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.