15 books that address body-image issues

Subtitled, A Memoir of (My) Body, the book is an unfiltered memoir by the feminist author, accounting her struggle with weight, food abuse, societal expectations, and her aspirations. The book promises you no answer to all the problems that one might have, but what sets apart this book from the rest is Gay’s lively prose, witty remarks, deep insights, and honesty.
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Though it may present itself as another high-school drama with all the tropes that make one, the book is a deep, thought-provoking narrative that revolves around the life of a seventeen-year-old "girl-next-door", Bianca Piper. She gets the ultimate title of being “the Duff” (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) among her friends. The book is sure to charm you with all its witty remarks and funny one-liners. It has been successfully adapted into a movie under the same name and has listed itself among the teen classics.
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The book by its own merit brilliantly traces the history behind the struggles of adolescent girls when it comes to body image and self-identity, till date. It even falls back to personal journals and media images as early as the 1830s. The books is appraised by many for its accountability in terms of body politics in the feminist movement.
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Ashley Graham, the voluptuous supermodel bares all of her experience, before she was a model and after she was discovered as a model. The book documents all of her successes to all the setbacks that she braved through in the cutthroat world of fashion. She was the first-ever plus size model to be on the cover of the wildly popular Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and has continued to grace many other leading fashion magazines. The book chronicles Ashley's journey as one of the pioneers of a new generation of women breaking ground and demolishing stereotypes, transforming the ideals about body image and what is fashionable.
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One of the best books that target the issue of obesity among teens. Cooner with her brilliantly drawn character- Ever, takes the reader by the hand through every inner monologue that she has, giving a full account of what really goes in the mind of an addict. The book also exposes the nitty gritty of Gastric bypass surgery. Anxiety, Teenage-angst, Self-esteem, and doubts are many of the emotions that we all go through and have been explored deeply in the book.
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This alluring memoir offers an unfiltered, delightful account of the author's life before Holywood. The book documents everything from her lowest points, triumphs, and everything in between and will have you flipping through the pages ardently. From her first job as a phone sex talker to her unconventional rise to fame alongside with Holywood royalties, the memoir covers all.
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This is another book that will blow your mind off with its complex characters and a unique storyline. Once formally dubbed, “America’s Fattest Teen”, Libby Strout after spending half of her young adult life struggling with her weight, finally gives up trying to fit in the mould and decides to be nobody but herself. The book centers around the lives of Libby Strout and Jack Masselin, a boy who has his own set of battles that he fights every single day. The book will win your heart over with its brimming insightful lines.
Photo:Knopf Books for Young Readers

Naomi Wolf’s bestseller will undoubtedly revamp your outlook on the relationship between beauty and female identity. Although women today are far more liberated than ever before, Wolf contends that there’s another roadblock that sets the same effect as that of being simply a homemaker and a wife in this modern day of ours. Despite of all the progress that has been made, there is a never-ending strife towards physical perfection, still traps even the most of successful women with its impossible definition of being flawless. Naomi’s book was way ahead of his time and deconstructs vehemently, the myth of beauty and recognizes how patriarchy particularly stresses on women's appearances.
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This is yet another international bestseller that will leave you in splits. Fielding nails her humor and the book has been said to be “criminally hilarious”. The novel centers on Bridget’s daily chronicle of her ever-doomed venture of self-improvement in a year in which she resolves to: reduce her weight, stop smoking, and develop “inner poise”. The book has been successfully adapted into a movie under the same title which met with immediate success grossing over $280 million worldwide.
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If you ever felt like you are the black sheep in a family of overachievers, this one's for you. Mackler in her young-adult novel brilliantly delineates the thin line that centers around the mindset that it’s OK to change the way you look, only and only if it’s for you, and not if the choice is being dictated by anyone else. With the supposedly disdainful humor and witty demeanor of the heroine Virginia, Mackler is successful in creating this remarkable character who is sure to speak to every teen who struggles with family expectations, proving that the best accomplishment that one may make is to be true to yourself.
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If you thought this list of books is exclusively for women, you couldn’t have been more wrong. It is not just women who struggle with weight and self-esteem, men too undergo the same pressure, often trapped in the invisible yet extremely rigid margins of masculinity. For them, to admit weakness, discuss self-image or confess insecurity is an act of vulnerability, which men are not traditionally supposed to display. Kelvin’s book covers many a track on how to be a gentleman in today’s world irrespective of race, color, and sexuality. Kelvin is a model and a major Instagram influencer who has been featured in Glamour Magazine, Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan and much more.
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One of the greatest fears that people live with today is 'obesity'. Young girls, boys, and women every day are tormented by the society with images and messages suggesting the way they look isn't quite adequate. This inflicts immeasurable harm upon their confidence and breaks their self-image. In Beautiful You, author Rosie Molinary draws up self-awareness, creativity, and mind-body connections and encourages women, whatever their size, shape, and color, to work toward feeling wonderful about themselves despite today’s media-saturated culture.
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Veteran blogger and advocate Jes Baker with her usual wit and charm calls on people of all shapes and sizes, to embrace a new outlook towards life that helps them look at their body with a more positive view. "Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls" is a manifesto that seeks to change perceptions about weight and shows how mental health should be a prime concern.
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This poetry book can inspire body positivity in small doses. The poems are rarely longer than a page and are a good boost to your mood. The poems cover many feminist topics but almost all the poems can be considered body positive. Gill reminds the reader of the strength and the power they have within and that one's body should be treated with love.
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This book has been written by fat activist and sex educator Virgie Tovar. She complies the stories and advice of several women in this manual which emphasises the postive aspects of simply being in one's body. The book covers a broad range of topics such as plus size models, fat go-go dancing, queer dating and so on. The book inspires positivity with it's diverse tales rather than preaching it and that's one of the things that makes it amazing.
Photo: Seal Press