Book Review of Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Have you ever considered that if we were all disembodied voices, we might get along better? Many of the social problems we experience are a result of how we look: different skin colors, body sizes, genders, even clothes. That’s the problem with bodies: they not only separate us out as individuals, but can also allow us to separate into discriminatory groups. But we can’t get away from our bodies—we’re stuck with them. Willowdean Dickson has accepted that.
She’s the main character in Julie Murphy’s book Dumplin,’ and she readily describes herself as fat, despite that it makes some people’s “lips frown and cheeks lose their color.” She is comfortable in her body, even though there are many examples of thinness around her, including her mother and her best friend, Ellen. But there are also examples of fatness, like her Aunt Lucy, who weighed in at 498 pounds, and her classmate Millie, who is “the type of fat that requires elastic waist pants because they don’t make pants with buttons and zippers in her size.” To Will, the word fat just describes her body. “It’s like how I notice some girls have big boobs or shiny hair or knobby knees.”
Being comfortable in your body is no small feat in a culture where 90 percent of women “want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance” and where “the vast majority (81%) of 10-year old girls are afraid of being fat.” Hence the never-ending parade of new diet and self-help books that promise to change you, inside and out.
It’s a novel concept to think that you could be happy just the way you are. Despite our cultural mantra of acceptance for all, prejudice against fatness and fat people is one of the few types of discrimination that remains persistently evident in our society. That’s why the body positivity movement began. Who actually started this movement is up for grabs, but what we do know is that it’s “a social movement initially created to empower and shed light on plus size women and men, while challenging the ways in which society presents and views the physical body.” Along with helping adults look at one another differently, body positivity can also be used with teens and children to discourage bullying and judgment. But it’s the old chicken or the egg dilemma: which affects us more—how others look at us? Or how we look at ourselves?
In the beginning of Dumplin’ (a cute if unflattering nickname given by her mother) Will is comfortable in her body, but that confidence begins to wane as she becomes romantically involved. She has a big crush on Bo, a quiet, handsome co-worker at Harpy’s Burgers and Dogs. To her utter amazement, he’s attracted to her as well and they begin meeting after work to make out. But also to her surprise, “everything in me turns to shit every time he puts his hands on me. Like, I’m not good enough. Not pretty enough. Not thin enough.” She begins to see herself through his eyes or, more accurately, as she imagines he sees her.
Then she improbably decides—of all things—to enter a beauty pageant. The small Texas town where she lives has only one claim to fame, The Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant, the longest running beauty pageant in the state. To make matters even worse, Will’s own mother is a former winner who has run the contest for the last twenty years. It invades every corner of their small home; her mother is constantly ironing tablecloths, designing decorations, altering pageant gowns and, in between, fixing low calorie dinners for Will. So Will is trying to prove something to her mom, to society, and especially, to herself.
Dumplin’ is an entertaining, well written young adult book, but it is fiction, which by definition is not reality. Perhaps that’s why some of the action may seem unlikely and some of the characters, a bit stereotypical. But the book addresses some very real issues that probably everyone has encountered at one time or another, issues with body image, with bullying, and with self confidence. It’s interesting to observe the evolution of Will’s self image and way of thinking as she navigates the treacherous waters of romance and of social expectations. And it’s almost impossible to read this book without recalling some part of your own high school experiences—be it good or bad—especially if you’re female.
Julie Murphy is no newcomer to writing and has, in fact, written six novels, which include, among others, Side Effects May Vary and Puddin.’ Plus she has a new book due out in August 2021 entitled If the Shoe Fits, touted as “perfect for adult readers who crave contemporary, escapist rom-com.” The 2015 book Dumplin’ was made into a Netflix movie in 2018 starring Danielle Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston and received mixed reviews. Critics considered it “uninspired” but also “unrepentant fantasy.” But no matter how you look at it, this plus-size heroine is worth checking out.