A Hunger So Wide and So Deep by Becky W. Thompson"I value this book for its idealism, its positive vote for autonomy and technical analysis, its courageous answer to feminist musicology, its exposure of the contradictions of academic politics. Its importance lies not in settling the debates but in construing the issues in new and provocative ways."--Kofi Agawu, author ofPlaying with Signs "We need books like this. It deals with major topics, raises critical issues, and develops numerous interesting ideas; and it is written in an engaging manner. The book should attract attention and will provide at least one articulate countervoice to the discussion of important issues currently affecting the field, that have been raised by those professing to the "New Musicology."--Robert Morgan, author ofTwentieth-Century Music
What We Don't Talk about When We Talk about Fat by Aubrey GordonPart memoir, part social critique, What We Don't Talk about When We Talk about Fat calls for civil rights movements and identity politics to be inclusive of plus-sized people's experiences. As the author argues, "I did not come to body positivity for self-esteem. I came to it for social justice." By sharing her experiences as well as those of other fat people, she illuminates that to be fat in our society is to be seen as an undeniable failure, unlovable, unforgivable, and morally condemnable. It is to be denied doctors' services, to be mocked on airplanes, to be the punch line of jokes, to be a regulated health risk, to be "fatcalled," to be made more visible and invisible at the same time. To be fat is to be denied humanity. What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat is a primer on the cultural attitudes and social systems that led to people being denied basic needs because they are fat. Studies show that roughly 85% of managers say they wouldn't consider hiring a fat woman; fat survivors of sexual assault are less likely to be believed and less likely than their thin counterparts to report various crimes; 27% of very fat women and 13% of very fat men attempt suicide; over 50% of doctors describe their fat patients as "awkward, unattractive, ugly and noncompliant"; and in 49 states, it's legal--even routine--to deny employment because of their size. Readers will come away with a better understanding that fat activism isn't about self-discovery or feeling good in your own skin, it's about not being denied civil rights.