Too Fat Too Thin – Coming Soon

When was the last time you felt like a Confident Badass? In her book, Too Fat… Too Thin… Why Do I Hate the Skin I’m In? the author abandons the beaten path of banality which oftentimes bookend the discussions of low self-esteem and a lack of confidence in women. She dons her critical lens and offers a new treatise on these two topics that are often conflated and discussed exhaustively. For that reason, at first blush, you may be tempted to bypass this book. Do not do that, ladies, and gentlemen. If you do, you will have missed out on a well-articulated, funny, poignant, and well-researched book that forces you to take a second and maybe even a third look and ask yourself some tough questions. Sure, the title, colors and images are arresting, but, let me tell you! There is nothing superficial or unoriginal about this book. You will be glad you chose it.

Told from the perspective of “everywoman,” the reader walks away with the feeling of being replete after having consumed a sumptuous meal and, the author, Judith D. Hall, serves in fine, inimitable style with words carefully selected to run the gamut of every emotion she wants you to feel. Her riveting account of how the debilitating demons of low self-esteem and a lack of confidence continue to consume a woman’s true essence is unique. She examines the root causes, names, and blames obsolete patriarchal views on gender stereotypes as the ultimate purveyors of beauty constructs.

Hall’s narration of her experiences as a “tween” in the mid 1970’s is the perfect soundtrack to these discussions which she expresses with alternate self-deprecating humor, a refreshing honesty and a “punch-to-the-gut, heightened awareness that threatens your composure as she examines gender-based violence, colorism, and the penchant that many men have for “light-skinned” girls. From skin bleaching, the Jamaican dancehall culture, and increasing deadly violence against women, and so much more. Nothing is sacrosanct in her defense of feminism.

She employs data gleaned from empirical evidence shored up by solid research and harkens back centuries to Greek, Roman, Indian, African, Native American, and Chinese cultures to show how thousands of years of male toxicity toward women and impossible and unattainable beauty standards have converged systematically, and systemically eroded women’s confidence giving rise to body dysmorphic disorders, mental health issues and in increasing numbers, suicide particularly among younger women and girls.

Hall suggests that a woman is viewed by most men as a socio-emotional appendage, and she is only awarded value by her proximity to them. Which is the patriarchal take on that. Though far from credible, that school of thought is pervasive in many cultures. Thought-provoking… The author fast forwards to contemporary times and does a massive excoriation of social media platforms “the modern day pied pipers and snake oil salesmen” and their effects on the psyche of a vulnerable female population she describes as “queens, teens and the in-betweens”.

She highlights the accomplishments of women of every hue, age, and ethnicity, from celebrities with megaphones to everyday heroes in hospitals and their communities, on a mission to save our women one person at a time. The author holds them up as shining beacons of hope for us to emulate. These women now stand on the shoulders of their brilliant and valiant predecessors who used their stilettos to chip away at glass ceilings so other women can crack them to continue the drumbeat for parity.

Just when you think it cannot get any better, she again serves “19 Strategies to Activate the Badass Confident Woman Within You!” The companion journal “Confidence Chronicles” is a place to document your evolutionary journey to the mountain top of your BADASS Confidence! This book is not about male bashing. She celebrates the confident men who appreciate their womenfolk every day. She deems it “an equity call” So much to unpack, learn and unlearn. I leave you to your journey and simply say, “Whether you are 18 or 81, this book is for You!