Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield

Tyranny is an educational Graphic Novel, which can be of use to someone experiencing anerexia or body dysmorphia, or someone witnessing it happen to another person. It's honest and holds nothing back. If you want to know what it's like, to be in that suffering person's head for a few moments, give this book a read.




I'll recommend it to parents particularly, as it's important with these things that we try to empathise as opposed to criticise and lecture. It's all too easy to advise "You should eat more. You look as if you're about to break." But far more effective would be to say, that it's not their fault. It is an illness, not a choice.

With a book like this, I'd advise an adult to be there to talk with the child reading it about the issues explored such as body image, expectations, stress, health issues etc. I do think it can help young children figure out what they're feeling in relation to themselves.

Weight is a big thing. It's shallow to be consumed by it, but it's human. I've never liked discussing how I'm so thin and in shape, without having to run miles. Never liked seeing envy on a friend's face when we are all dressed up. I know it seems like such a frivolous thing in the grander scheme of things. It doesn't matter and yet, it does.

I read this because the cover intrigued me and though I've thankfully never battled aneroxia, I've always been teased for being thin, called a 'zombie' or 'stick-woman' or 'skinny bones'. This isn't much the same thing, as for an anorexic being thin is the ultimate goal and it's a far greater struggle with discipline and mind control. It's an illness, your mind bullying you. Not people. Nonetheless, I have worried about my weight, maybe I am making myself ill? Are they exaggerating, or do they really think I'm looking ill? The thing was, in my case, had I spoken up and said I wasn't ill but that I was healthy (for my height and weight); had I laughed when I heard the comments of 'sticks and bones'; they would have thought I had body dysmorphia, that in the mirror, I wasn't seeing a thin woman but someone bigger. That I was, at the very least, mildly anorexic. And, that would have let to a whole host of other problems.

With weight, especially when you're a woman, everyone feels entitled to speak with you about it publicly. Are you pregnant? Dieting? It comes up over a shared meal, when asking if you'd like to have something to eat or, when you haven't seen someone in a long time. It's a shallow thing but we do notice change. And we can only discuss a new hairstyle or an outfit, for so long. Plus, these days, it seems as if everyone is in the business of getting in shape. No bad thing, I just don't like that it is becoming somewhat of an obsession. For me, I have been the same weight since I was eleven! Yes, I fleshed out - a little- but otherwise exactly the same. At that age, I was oblivious to the comments. I couldn't care less. I wish I could be like that again. So sure in myself.

I've been around the same weight since I was eleven, though everyone insists that I've lost some more. I feel like they just say it to have something to say. These are often people, relatives more than friends, whom I rarely see. We aren't close and, I would feel embarrassed enquiring the same thing of their weight. It's exhausting. But worse if they remark about my weight to someone else, with me just in the same room.

Why can't it be a conversation left between sisters or between mothers and daughters? Or spouses? Doctors and patients? Why can't it be something we volunteer to share, like your foot size? Can we bring back this one particular social taboo? Someone talking about your weight is off-putting. Praising someone for their weight when they haven't discussed it with you is plainly patronising. It really plays with your self esteem. You no longer feel confident or comfortable in yourself. Are my clothes hanging off my frame? Do I look like a zombie? If everyone is saying it, does that mean it's definitely true? It's a horrible feeling and people inflict it on each other without a second thought. 

This is a book that will help you understand. Even now writing this, I feel a little uneasy - I'm complaining about being thin in the UK, where obesity is a national health crisis, where more children are at risk than ever before. I do have it easier than most, of course. But this is about weight. Thin and not thin. Can we stop caring so much about the weight of people we barely know?
I can be found reading or, trying to find the time... All opinions are my own. I often receive books for 'review consideration'. My opinions remain just as truthful. I am a fan of Goodreads as a blogging platform. I use this platform more for writing conversations about books and thoughts on the subject of literature. I plan to navigate other subjects too. I like to reflect and come back to what I have read or written before. I hope you enjoy my writing and if you feel inclined please leave me a tip. I will be sure to use it to support further writing. For the most part, I enjoy anything fun or, anything that sparks my curiosity. I have very little time for anything else. Interests: Books, TV and films. I like the quiet life.
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