Books about women, not their weight
September 10, 2023 9:30 AM
I've finished yet another (otherwise okay) book with a female protagonist, where her being slender was brought up very early on in the narrative and is constantly reinforced as a reason for her appeal. I'm tired of this trope and I want to not have to deal with this anymore. Some specifics inside.
It'll be a bonus if the writers are non-white. I'm especially interested in Asian protagonists. Perhaps they could hold steady 'boring' jobs and have a narrative arc too!
I just want a book about interesting women without their weight being a focal point. I don't know why this is so hard to find.
Thank you.
It'll be a bonus if the writers are non-white. I'm especially interested in Asian protagonists. Perhaps they could hold steady 'boring' jobs and have a narrative arc too!
I just want a book about interesting women without their weight being a focal point. I don't know why this is so hard to find.
Thank you.
If you want something that's not super heavy, the protagonist is as white as small-town Maine, but you might like Flying Solo, by Linda Holmes; this interview will let you know.
posted by Superilla at 9:51 AM on September 10, 2023
posted by Superilla at 9:51 AM on September 10, 2023
The Thursday Murder Club mysteries by Richard Osman feature a variety of male and female protagonists/points of view, and as far as I can recall, none of their weights are highlighted
This is not accurate—this series gets notably weird about the weight of a specific character, not enough to ruin it for me but enough to sour the experience. However, that character is a man, so maybe that would be all right for you.
posted by babelfish at 10:02 AM on September 10, 2023
This is not accurate—this series gets notably weird about the weight of a specific character, not enough to ruin it for me but enough to sour the experience. However, that character is a man, so maybe that would be all right for you.
posted by babelfish at 10:02 AM on September 10, 2023
Some recents from my read list:
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-sun (I read it in an English translation). Korean woman in a grinding job has an unexpected adventure. I don’t remember any weight stuff.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo. The protagonist is a rising star in pre-code Hollywood so her beauty is important but it’s not really about weight. Really lovely magical realism book.
Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang. Young Chinese American working in big tech.
City of Likes by Jenny Mollen. White ladies and the dark side of influencer culture.
posted by jeoc at 10:19 AM on September 10, 2023
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-sun (I read it in an English translation). Korean woman in a grinding job has an unexpected adventure. I don’t remember any weight stuff.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo. The protagonist is a rising star in pre-code Hollywood so her beauty is important but it’s not really about weight. Really lovely magical realism book.
Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang. Young Chinese American working in big tech.
City of Likes by Jenny Mollen. White ladies and the dark side of influencer culture.
posted by jeoc at 10:19 AM on September 10, 2023
In non-fiction:
posted by shock muppet at 10:30 AM on September 10, 2023
- Crying in H-Mart, Michelle Zauner (while this is not free of weight talk, it is primarily about an Asian mother/daughter relationship)
- What the Dead Know, Barbara Butcher (memoir of coroner)
- The Forgotten Girls, Monica Potts (memoir of poor whites)
- South to America, Imani Perry (black woman tours the South)
- The Invisible Kingdom, Meghan O’Rourke (memoir of illness)
- Hello I Want To Die Please Fix Me, Anna Mehler Paperny (memoir of illness)
posted by shock muppet at 10:30 AM on September 10, 2023
The Vegetarian by Han Kang - it's been awhile since I read it, but while the main characters body is I think mentioned at times, it's not to idealize any given form.
The Leavers by Lisa Ko - the main character at first is a boy, but his mother increasingly becomes an important/fleshed out character.
While it doesn't always work, I general find female authors to be much less likely to fall into the trope you're talking about, especially in books published in the last decade. I went through a period where I only read books by women for similar reasons and generally found that solved the problem, so you could also just search "Top female Asian authors" and check out whatever plots seem interesting.
posted by coffeecat at 12:30 PM on September 10, 2023
The Leavers by Lisa Ko - the main character at first is a boy, but his mother increasingly becomes an important/fleshed out character.
While it doesn't always work, I general find female authors to be much less likely to fall into the trope you're talking about, especially in books published in the last decade. I went through a period where I only read books by women for similar reasons and generally found that solved the problem, so you could also just search "Top female Asian authors" and check out whatever plots seem interesting.
posted by coffeecat at 12:30 PM on September 10, 2023
The Vera Stanhope series and Ruth Galloway series might work but both have protagonists who are very aware that they are overweight and seem to bring it up a lot. They typically acknowledge it (or deal with someone else pointing it out) and come to the conclusion that being slim is not worth the trouble. (And they're both white.)
posted by Tandem Affinity at 2:03 PM on September 10, 2023
posted by Tandem Affinity at 2:03 PM on September 10, 2023
I found The Vegetarian by Han Kang to be really triggering, and it deeply gets into disordered eating (albeit not a traditional western eating disorder).
