Body Wars: Making Peace With Women's Bodies (An Activist's Guide) [Paperback]

"Body Wars both teaches us the terms for engaging our opponents and that united efforts will win the war." -- Mary S. Pabst, M.S.W. President, Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention

"Here is basic ammunition for all of us caught in the crossfire of Body Wars." -- Rita Freedman, Ph.D. author, BodyLove

"I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about better health for women and men." -- Michael Levine, Ph.D. co-author, Preventing Eating Disorders

Loving one's body is a revolutionary act!

In this ground-breaking study, Margo Maine declares war on a culture that dismisses, devalues, and disempowers women by making them hate their own bodies. This book covers issues from dieting and weight prejudice to concepts of beauty and ageism to sports, fashion advertising, and propaganda. With practical strategies for activists, educators, and parents, this book also contains extensive references and appendices. Body Wars takes its place alongside The Beauty Myth and Reviving Ophelia in recognizing the constant assault women face, but goes further by giving them practical tools with which to fight back.

25 Ways to Love Your Body
Guidelines for Letter Writing
Top Ten Reasons to Give Up Dieting
Join the Fight Against Fashion Fascism
See the Homogenizing Effects of Cosmetic Surgery
Stop Violence Against Women
Fight Size, Sex, and Age Discrimination
Tactics for Healthy Eating
Facts about Kids and Dieting

Each chapter addresses an issue that contributes to women’s discontent with their bodies within a sociocultural perspective. The topics will help you to question the culturally-endorsed assumptions that support Body Wars, such as our misguided and misinformed beliefs about weight, dieting, and obesity. A number of chapters focus on aspects of the beauty industry, including the role of fashion, modeling, beauty pageants, plastic surgery, and media influences via magazines and advertising.

The book also addresses the impact of violence against women, ageism, and a healthcare system historically biased to meet men’s needs and not women’s. Special influences on children are also examined, such as the pressure to diet, the impact of the Barbie doll, and how schools, sports and activities such as dance can contribute to Body Wars. Finally, a chapter is dedicated to men, who are increasingly the target of industries promoting Body Wars and who are desperately needed as teammates in the fight.

Each chapter concludes with strategies and resources for both personal and political change. I hope you find these both useful and inspiring.

Every day, this issue becomes more urgent. Body Wars are now a global problem. No one is safe, as western media and information technology become integral influences in less developed countries. The damage to the human spirit and potential is growing exponentially. We must fight back.

Margo Maine, Ph.D., author of Father Hunger, and Senior Editor of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, is a clinical psychologist, Director of the Eating Disorder Program at the Institute of Living in Hartford, CT, and co-founder of Maine and Weinstein Specialty Group. Dr. Maine is a trustee and past-president of Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, Inc. and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut. A lecturer, consultant, and researcher, she was also clinical consultant for the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence winning film, Wasting Away, and is on the advisory boards of many organizations dedicated to women’s health and eating disorders.

She has presented at numerous state, national, and international conferences including the American Psychological Association, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, American Women in Psychology, International Conference on Eating Disorders, National Anorexic Aid Society, International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, The National Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Medicine, and the Renfrew Foundation.