[How it Works](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/how-it-works/) [Bookshop](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/books/bindery/) [Publishing](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/publishing/) [Team](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/team/) [Contact](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/contact/) Log in or Sign up The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition: The Power of Radical Self-Love Sonya Renee Taylor Ijeoma Oluo Save to Your Books [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/9129/9781523090990) 100% of affiliate revenue supports Fat Forward Books > “To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves... ‘The body is not an apology’ is the mantra we should all embrace.” —Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and Executive Director, African American Policy Forum > > “Taylor invites us to break up with shame, to deepen our literacy, and to liberate our practice of celebrating every body and never apologizing for this body that is mine and takes care of me so well.” —Alicia Garza, cocreator of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Strategy + Partnerships Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance > > “Her manifesto on radical self-love is life altering—required reading for anyone who struggles with body image.” —Claire Foster, Foreword Review **Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies.** Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. _The Body Is Not an Apology_ offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world—for us all. Show more Get the Bindery app * * * Posts about this title from Fat Forward Books [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • Jun 4 2025](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Fat Forward Books: Pride Recommendations 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/Ha0dSSaPXTDstPle5ZTp/) Happy Pride from Fat Forward Books! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ If you’re looking for fat & LGBTQIA+ books to add to your TBR, we’ve got you covered. * * * 71 books 2 [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • May 19 2025](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Do Our Tastes Align? 📚 Fat Books Edition](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/b0IxZ1NuKPslaGmKlk6O/) How many of these #FatForwardBooks are on your shelves? * * * 48 books 2 [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • Apr 11 2025](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Thanks for checking out Fat Forward Books on Bindery! This post features links to my writing about fatness across the years, from representation of fatness in fiction to how conceive of a fully fat liberationist future. In addition to sharing my new work on social media, I'll also update this list with links each time I publish a new piece about fatness, especially in books!\\ \\ **Fatness in Books** \\ \\ - We're Here, We're Fat and Queer ( _Publishers Weekly_, April 2025) \[Digital Version\]\\ \\ - Review: PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID is a fast-paced fairytale with a complex finale ( _The Beat_, May 2024)\\ \\ - Read the full story ‘CADENCE’ from the SHARP WIT anthology ( _The Beat_, May 2024)\\ \\ - 10 Books to Read for Fat Liberation Month ( _The Mary Sue_, August 2023)\\ \\ - ‘Fat Off, Fat On’ Author Clarkisha Kent on Why Her Younger Self Would Be Scandalized ( _The Mary Sue_, May 2023)\\ \\ - X-Tremists #3 Proves Blob ISN’T the Best Mutant – But He Could Be ( _Shelfdust_, April 2021)\\ \\ - Book Thoughts: Your Body Is Not an Apology Workbook (Blog, March 2021)\\ \\ - Faith Taking Flight Author Julie Murphy Says She Would Love to Write Comics ( _CBR_, July 2020)\\ \\ - Review: Julie Murphy's Faith Taking Flight Establishes An Important Superhero Origin ( _CBR_, July 2020)\\ \\ - Young Readers Need Positive Fat Representation in Literature (We Need Diverse Books, June 2020)\\ \\ - Bitch Planet #3 and The Radical Fatness of Penny Rolle ( _Shelfdust_, January 2020)\\ \\ - Superhero Faith Herbert Gives Me Hope for a Fat-Positive Future ( _The Mary Sue_, November 2018)\\ \\ - We Need More Fat Heroes in Comics ( _The Mary Sue_, March 2018)\\ \\ \\ **Fatness in Non-Book Media** \\ \\ - Fat People Belong in Fantasy, Including TTRPGs ( _Rascal News_, May 2025)\\ \\ - This Element of ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Means the World to Me As a Fat, Queer Gamer ( _The Mary Sue_, October 2024)\\ \\ - Review: ‘Empire Waist’ is the movie I needed as a fat teenager ( _The Mary Sue_, September 2024)\\ \\ - ‘Your Fat Friend’ Follows Author Aubrey Gordon From Anonymous Icon to Award-Winner & Bestseller ( _The Mary Sue_, December 2023)\\ \\ - Netflix’s ‘Survival of the Thickest’ Is a Stand-Out Debut Worthy of All the