Radical Belonging

Description

Too many of us feel alienated from our bodies. This isn’t your personal failing it means that our culture is failing you.

We are in the midst of a cultural moment. #MeToo. #BlackLivesMatter. #TransIsBeautiful. #AbleismExists. #EffYourBeautyStandards. Those of us who don’t fit into the ‘mythical norm’ (white, male, cisgender, able-bodied, slender, Christian, etc.) which is to say, most of us are demanding our basic right: To know that who we are matters. To belong.

Being ‘othered’ and the body shame it spurs is not “just” a feeling. Being erased and devalued impacts our ability to regulate our emotions, our relationships with others, our health and longevity, our finances, our ability to realise dreams, and whether we will be accepted, loved, or even safe.

Radical Belonging is not a simple self-love treatise. Focusing only on self-love ignores the important fact that we have negative experiences because our culture has targeted certain bodies and people for abuse or alienation. For marginalised people, a focus on self-love can be a spoonful of sugar that makes the oppression go down. This groundbreaking book goes further, helping us to manage the challenges that stem from oppression and moving beyond self-love and into belonging.

With Lindo Bacon’s signature blend of science and storytelling, Radical Belonging addresses the political, sociological, psychological, and biological underpinnings of your experiences, helping you understand that the alienation and pain you are experiencing is not personal, but human. The problem is in injustice, not you as an individual.

So many of us feel wounded by a culture that has alienated us from our bodies and divided us from each other. Radical Belonging provides strategies to reckon with the trauma of injustice; reclaim yourself, body and soul; and rewire your nervous system to better cope within an unjust world. It also provides strategies to help us provide refuge for one another and create a culture of equity and empathy, one that respects, includes, and benefits from all its diverse peoples.

About the Author
Dr. Lindo Bacon holds graduate degrees in physiology, psychology, and exercise science. A compelling speaker, writer, and storyteller, Dr. Bacon delivers a unique blend of academic expertise, clinical experience, and social justice advocacy, all couched in a raw honesty and compassion that touch and inspire. Dr. Bacon is coauthor of the paradigm-shifting Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Fail to Understand about Weight. They also wrote the iconic and bestselling Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight.

A former professor and researcher, Dr. Bacon taught courses in social justice, health, weight, and nutrition for almost two decades; they also conducted federally funded health studies and published in top scientific journals. Dr. Bacon’s advocacy for body respect has generated a large following on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, health and nutrition listservs and specialty blogs, and the international lecture circuit.