Body Positive Book Recommendations

If you’re a regular Start To Stitch blog reader, or you’re a member of our fantastic Facebook group, Stitch Sewcial, it’s likely you’ll have seen me talking about my own experiences with body positivity. I have documented my experiences of body dysmorphia and my mental health struggles, and like many in our wonderful community, sewing provided a focus and an escape.

​But vitally, sewing my own clothing opened my eyes to the glaring issue that STILL plagues the fashion industry: people who have never met us are designing clothes to fit bodies they’ve never seen, based on UK sizes that were first standardised in 1951.
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​Society’s beauty standards have created a world in which people are constantly over-critical about their own bodies.
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It is no wonder that many of us, women in particular, suffer from mental health struggles such as body dysmorphia and low self-esteem. We have been taught to accept a warped concept of beauty that is based on one’s weight and body shape. Those clothing designers who have never met us have no idea what our bodies look like and work on the assumption that if a person weighs a certain amount, then they must look a certain way.

Let’s break the cycle and preach body positivity!
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I am sure if you’re reading this that you, just like me, want to break this vicious thought cycle. Clothing should be changed to fit our bodies; our bodies shouldn’t be altered and hated in order to fit into our clothes. 

In order to change the way we feel about ourselves, and indeed about other people’s bodies, we need to learn more about body image and body positivity.
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What does the term ‘body positivity’ actually mean?
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The term ‘body positivity’ has been used all over social media in the last year or two, especially on the highly visual, and often body-critical platform, Instagram. 

According to Wikipedia, the term refers to the “acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities, while challenging present-day beauty standards as an undesirable social construct.”

The ‘body positivity’, or ‘bodiposi’ movement aims to challenge the unrealistic ideals of physical attractiveness that society has developed over the years. Instead of creating negative and self-critical views about one’s body, the movement encourages positive body image and the idea that ‘beauty’ is a made-up concept created by society. It preaches that this construct shouldn’t determine one’s confidence or self-worth. 

Want to learn how to become more body positive?
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If you are looking to learn more about the body positivity movement and start a journey to a more confident you, the following book recommendations may be extremely beneficial to you.
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Body Positivity Book Recommendations
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As a bit of a bookworm, I have always found self-help books to be particularly useful when combatting any of life’s big hurdles. In my opinion, the following body positivity book recommendations should definitely find their way into your To Be Read pile. If you are interested in challenging society’s beauty standards, boosting your body image and confidence, and starting out on a magical journey of self-acceptance, feel free to take a look at the following reads.

Body Positive Power: How learning to love yourself will save your life by Megan Jayne Crabbe
Megan’s struggles with body image began when she was only 5 years old. After spending her childhood chasing her ideal body shape (as thin as possible) Megan found herself spiraling into the world of anorexia. After recovery, she continued to diet, bing, lose weight and gain weight, until she discovered the body positivity movement. From then on, she made it her mission to let as many people as possible know the truth about their bodies: they’re good enough as they are. 

If you’re tired of being at war with your body image, you’re sick of chasing happiness in the form of a number on the scales, or you’re fed up with the way in which your clothes fit, this book is for you. Megan is quick-witted with a brilliantly infectious attitude, making this book a definite must-read.

Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with Your Body by Kate Harding & Marianne Kirby 
As we know, women can be their own worst enemies when it comes to body image. This warped criticism of our bodies is then amplified by society and the media. Harding and Kirby, leading bloggers in the online fat acceptance movement, have written this book to help readers achieve body acceptance. 

The authors believe that healthy lifestyles can be achieved at all sizes, stating that exercise and a healthy diet are beneficial regardless of whether a person is looking to lose/gain weight. They also believe that weight doesn’t determine a person’s well-being or happiness. Harding and Kirby explore the errors in the media and ignored research, as well as sharing honest stories from real women.

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
Lindy spent her childhood trying to hide her big body and even bigger opinions. She writes with humour as she shares how to survive in a world where not all bodies are treated with equal respect. Lindy talks about hatred, loneliness, harassment, and loss, all whilst eliciting tears and laughter from the reader. If you’re looking for a provocative read that dissects society’s treatment of bodies, Shrill will tick all the boxes.

Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller
Kelsey has experienced her fair share of expensive fad crash diets, and even more expensive nutritionalist-prescribed “eating plans”.  At 29 years old, she finally came to blows with her body and accepted that no diet could transform her into the skinniest figure she had desperately dreamed of. 

Big Girl follows Kelsey’s journey from the beginning, where self-loathing and disorder eating featured heavily, to her sustainable, positive self image she has since adopted. This read is for anyone who has ever struggled with distorted body image, a dysfunctional family life, or unhealthy food issues. 

The Self-Love Experiment: Fifteen Principles for Becoming More Kind, Compassionate, and Accepting of Yourself by Shannon Kaiser 
Shannon takes a gentle, compassionate approach to remove fear-based thoughts in order to help the reader fall in love with life. The Self-Love experiment covers many aspects of life that people struggle with, from body positivity, self-love, landing your dream job, and even getting out of debt. 

As an overall, well-rounded personal development read, The Self-Love Experiment guides you through the process of learning to love your life by changing your mindset and adapting your daily habits.
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The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Body Is Not an Apology has received so much hype and it’s easy to see why. Full of thought-provoking ideals and gentle reminders everyone will benefit from, Sonya also highlights the role of capitalism, racism, and transphobia play in today’s body-shaming society. The Body Is Not an Apology will have you questioning every opinion you’ve ever had about your own body and the bodies around you. It is a solid introductory book to body positivity and is essential for your bookshelf. 

What else can I do to aid my journey of self-acceptance and body positivity? ​
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​Something I have written about previously on the Start To Stitch blog is Why I Do What I Do. In that blog post, I talk about how creating my own clothing saved me from the constant anxiety that reared its ugly head whenever it was time to go clothes shopping. The story is a truly personal one that I imagine many can resonate with, and it shows the real damage that can come from not accepting one’s body image. 

Creating your own clothes gives you so much freedom. You can make clothes that fit you PERFECTLY, you can choose whatever designs and colours you feel comfortable in, plus you can also do your bit to create a more sustainable fashion industry. Over on the Start To Stitch course page, we have three amazing online courses that have been designed to help sewists of all levels pick up a machine and start creating their own clothing, gifts, decor, and more. I also run a fantastic Facebook group that’s full of brilliant, helpful, and supportive sewists - find it here: Stitch Sewcial