"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.
