve this just the way you are. The ultimate ~Awesome Bitch~ is the one who can ignore external pressures, give the finger to fatphobia, and be confident no matter what they look like.
(Sidenote: I read both Skinny Bitch and the accompanying Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, and out of all the [waifish] illustrations of women, there is not even ONE who isn’t white. Just sayin’. Marketing at its finest.
Parts of this book are decent. I give it that. There are some good facts about the meat and dairy industry in here, but unfortunately these few facts are surrounded by such garbage and hypocritical data that I would never feel comfortable recommending the book to anyone. By now you’re probably wondering, “surely it can’t be that horrible? Diet books are diet books!”
However, this doesn’t read like a diet book – it reads as a how-to for eating disordered mentality accompanied with PETA-esque propaganda.
Fear, shame and scare tactics are everywhere, and while I understand and definitely agree about so many points they make about healthy and unhealthy food, there is just so much wrong with everything else.
I tried to put myself in the point of view of an omnivore. Meat-eating-Rose would have been horrified and confused. They attack and break down every aspect of the dairy and meat industry (rightfully so, but…I’m going to say it again: the “no-nonsense ‘bitch’ way” of doing it is wrong and unhelpful) and the book does not seem to allow for a healthy transition to a veg*n diet because it makes so many foods seem like “Satan” (there’s a chapter called “Sugar is the Devil” by the way, I didn’t make that shit up!). The back of the book has a meal plan that doesn’t appear to exceed 500 calories a day (the average person needs about 2000-2500 per day. My daily intake should be roughly 2060, find yours here). The meal plan, if taken up by an omnivore who went vegan “cold turkey” would almost certainly make them sick. They’d lose weight though!!! YAY!!!
It wasn’t even until chapter ten that the authors felt it was important enough to discuss vitamins.
“Hey, now that we’ve scared you out of eating any food, let’s talk about nutrition!” A+. Well-played.
Doctor Who has seen a lot in his timey-wimey time and is still amazed by this bullshit.
The authors also have the nerve to tell us to stop being “cheap assholes” and buy everything organic. Listen, I agree that organic food is the way to go. But some of us are honestly struggling and don’t “spend countless dollars on clothes, jewelry, manicures, magazines, rent or mortgages, car payments and other bullshit” (Rent is bullshit? Oh. I see.). Yes, it is definitely possible to eat organic or at least semi-organic on a small budget, but most people do not have the time to look for the greatest deals and drive to farmers markets. Should we try to make time? Yes, but life can be hectic for people working multiple jobs and studying.
It’s unfortunate and I really hope the situation will change and organic food will become affordable for everyone in the future, but until then…rich people calling everyone cheap assholes? Mmm…no thanks.
I’m going to finish this with an excerpt that literally made me Hulk out in rage. As someone who tries to spread eating disorder awareness, I could not believe the words in front of my eyes as I read this. So I was disgusted. How did they have a clear conscience when publishing this?
On eating a non-vegan food after being vegan for 30 days, as the authors challenge the reader:
It should be a calculated, scheduled, premeditated choice. The portion should be decided on beforehand, should be smaller than you would normally have had, and served on a plate. (The package should be put away before you start eating.) Sit down at a table. Eat very slowly. Try not to finish the whole thing. Do not have another serving. Take note of how you feel while you’re eating it, immediately after, an hour later, in bed that night, and the next day. Chances are, because your body is now pure, the vice item will make you feel a little nauseous, or headache-y, at the very least. And it most certainly won’t taste as good as you imagine it will.
(page 123)
This is me in shock. I have no words. These are the exact words I have heard from countless people with eating disorders. “Pure” foods, eating slowly, obsessively thinking about food in an unhealthy way. Absolutely sickening. I felt so much sadness while reading this book, and wondering just how many women fell into a spiral of disordered eating after reading this. The authors have the audacity to finish the book with a chapter entitled “Use Your Head”, in which they tell us to, by the way, not go all crazy and anorexic on ‘em! Just because we made you feel ashamed about your body and diet, doesn’t mean you have to be all crazy. Thanks, Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Thank you. Just what we needed.
(From Strangers With Candy)
My rating? 1/10. I give it one point for the tiny bits of useful information, and for the cookbook even though they aren’t very original recipes anyway.