The Tyranny of Thinness: Understanding and Resisting the Pressure to Be Skinny
Celine Leboeuf, PhD
Oct 2026 · North Atlantic Books
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288
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About this ebook
A fearlessly feminist philosophical approach to defying diet culture, cultivating radical self-care, and rediscovering empowered embodiment
Informed by personal narrative, cultural studies, and the work of luminaries from Simone de Beauvoir and Mary Wollstonecraft to Audre Lorde and Roxane Gay
In this timely and unflinching manifesto, Dr. Celine Leboeuf unpacks the philosophical and oppressive systems that sustain our cultural obsession with being thin—why it’s framed as something to “achieve,” how it’s predicated on exclusion, and that the goalposts are racist and misogynistic—and always moving.
Drawing on memoir, feminist theory, and cultural analysis, The Tyranny of Thinness is a wide-ranging and erudite treatise on how the skinny ideal shapes our earliest memories and experiences—and steals joy, agency, and self-determination from our adolescences, our social identities, our ambitions, and even our sense of moral worth.
From the resurrection of heroin chic and thinspo to the rise of #SkinnyTok and Ozempic, Dr. Leboeuf exposes how thinness becomes a political weapon—and shows how the body positivity movement has been coopted and repackaged. This book is an elevated must-read for anyone struggling with body image—and every reader searching to understand what the culture dictates about beauty and perceived worth.
Informed by personal narrative, cultural studies, and the work of luminaries from Simone de Beauvoir and Mary Wollstonecraft to Audre Lorde and Roxane Gay
In this timely and unflinching manifesto, Dr. Celine Leboeuf unpacks the philosophical and oppressive systems that sustain our cultural obsession with being thin—why it’s framed as something to “achieve,” how it’s predicated on exclusion, and that the goalposts are racist and misogynistic—and always moving.
Drawing on memoir, feminist theory, and cultural analysis, The Tyranny of Thinness is a wide-ranging and erudite treatise on how the skinny ideal shapes our earliest memories and experiences—and steals joy, agency, and self-determination from our adolescences, our social identities, our ambitions, and even our sense of moral worth.
- Part 1 traces the origins of fatphobia in anti-Black racism, unpacking how thinness is a carefully constructed ideal. Dr. Céline Leboeuf shows how self-objectification is instilled in young girls and diverted toward activities that enforce objectification.
- Part 2 offers a path forward. Through embodied practices like intuitive eating, joyful movement, sensual awareness, community care, and the philosophical exercise of world-remaking, The Tyranny of Thinness outlines a new way of living in one's body that is compassionate, realistic, and self-empowering.
From the resurrection of heroin chic and thinspo to the rise of #SkinnyTok and Ozempic, Dr. Leboeuf exposes how thinness becomes a political weapon—and shows how the body positivity movement has been coopted and repackaged. This book is an elevated must-read for anyone struggling with body image—and every reader searching to understand what the culture dictates about beauty and perceived worth.
A fearlessly feminist philosophical approach to defying diet culture, cultivating radical self-care, and rediscovering empowered embodiment
Informed by personal narrative, cultural studies, and the work of luminaries from Simone de Beauvoir and Mary Wollstonecraft to Audre Lorde and Roxane Gay
...
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About the author
Céline Leboeuf is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Faculty in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Florida International University. A queer woman of color and biracial scholar, she examines how beauty standards and body ideals are shaped by race and gender, and what it feels like to live in a body that never seems “good enough.” Drawing on both feminist philosophy and her own recovery from restrictive eating, her work blends theory, personal narrative, and cultural criticism to challenge our fixation on thinness. Her essays have appeared in outlets such as Medium, the Project Vox blog, and Psyche, and her writing has been recognized by the American Philosophical Association. She has been featured as an expert in VOGUE, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.
Céline Leboeuf is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Faculty in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Florida International University. A queer woman of color and biracial scholar, she examines how beauty standards and body ideals are shaped by race and gender, and what it feels...
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