Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 352 pages
Audiobook Length: 9 hours and 21 minutes
First Published: 2021
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Rachael’s Review
An eye-opening examination of how are beauty-obsessed world has failed generations of women. Although body positivity has helped some women, body image issues will not go away until we realize that you are not defined by your body. The Kite sisters show how deeply ingrained objectification of women is in our society and in our own minds and help you discover that you are more than a body.
I’ve struggled with body image issues my entire life, and More Than a Body spoke to me on a deeper level than I ever expected. An entire generation of women, myself included, have been brainwashed into viewing ourselves as objects. If you’ve ever avoided an activity because of your appearance or thought that your life will be perfect once you reach your goal weight, this is the book for you.
Critically speaking, the writing could have been better and the chapters were abysmally long. Also, the target audience is middle-class white women. The authors strive to be inclusive, which will annoy some readers for being too politically correct and annoy others for speaking for those they shouldn’t. However, the powerful message gives so much food for thought that I’m already planning to reread it.
Publisher’s Description
Positive body image isn’t believing your body looks good; it is knowing your body is good, regardless of how it looks.
- How do you feel about your body?
- Have you ever stayed home from a social activity or other opportunity because of concern about how you looked?
- Have you ever passed judgment on someone because of how they looked or dressed?
- Have you ever had difficulty concentrating on a task because you were self-conscious about your appearance?
Our beauty-obsessed world perpetuates the idea that happiness, health, and ability to be loved are dependent on how we look, but authors Lindsay and Lexie Kite offer an alternative vision. With insights drawn from their extensive body image research, Lindsay and Lexie—PhDs and founders of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined (and also twin sisters!)—lay out an action plan that arms you with the skills you need to reconnect with your whole self and free yourself from the constraints of self-objectification.
From media consumption to health and fitness to self-reflection and self-compassion, Lindsay and Lexie share powerful and practical advice that goes beyond “body positivity” to help readers develop body image resilience—all while cutting through the empty promises sold by media, advertisers, and the beauty and weight-loss industries. In the process, they show how facing your feelings of body shame or embarrassment can become a catalyst for personal growth.
Quotes from More Than a Body
Positive body image isn’t believing your body looks good; it is knowing your body is good, regardless of how it looks.
Girls learn the most important thing about them is how they look. Boys learn the most important thing about girls is how they look. Girls look at themselves. Boys look at girls. Girls are held responsible for boys looking at them. Girls change how they look. Boys keep looking. The problem isn’t how girls look. The problem is how everyone looks at girls.
These out of reach body image mirages actually deter us from healthy behaviors like enjoyable exercise and balanced eating, and they become a major barrier to fitness.
When we live our lives in this perpetual state of body monitoring, we are living passively, being judged and consumed by ourselves and others – not as self-actualized humans actively making choices.
About Lindsay and Lexie Kite
Lindsay and Lexie Kite are identical twins who co-founded and co-direct the nonprofit Beauty Redefined. They both have PhDs researching media studies, objectification, and body image. Lindsay and Lexie are the co-authors of More Than a Body. Lindsay Kite currently lives in New York City and Lexie Kite currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit the authors’ website →
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