Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by ebbiebooks
Toxic Positivity: Keeping It Real in a World Obsessed with Being Happy by Whitney Goodman
informative
reflective
4.0
I don't think this is a ground breaking book, though it is critical of trends (online and socially) regarding how we conceptualize our life, happiness, "negative emotions" negativity, etc. I already followed the author on Instagram, and while I'm not always the audience for everything she does, I like how she presents a critical view point on commonplace ideas most people blurt out in front of challenging and uncomfortable feelings.
I liked that the booked adressed oppressions as something that just cannot be "positive toughts" away, though I would have liked we spend more time on that, and maybe on how psychology or therapy can/cannot help with that. I would have liked it stated that failed social responsabilities are not something we can individually cure, though it is somewhat implied.
I also liked that "healing" and "improving oneself" were portraied as something that can become toxic as well, when it becomes the metric upon which you judge everyone and yourself, just like people judge other's health, whether they put too much or not enough effort into it, etc.
Also like the part about body positivity v. body neutrality. It's something even well meaning activist forgets, and the shame tactics that come along with those are leaving a lot of people alone with their struggles.
I'll have to get back to the physical book at some point, to highlight some things here and there. I'll probably recommend it to a few people, that are of the verge of being too lost in the positivity sauce, and they are starting to get hurt by it without knowing it.
I liked that the booked adressed oppressions as something that just cannot be "positive toughts" away, though I would have liked we spend more time on that, and maybe on how psychology or therapy can/cannot help with that. I would have liked it stated that failed social responsabilities are not something we can individually cure, though it is somewhat implied.
I also liked that "healing" and "improving oneself" were portraied as something that can become toxic as well, when it becomes the metric upon which you judge everyone and yourself, just like people judge other's health, whether they put too much or not enough effort into it, etc.
Also like the part about body positivity v. body neutrality. It's something even well meaning activist forgets, and the shame tactics that come along with those are leaving a lot of people alone with their struggles.
I'll have to get back to the physical book at some point, to highlight some things here and there. I'll probably recommend it to a few people, that are of the verge of being too lost in the positivity sauce, and they are starting to get hurt by it without knowing it.