“More Than a Body” Book Review
“Positive body image isn’t believing your body looks good, it’s knowing your body is good, regardless of how it looks.” -Lexie & Lindsay Kite, Ph.D
More Than A Body, written by Lexie and Lindsay Kite, focuses on exploring body image and cultural standards that act as a detriment to women’s ability to live a full, enriching life. The book explores how we have gotten to this point, the negative impact cultural beauty standards impose on women and girls of all ages, and what we can do to change it for our own mental health. In a time where unrealistic representations of women’s bodies run rampant, which aims to lower female self-esteem and increase spending on “must-have” beauty products or procedures, the authors of this book provide a framework for women to explore their own body image beliefs and find a new way to see themselves and the society that surrounds us.
I’ll start by saying that I really loved reading this book. Although some of the ideas in it were not new to me, I enjoyed reading a book that complied all the research into one place, but also provided tools that are easy to utilize and help explore this topic on a personal level. The authors did a fantastic job ensuring that the language wasn’t too filled with jargon and clinical terminology that would dissuade people from picking it up. I know both personally and professionally that struggles with body image are a huge problem and causes a variety of difficulties, from lack of self-esteem to relationship issues. Even though this book focuses on the female experience exclusively, it does provide information that is the first step toward getting out of the dark tunnel of beauty standards for all people. It gives readers easy actions to take that can have a dramatic influence on the way the reader perceives their own body and explores the complex feelings that come with body image. Personally, this book helped me explore my own body messages, biases, and feelings. I was able to think critically about the messages I got from my family growing up, the ideas that I adopted as my own, and the way society influences those feelings now that I am an adult. This is a journey that I continue to take each day, long after finishing the book. I think all women should read this book for themselves and for their children so that we can use the ideas presented to change the messaging we get about our bodies and their function in this world.
Reader Recommendation: All women and girls
Rating: 4.8 Stars
