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  • The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition

  • The Power of Radical Self-Love
  • By: Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Narrated by: Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (95 ratings)
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The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition

By: Sonya Renee Taylor
Narrated by: Sonya Renee Taylor
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Summary

“To build a world that works for everyone, we must first make the radical decision to love every facet of ourselves.... ‘The body is not an apology’ is the mantra we should all embrace.” (Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and founder and executive director, African American Policy Forum)

Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies.

The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world - for us all.

This second edition includes stories from Taylor’s travels around the world combating body terrorism and shines a light on the path toward liberation guided by love. In a brand new final chapter, she offers specific tools, actions, and resources for confronting racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia. And she provides a case study showing how radical self-love not only dismantles shame and self-loathing in us but has the power to dismantle entire systems of injustice. Together with the accompanying workbook, Your Body Is Not an Apology, Taylor brings the practice of radical self-love to life.

©2018, 2021 Sonya Renee Taylor (P)2021 Sonya Renee Taylor

What listeners say about The Body Is Not an Apology, Second Edition

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fantastic

fantastic fantastic?? fantastic fantastic fantastic did I say fantastic?? idk umm fantastic? yes fantastic. fantastic.

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4 people found this helpful

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Incredible

Highly recommend

I so wish this type of book had been available 40 years ago

Would have saved me decades of anguish.

Simply brilliant

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1 person found this helpful

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upsetting but needs reading

Body shame is very real and is something I believe most people have experienced. From the bouncer who tells you you're not all that to look at as you a trying to help a drunk friend to the people who try to rip your inner soul to shreds because you are 'lovely but...' or 'you have it easy' 'you look so perfect' or 'you're so educated'. Or a workman who thinks it's ok to say hmmm yeah your bodies great, your bums a bit big but thats a good thing and you are flat on top...to which I didn't even bother saying I'm wearing a sports bra because who asked if he likes my 'form' anyway!!

From massaging I have seen so many beautiful people of different shapes and sizes and they are perfect advocates of why body's should be whatever they are meant to be and how that individual wants to enhance (or not).

I'm about if you are healthy in the sense of being able to carry out your day with ease.

I like Deepok Chopra as he says all this without kinda making me feel quite so shitty about the world we live in.

I found myself becoming very down listening to this but I stuck at it as she deserves to be heard. I like that she showed ways to be a decent human being. I found it so sad that we live in a world that needs this spelled out. I did learn from it and was glad to realise alot of it is stuff taught in meditation etc I also learnt why terminology was changed and agree with the reasoning.

I am lucky to have been brought up in an education system from the age of 5 where we were very diverse. Although it was a different issue. It wasn't body shame at that school, it was keep up with the learning speed or you are dumb culture and I was the one shamed by classmates, teachers and others! so I guess I was the one with the disability. I was given great coping mechanisms and it rarely holds me back as I find ways.

I love that the author is about the individual. That matters and I should listen again and has made me speak up more when people slag off other people who are trying their best to look good. who gives them the right to say if they look good or not and why is there not more emphasis on being a decent human being?!

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Life saving

I dream of a world where everyone will have read this amazing, kind and so human book and embraced radical self love for their own and everyone else’s benefit. A deep revolution is possible and it starts with Sonya Renee Taylor’s words and tools. Thank you!!!!

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Love to listen to Sonya

Sonya perfectly articulates the vastness of the issues surrounding marginalisation & how deeply rooted they are. The systems of oppression that exist will not dismantle themselves. Sonya discusses how we all need to act to uplift those in a less privileged position than ourselves. The way Sonya speaks is always without judgement and it always seems to me she expressing something deeply true. Love the focus on community and coming together at ground level as a way towards equity. Great book, great author, great movement.

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Radical or not

It seems that sometimes using loud words can help people thrive to do something loud, however sometimes it causes more harm.
Author talks about self love and how discrimination and differentiation becomes a powerful way of oppression, where everyone is in away oppressed, even when person might think person is free. And perhaps the book has great quotes to read in, but nevertheless there won't be answers. Why? Although author suggests that we need to speak, include the differences and celebrate them, we need to engage and want to talk, in reality sometimes talking is not an answer, everything should come from person, there is no need to include in a room people who are different, if one is not ready to design the room so that it's accessable and if people in there do so just to tick a box. These self love, body acknowledging movement are more than just "radical" discussion and changing mentality, it should be "radical" because we need to change everything around us. And there I catch myself to the thought "was this book about radical self love and body terrorism" or was it just a glimpse at what could have been a great topic?
I feel that author escaped of talking about religious and cultural impacts (yes, she mentions history but not as detailed), more so to talk about that there's somewhere white supremacy, fat shaming and body shaming because of perception, nothing too deep, just a grasp.
Perhaps some might find this book as a push to love oneself, but I doubt that it presents the necessary tools to understand how to change those who are body shaming - some people will never change their point of view and then where's the radical solution?
Yes, body is not an apology, but then also background and knowledge given when growing are not an apology. So what does it mean?

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inspiring

A call to collective action and in doing so healing myself, thank you. I like it's structure and will be getting the workbook

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wow this book is a must read

I listened to this within one sitting. Will be listening to this until it sticks. this was amazing.

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Spectacular!

This book changed the way I see the world and myself. Have recommended it to everyone I know. This book is a gift to the world.

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Most powerful self love book I've listened to

Really opened my eyes to the wider socioeconomic implications of where body image comes from. I'd never before considered me personally adhering to a beauty standard (or wanting to) is upholding standards that marginalised other races and types of bodies including disabled ones. Really effective and I think a big platform for change for me and the way I think, thank you so much for writing this

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