Praise ( _The Mary Sue_, July 2023)\\ \\ - Netflix’s ‘Dance 100’ Competition Series Does Nothing To Combat Fatphobia in the Dance Industry ( _The Mary Sue_, March 2023)\\ \\ - Hulu’s Shrill Season 3 Isn’t Perfect, but It Feels Like a Sendoff ( _The Mary Sue_, April 2021)\\ \\ - Game Thoughts: Little Nightmares (Blog, April 2021)\\ \\ - Shrill Is a Gift That Proves Why Fat People Should Tell Our Own Stories in Season 2 ( _The Mary Sue_, January 2020)\\ \\ \\ **More Writing About Fatness** \\ \\ - Response To Viral Advice Column Is a Reminder That Anti-Fat Bias Isn’t Limited To a Specific Gender or Sexuality ( _The Mary Sue_, January 2023)\\ \\ - When Systemic Fatphobia Works "For" You (Blog, April 2021)\\ \\ - Fat Liberation Is the Future ( _Autostraddle_, March 2020)\\ \\ - Cosplaying While Fat Roundtable: Experiences With Community and Cosplay ( _The Mary Sue_, September 2018)\\ \\ \\ _If you'd like to read a broader selection of my writing about topics including 2sLGBTQIA+ and disability representation in pop culture, visit_ _theverbalthing.com_ _._](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/c5LNbKWVOKUhu3co9beX/) [📌 Writing on Fatness](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/c5LNbKWVOKUhu3co9beX/) This pinned post features links to my writing about fatness across the years and will be updated with new work as it's published. * * * 28 books 4 [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • Aug 24 2023](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Fat Liberation Month: Books to Read Pt. 1](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/e8QLNPns5drSZy7Ho0Pv/) #FatLiberationMonth only happens once a year in August, but reading books by and about fat people can be part of your life year-round. Wherever you are in your own relationship to fat liberation, we’ve compiled a ton of book recommendations for you, your book clubs, and your reading groups. Nonfiction: 📚 Belly of the Beast by Da’Shaun L. Harrison 📚 Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings 📚 “You Just Need to Lose Weight” by Aubrey Gordon 📚 The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor 📚 Fat Activism by Charlotte Cooper 📚 Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives edited by Bruce Owens Grimm, Miguel M. Morales, & Tiff Joshua TJ Ferentini\* 📚 Queering Fat Embodiment edited by Jackie Wykes, Samantha Murray, & Cat Pausé 📚 The (Other) F Word edited by Angie Manfredi 📚 Fat Off, Fat On by Clarkisha Kent 📚 Heavy by Kiese Laymon 📚 Hunger by Roxane Gay 📚 Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom Adult Fiction: 📚 Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert 📚 One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London\*\* 📚 If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy 📚 Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade 📚 Dietland by Sarai Walker 📚 The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory 📚 I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat by Christopher Gonzalez 📚 Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado #FatReads #FatBookRecs #QueerAndFat #FatAndTrans Cover photo by @allgoapp\_ \\* My (Samantha’s) work is published in this anthology \\*\\* I (Samantha) consulted on fat representation in this book * * * 20 books 1 Posts about this book from across Bindery [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • Jun 4 2025](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Fat Forward Books: Pride Recommendations 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/Ha0dSSaPXTDstPle5ZTp/) Happy Pride from Fat Forward Books! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ If you’re looking for fat & LGBTQIA+ books to add to your TBR, we’ve got you covered. * * * 71 books 2 [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • May 19 2025](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Do Our Tastes Align? 📚 Fat Books Edition](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/b0IxZ1NuKPslaGmKlk6O/) How many of these #FatForwardBooks are on your shelves? * * * 48 books 2 [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • Apr 11 2025](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [📌 Writing on Fatness](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/c5LNbKWVOKUhu3co9beX/) This pinned post features links to my writing about fatness across the years and will be updated with new work as it's published. * * * 28 books 4 [Fat Forward Books\\ \\ Samantha Puc\\ \\ • Aug 24 2023](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/) [Fat Liberation Month: Books to Read Pt. 1](https://fatfwdbooks.binderybooks.com/item/e8QLNPns5drSZy7Ho0Pv/) #FatReads #FatBookRecs #QueerAndFat #FatAndTrans Cover photo by @allgoapp\_ \\* My (Samantha’s) work is published in this anthology \\*\\* I (Samantha) consulted on fat representation in this book * * * 20 books 1