Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin


A book I really should have loved

And yet, I found myself turned off.

Let me explain.

Skinny Bitch is a vegan manifesto (which one could expect to sell dozens, maybe hundreds of copies) masquerading as a no-nonsense diet book (which made it a NY Times Bestseller.)

The book itself sports this tagline: "A no-nonsense tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous."

The main avenue to said fabulousness is becoming a vegan. And they go into copious detail not only about the health reasons behind it, but also about the animal cruelty issues. Every reason for being a vegan is explored in all their disgusting glory.

So why on Earth wouldn't I love this book that has stealthily infiltrated a new population and potentially spread veganism to them?

Well, part of it is the stealth. And wondering if that will just piss more people off than it converts. But part of it is the tone of the book itself, which is so unrelentingly negative, harsh and profane that it's a turn off even to a liberal, cynical potty-mouth like me.

Mary Martin from Animal Person captures my feelings almost exactly in this post. Key excerpt:

"Here's what I think: It's probably great for young adults. Maybe 18-25. There is a lot--A LOT--of foul language and the authors do the one thing I am never comfortable doing: Tell people they're idiots if they don't go vegan. But guess what? It's working. The book is a New York Times bestseller. AND, it's also full of information about the evils of sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol (except organic, red wine), dairy, and the USDA and FDA, and provides an introduction to the politics of food.
Barely a page is turned without seeing some word that children shouldn't be reading or saying--at least not in my world--but the authors have done a great job tossing a variety of topics together and making you feel like, well, an idiot, if you're not a vegan. As far as raising the level of discourse goes, they authors appear to be deliberately going in the opposite direction. And they do also say things like: "You will be a fat, unhealthy, bloated pig if you live this way" (p. 40, and they're talking about the Atkins diet. My biggest problem with that sentence is the pig reference.)."

So, while I wish I could give this book a rave review, and I hope it achieves its purpose and convinces some folks to go vegan, and while it's actually full of good information about nutrition and about animal practices, I have to say I didn't really like it that much. Perhaps because I'm already a vegan (and not magically thin because of it.) Perhaps because until the very last page it's all about being fabulous and skinny vs. being fat and a pig (until that last page when they say, Oh it's not abut being skinny it's about being healthy...yeah, right.)

I don't know. It has its place, but not particularly with me :)

Posted: Tue - December 4, 2007 at 08:49 AM       EmailFeedback

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