The Body Liberation Project
How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom
From author and Instagram personality Chrissy King, an exciting, genre-redefining narrative mix of memoir, inspiration, and specific exercises and prompts, weaving in urgent, timely messages about social and racial justice and how they intersect with the fitness and wellness community.
Simply said, diet culture is rooted in white supremacy. The notion that those who fall outside of Eurocentric standards of beauty (think Black, fat, trans, etc.) are less attractive is a message that is transmitted daily from multiple external forces or social institutions. Body image and beauty standards can only be truly understood within a framework of interlocking systems of “isms” (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism). While that’s challenging for everyone, it’s even more complicated for those living in marginalized bodies. That being said, the solution isn’t body acceptance or even body positivity. Those may be an important part of the journey, but the answer is . . . body liberation, with the recognition that none of us are free unless all of us are free.
The Body Liberation Project is about just that. It’s about finding actual freedom in our bodies, through finding strength and the aspects of fitness, movement, and eating that work for YOU. It’s about understanding that the goal is not to look at our bodies and love everything that we see. It’s to understand that at our essence we are so much more than our bodies. But it’s also about recognizing the harsh realities that prohibit some people from being able to do so. With this book, Chrissy King shares the wisdom, the tools, and the inspiration to do just that—to motivate readers to find body liberation, and, even more important, to pass it on.
Reviews
Fitness, wellness, and body-positivity influencer and coach Chrissy King makes the case that real self-care is rooted in self-love in The Body Liberation Project, unpacking how social and racial justice intersect with the fitness, diet, and wellness industry.
— Publishers Weekly
King redefines how we can love our existing bodies in positive ways.
— Ebony
Chrissy King is here to remind us (gently, lovingly!) that diet culture is rooted in white supremacy and that the key to freedom is not “body positivity” but “body liberation.” Her perspective on Twitter and Instagram is a breath of fresh air and her new book, called The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom, is sure to be a balm.
— Romper
King makes her book debut with an impassioned argument urging women to liberate themselves from a culture of “thin privilege” that validates thinness and Whiteness as markers of beauty… A fervent message about self-worth.
— Kirkus
A genre-redefining narrative that mixes memoir and inspiration with messages about social and racial justice.
— Essence
If you’re ready to free yourself from the impossible standards, pick up a copy of King’s book, which traces the history of fat discrimination and how it intersects with other forms of oppression. King also explains the issues with the body positivity movement and how we can truly be liberated from all the appearance-related pressures.
— Katie Couric Media
Official Bio
Chrissy King is a writer, speaker, strength coach, and educator with a passion for creating a diverse and inclusive wellness industry. She empowers individuals to stop shrinking, start taking up space, and use their energy to create their specific magic in the world. She has been featured in SELF, SHAPE, Health, Cosmopolitan, BuzzFeed, Muscle and Fitness, and Livestrong, among others. With degrees in Social Justice and Sociology from Marquette University, Chrissy merges her passion for Social Justice and her passion for fitness to empower individuals within the fitness and wellness industry to create spaces that allow individuals from all backgrounds to feel seen, welcome, respected, and celebrated.
She empowers individuals to stop shrinking, start taking up space, and use their energy to create their specific magic in the world. When she’s not serving her clients by empowering them to create stress-free and sustainable lifestyles and feel confident and empowered in their skin, she spends her time lifting all the weights, reading, traveling, and hanging with friends and family.
