Shrill by Lindy West
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
I have heard Lindy West’s work a couple of times on some NPR podcasts.
I found her writing style to be sarcastic, funny and brutally honest…
also gave me insight into a different viewpoint.
So when the library had one of her books pop up in my search for a new listen, I decided to check it out.
Here’s a summary:
“Shrill is an uproarious memoir, a feminist rallying cry in a world that thinks gender politics are tedious and that women, especially feminists, can’t be funny.
Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible–like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you–writer and humorist Lindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but.
From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; to her struggle to convince herself, and then the world, that fat people have value; to her accidental activism and never-ending battle royale with Internet trolls, Lindy narrates her life with a blend of humor and pathos that manages to make a trip to the abortion clinic funny and wring tears out of a story about diarrhea.
With inimitable good humor, vulnerability, and boundless charm, Lindy boldly shares how to survive in a world where not all stories are created equal and not all bodies are treated with equal respect, and how to weather hatred, loneliness, harassment, and loss, and walk away laughing. Shrill provocatively dissects what it means to become self-aware the hard way, to go from wanting to be silent and invisible to earning a living defending the silenced in all caps.”
There are a couple issues and opinions of Lindy’s I do not agree 100 percent with…but A LOT of what she said resonated with me and had me nodding fiercely in agreement.
Some of what she said actually taught me….
as well as convicted me.
A topic she speaks about a lot in this book is “fat shaming”, especially targeted to women’s bodies.
We are all guilty of this…even as women to other women. Our society has this “beauty standard” that is SO narrow in its ideals that it leaves most of us feeling inadequate.
We are taught we have to be a certain size, look a certain way to be worthy of love, success and self esteem.
It’s so so damaging.
Some people think that the “fat acceptance” movement (yes this is a real thing that I just learned about) is about celebrating an unhealthy lifestyle.
I will tell you…In my years in the health and fitness world (and in my years just BEING a woman and a human being living on this planet) I have learned that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes.
Like so so so so so so many.
Also there are plenty of medical conditions or disabilities that can result in a larger body size as well.
You do not know someone’s story just by looking at them.
And even if you DO know it…it’s never okay to ridicule or mistreat another human being…we need to show love and acceptance…even if someone looks different than you, thinks different than you, acts different than you.
There should never be qualifications (size, race, gender identity, sexual preference, etc) for being treated with respect and dignity.
EVER.
Just treat all human beings like they are valuable….BECAUSE THEY ARE.
We all should take the time to listen to people who have different lived experiences and viewpoints than our own.
(Seriously why do we mess this up SO BADLY y’all?!?)
While Lindy and I have plenty of differences, I realized we have a WHOLE lot more similarities.
I value her vulnerability, bravery and honesty in sharing her own story with so many and I respect her.
(Note: this book does have quite a bit of profanity in it which doesn’t bother me too much 🤣 but just a heads up if you listen to it on audio where smaller ears could hear!)