posted by Braeburn at 2:15 PM on September 10, 2023
posted by Braeburn at 2:15 PM on September 10, 2023
A Tale for the Time Being
posted by emmatrotsky at 4:38 PM on September 10, 2023
posted by emmatrotsky at 4:38 PM on September 10, 2023
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (it's been awhile since I read it but I don't think it went in that direction at all.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:53 PM on September 10, 2023
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:53 PM on September 10, 2023
Perhaps The Verifier by Jane Pek. It is a mystery plus a family story. Claudia Lin works for an online dating agency, verifying people's online lives, while keeping secrets from her family. She starts investigating when a client goes missing.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 6:25 PM on September 10, 2023
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 6:25 PM on September 10, 2023
The Thursday Murder Club mysteries by Richard Osman feature a variety of male and female protagonists/points of view, and as far as I can recall, none of their weights are highlighted
You've forgotten that Chris goes on many inane and baffling soliloquies about his weight loss journey in the books. It's VERY weird. I know this question is about women but still.
posted by acidic at 6:31 PM on September 10, 2023
You've forgotten that Chris goes on many inane and baffling soliloquies about his weight loss journey in the books. It's VERY weird. I know this question is about women but still.
posted by acidic at 6:31 PM on September 10, 2023
I think pretty much anything by Sayaka Murata (at least anything that’s thus far been translated into English) would fit this criteria.
posted by wondermouse at 8:32 PM on September 10, 2023
posted by wondermouse at 8:32 PM on September 10, 2023
I just finished “Our missing hearts” by Celeste Ng which focuses on an Asian mother and her half white half Asian son. I’m sensitive to what your describing in narration and I don’t remember any body descriptions outside of discussing period where food is scare and they talk about gaunt features or something similar. It also happens to be one of the most poetic books I’ve read in a long time.
posted by raccoon409 at 4:25 AM on September 11, 2023
posted by raccoon409 at 4:25 AM on September 11, 2023
I feel like Barbara Kingsolver is pretty good about this. Sometimes secondary characters will fret briefly about their weight but I don't remember it really being a thing with her protagonists. (Exception: Animal Dreams, though it's plot-relevant, not uncritically presented.) She definitely doesn't do that body type = character nonsense, and she usually has interesting female protagonists. One of the dual narrators of her recent Unsheltered is a capable middle-aged lady figuring out housing/employment collapse, and she's not especially hung up on her appearance that I recall.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 5:38 AM on September 11, 2023
posted by Nibbly Fang at 5:38 AM on September 11, 2023
Virginia woolf, ursula leguin, dorothy allison, toni morrison, alice walker, octavia butler... I think if you do a google search like this: feminist novels course site:.edu or feminist fiction intersectional site:.edu you will find yourself some syllabi with lists of texts that will be great starting points. The reason for the "site:.edu" is that this will limit your search results to content from sites ending with .. .edu
posted by elgee at 9:42 AM on September 11, 2023
posted by elgee at 9:42 AM on September 11, 2023
Convenience Store Woman. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, although it's been a while since I read them both. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin or Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Severance by Ling Ma.
posted by velocipedestrienne at 10:08 AM on September 11, 2023
posted by velocipedestrienne at 10:08 AM on September 11, 2023
People are recommending Sayaka Murata. Convenience Store Woman, yes, but be cautious of Earthlings, which takes a very dark and unpleasant turn. I think she's written more since, but I unfortunately did not know to be wary of Earthlings, and I'm not willing to risk another experience like that.
Two more Japanese novels available in translation: I don't remember anything about weight in Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, or in There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura. I particularly liked the latter.
The protagonist of Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean is a Japanese American woman; she dwells briefly on an ex-boyfriend having lost weight, and her mother criticises one of her drawings for having made its subject look fat, but otherwise, I don't think weight comes up.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:45 AM on September 12, 2023
Two more Japanese novels available in translation: I don't remember anything about weight in Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, or in There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura. I particularly liked the latter.
The protagonist of Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean is a Japanese American woman; she dwells briefly on an ex-boyfriend having lost weight, and her mother criticises one of her drawings for having made its subject look fat, but otherwise, I don't think weight comes up.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:45 AM on September 12, 2023
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I wish I had more recommendations, but the only other thing I can think to say is stay AWAY from anything by Elizabeth George. Although she's an excellent mystery writer, she uses body weight as shorthand for all kinds of character things and some of her descriptions, especially of fat people, are offensive enough to make me refuse to read her.
posted by rpfields at 9:50 AM on September 10, 2023