Joy Arlene Renee Cox - Fat Girls in Black Bodies

Fat Girls in Black Bodies is essential reading for anyone interested in body liberation. Weaving together memoir and scholarship, Joy Cox shines a light on the intersecting oppressions faced by fat Black womxn in contemporary culture, and the power of community to help heal the wounds of injustice. Im grateful to have this important book informing my work as a Health at Every Size healthcare provider and activist.

Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, CDN, author of Anti-Diet

For my fat Black sisters who have ever felt invisible or been mistreated by the world, or even your own people, you will find both healing and inspiration in this book. Joy Cox speaks to the complexity of our pain while reminding us of the vastness of our power. By sharing her wisdom, insight, and lived experience, she delivers a compelling charge for fat Black women to reclaim our personal autonomy and actualize social and communal change that will bring about liberation for us all.

Ivy Felicia, The Body Relationship CoachTM, founder of Fat Women of ColorTM

Fat Girls in Black Bodies is a must-read for fat Black girls and those who seek to uplift our humanity in a sizeist, racist, and sexist society. Both a love letter and a call to action, Joy brilliantly weaves together the latest research, pop culture, and personal narratives of some of the most radical fat Black influencers, healers, entrepreneurs, academics, and activists, herself included. I laughed, I cried, and I felt seen. Im honored to be mentioned in this work and cannot wait to share it with the world!

Makia Green, creator of Dear Fat Girls

There is an enduring myth, especially amongst non-Black body positivity advocates, that fat Black women are somehow immune to the impacts of anti-fat stigma. Dr. Joy Cox knows better. Her examination of fatphobia within the Black community, as well as her insights on the cumulative impact of the stress of dealing with that in-community bias while also enduring external judgment on top of racism and sexism, is an important contribution to the dialogue on body liberation. The inclusion of additional voices from her popular podcast adds to the richness of this debut. I look forward to so much more from Dr. Joy.

Tigress Osborn, NAAFA Director of Community Outreach and Co-Founder of PHX Fat Force

Copyright 2020 by Joy Arlene Renee Cox. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

Published by

North Atlantic Books

Berkeley, California

Cover design by Jasmine Hromjak

Book design by Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Printed in Canada

Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own is sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Cox, Joy, author.

Title: Fat girls in black bodies : creating communities of our own / Joy

Arlene Renee Cox, PhD.

Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, [2020] | Includes

bibliographical references and index. | Summary: Combatting fatphobia

and racism to reclaim a space of belonging at the intersection of fat,

Black, and female.

Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020006712 | ISBN 9781623174996 (trade paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Cox, Joy. | Overweight womenUnited StatesBiography. |

African American womenBiography. | Obesity in womenSocial

aspectsUnited States. | Obesity in womenUnited StatesPsychological

aspects. | African American womenHealth and hygiene. | African

American womenPsychology | Body image in womenUnited States.

Classification: LCC RC552.O25 C69 2020 | DDC 362.1963/980092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006712

This book includes recycled material and material from well-managed forests. North Atlantic Books is committed to the protection of our environment. We print on recycled paper whenever possible and partner with printers who strive to use environmentally responsible practices.

By Talor L. Pinkston, The Heart Advocate

L ike most girls, I struggled with body image issues, and guess what? I am a grown ass woman and I still struggle with body image issues. At my smallest and at my biggest, I body shamed myself. If you have ever been considered plus-size, thick, or fat, you can relate to stories of bullying, verbal and physical abuse, and the disrespectful comments from family and friends.

I first noticed the stretch marks on my sides when I was in fifth grade. I was so insecure about them because stretch marks meant I was getting fat. I grew up knowing that I would never be allowed to wear a belly shirt (thats what we called crop tops at the time) or a two-piece swimsuit, or put on anything thin girls could wear. At age ten, I was aware that I had to hide my stretch marks and belly rolls because they were not beautiful or a part of the standard of beauty.

When I went to college, I was the biggest I have ever been; and after gaining the freshman fifteen, spending eight years living college life, and having a beautiful baby girl, my belly was and is now covered in stretch marks. I continued to hide my body from the world because of my fear of judgment and ridicule from family, friends, and society as a whole (especially on social media) because I knew that my natural body was now far from the beauty standard of flawless skin.

Although this is a story many girls can relate to, Black girls share a different experience because our story involves an added layer of colorism.

I grew up knowing that a woman who is fair-skinned, size 0010, five-foot-five to five-foot-seven, with long hair, hazel eyes, full lips, flawless skin, and a curvy body type (full breasts, small waist, and full hips and booty) was considered more attractive. I knew, like most Black girls, that if you do not meet or come close to that standard, you will likely be impacted by the discrimination and hatred that comes with this bias.

Joy Cox has reminded me that I have body and beauty privilege that protected me from the discrimination and disparities of being a fat Black girl. Now at age thirty, I am over 240 pounds, wearing a size 18 in jeans; and although I am more aware of the privilege in my skin tone and my body type, I have never heard the story of what it would be like for me in my relationships, personal life, and professional development if I was bigger and had darker skin growing up.

Most Black people understand that colorism is a problem in the POC community. There are many Black people who judge other Black people for their skin tone. My mother and adopted older sister are both dark-skinned, my father is a little lighter than me, and my younger sister and I are about the same skin shade. I learned to love every shade of brown in my household, but outside of my home, the Black community did not always show the same acceptance.