On behalf of the reader, Sonya Renee Taylor asks, “Will this book fix my self-esteem?” or “Will it build self-confidence?” Then she provides the answer herself: "Nope!" In a culture obsessed with confidence hacks and self-esteem webinars, this refusal feels even rude. But Taylor is not interested in superficial changes. She is inviting us somewhere far more disruptive: radical self-love.

Radical self-love, as she defines it, is not arrogance. It goes to the root: radical in the literal sense of the word. It is foundational and exists at our origin. We were not born hating our thighs. Toddlers do not lament belly rolls. Body shame is thus inherited and is reinforced everywhere. We all see it in shows like The Biggest Loser that turn weight loss into a show, or in news that exaggerates crime and disproportionately criminalizes Black bodies.

As a child, Taylor apologized for everything. As an adult, Black, queer, fat, she constantly felt the world’s expectation of apology. But one day it changed. Taylor took a photo of herself in a black corset and posted it online with the caption, “For this one camera flash, I am unashamed, unapologetic.” The image went viral. Then Taylor opened a Facebook group that launched the whole movement. When one body refuses shame, others feel permitted to do the same.

So why must self-love be radical? Because the systems that produce body shame are radical. They are political, economic, and structural. And “self-acceptance” is not enough. Radical self-love is more about transformation.

To get there, Taylor proposes “Unapologetic Inquiry.” Ask yourself: What are my identity intersections? When have I compared my body to someone else’s — and what did that comparison cost me? In what ways have I been asked to apologize for my body? These questions force us to confront not only how we have been shamed, but how we have shamed others.