Fed Up With that Skinny B*tch (Book About Pregnancy)

[L.A.Mamma]

oops... don't have copyright permission.

[sky_and_lavender]

Bummer! I can totally see why this book could rub you the wrong way and don't blame you at all. Many people were upset by it. Really, it seems like part of the authors' goal is to outrage and entertain people while slipping in useful nutrition info.

I didn't have that reaction to the book, but I have never really struggled with food or weight issues. When I read that part about not having a license to shovel food into one's mouth (or whatever it said), my reaction was, "Hmm, that's a good point. Eating too much is actually bad for my digestion and not good for my health or the baby's." and that was it. But your reaction is completely valid as well. For me, the humorous "attitude" that the authors take on seemed meant to make nutrition issues a bit more interesting and edgy. My husband liked it and I was amused by their irreverant remarks at times.

Previously, I always avoided their books because I dislike the term bitch applied to women and I thought it was annoying to prey on women's insecurities about weight. But then in the intro when they basically admitted their goal was to get people to look beyond weight and towards health, and to get publicity. So they wanted to convert women from being weight-obsessed to being health oriented. (But from there, it could be a small step to health-obsessed, which also isn't healthy sometimes!) Definitely not a book for everyone.

If a care provider I knew well recommended a health-oriented book I felt offended by, I might feel that that provider really didn't understand me very well or wasn't considerate of my issues. Maybe if that's the case with you, you could bring it up with your doctor when you see him or her (or earlier if you feel the need.)

p.s. We just had a mini discussion about this book on the pregnant vegans thread.

[texaspeach]

I'll preface this by saying I haven't read this book (so if I'm off target, don't shoot me ). I don't care for authors referring to their readers as dummies, idiots or bitches. And actually, I'm not the target audience for the book since I started out fat anyway

I wish pregnancy were an excuse to eat 'for two' and collapse into a mountain of philly cheese steaks and burritos, but give me a break - everyone knows that being pregnant isn't a free license to eat what ever you want, when ever you want. I really don't think people need a book to nag them about it.

How could anyone take a nutrition book seriously that is reviewed as being "outrageous!" and "irreverent!" - I'm shocked your OB suggested it to you, even if he was a contributor.

anyway, I saw this book at and immediately filed the title away right next to "girlfriend's guide to pregnant" on my mental list of books I'm not going to bother reading.

[Viola]

Wow, I've never heard of the book or the authors, but the title is a real turn off. So I looked them up on Amazon, and they have other titles with bitch and how to be hot in the title. From a feminist point of view, I have issues with this. As a fat acceptance advocate, I'm sure I'd have a lot more problems with the content and language used.

[annettemarie]

I'm going to move you all over to the books forum.

[L.A.Mamma]

My BFF is a nutritonist and she was seething when I told her about this book. I just don't like a book that's praying on women's insecurities.

[holyhelianthus]

Originally Posted by Viola

Wow, I've never heard of the book or the authors, but the title is a real turn off. So I looked them up on Amazon, and they have other titles with bitch and how to be hot in the title. From a feminist point of view, I have issues with this. As a fat acceptance advocate, I'm sure I'd have a lot more problems with the content and language used.

Yes. This book was book 3 I believe. The authors promote a vegan lifestyle which is just fine but when I picked up the first one considering buying it and read through a bit I was disgusted. They act as if all women should be primarily concerned with being skinny. :

[famille_huggins]

Originally Posted by L.A.Mamma

Excerpt from the blog post:

But what I hate is the pervasive attitude that women are just one pudding pack away from losing self control, ... that pregnancy is the excuse we're all looking for to just lay our faces in mountain of deeply buttered garlic mashed potatoes and that we need someone to stop us from our unbridled binging, to scare us about the health of our babies or -- gasp! -- the fact that we might not be a "hot mama."

...mmmm, deeply buttered garlic mashed potatoes. (Just kidding -- or am I?)

I'm also not in the demographic to buy this book. I think that weight issues and body issues plague enough women with or without pregnancy, so to write and sell a book that exacerbates those issues is just wrong. Even more wrong is an OB who suggests it instead of "What to Eat When You're Expecting" or some other healthy-eating instruction guide for the pregnant patient. It's sad, really, to equate such a blessed and miraculous event as just getting fat.

[SAHDS]

I do have a few friends who enjoyed the original (?) book and one who is now vegan because of it. Both are very self-conscious people who put a lot of emphasis on their looks and the looks of others (not to say that is true of everyone who reads theses books, its just my experience).

From what I've heard, the books do not sound like anything that would appeal to me in the slightest.

And nice derogatory name in the title. That's gross. Bitch is NOT a term of endearment and I'm so sick of the late-teen/young women calling each that like it's something cute and positive.

[LavenderMae]

I haven't read the book and don't plan to. It sounds disgusting and very anti-woman as far as pushing such a sexist and unhealthy ideal. Being skinny is not even close to being everything and some of us fat bitches (sorry had to) are just fine thankyouverymuch. I truly hate so many women have bought into the skinny=better crap. I'm pissed it's been pushed on all of us and it's hard to shake even when you know better. But pushing it during pregnancy is just beyond messed up.

[CarrieMF]

They act as if all women should be primarily concerned with being skinny

I have Skinny Bitch & don't find it this way at all.

[holyhelianthus]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

I have Skinny Bitch & don't find it this way at all.

How did you find it?

[Bellabaz]

I don't have this book or issues with my weight or being pregnant. I didn't know they wrote of version for pregnancy. I did read the beginning of the SKinny B****book in my library and thought it was hilarious. But I can understand how it would come across anti-woman and seem like it is just focusing on being hot. While I don't think you need to be vegan to be healthy, the book did have true and sane advice it the small part I read about soda and carbs. I don't know how a person with weight or body image issues would feel about the book though. If they were extremely sensitive or self conscious it probably wouldn't be a good book for them.

[Avocado]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

I have Skinny Bitch & don't find it this way at all.

Same here. I thought it was good, actually. It mostly encourages healthy eating and definitely made me lean towards being vegan (I'm already vegetarian). I think the title was meant to be more tongue in cheek to get attention.

[Pookietooth]

I don't like the name of the book, and I would hate to think what it's about. I have issues with my weight, and went through a semi-anorexic vegetarian phase, so I am pretty sensitive about it. I read one of their other books, and was not thrilled. I am not a vegetarian or vegan anymore, and found their flip attitude about it really off-putting. And their idea of healthy eating probably involves eating things I would never touch with a ten-food pole, like Tufurky and other things. Soy is a migraine trigger for me, gluten is a big no-no for me as well, and any of the highly processed foods they seem to prefer would make me feel ill. I'd much rather eat raw vegan food if I'm going to go in that direction.

[philomom]

I won't buy any of those books for the title alone. Women should not call each other names.