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The Beauty Myth: How Images of Female Beauty Are Used Against Women [Hardcover]

Naomi Wolf (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: April 1991
The controversial, critically-acclaimed, bestselling book that kickstarted the third wave of feminism is now available with a new introduction and a new look.

In 1990, Naomi Wolf published The Beauty Myth - a book that catapulted Wolf into the international spotlight and onto bestseller lists everywhere (88 straight weeks on The Globe and Mail bestseller list). The effects it had on feminist discourse can still be felt today (and in some ways are even more relevant), and the author's new introduction will help put all the controversy, debate, and media it inspired in context for the next millennium.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

This valuable study, full of infuriating statistics and examples, documents societal pressure on women to conform to a standard form of beauty. Freelance journalist Wolf cites predominant images that negatively influence women--the wrinkle-free, unnaturally skinny fashion model in advertisements and the curvaceous female in pornography--and questions why women risk their health and endure pain through extreme dieting or plastic surgery to mirror these ideals. She points out that the quest for beauty is not unlike religious or cult behavior: every nuance in appearance is scrutinized by the godlike, watchful eyes of peers, temptation takes the form of food and salvation can be found in diet and beauty aids. Women are "trained to see themselves as cheap imitations of fashion photographs" and must learn to recognize and combat these internalized images. Wolf's thoroughly researched and convincing theories encourage rejection of unrealistic goals in favor of a positive self-image.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Journalist and poet Wolf presents a provocative and persuasive account of the pervasiveness of the beauty ideal in all facets of Western culture, including work, sex, and religion. In showing how this myth works against women and how women sabotage themselves by their complicity with this impossible standard, she discusses at length two unfortunate consequences: the growth in the number of bulimic and anorexic women and the increasing popularity of cosmetic surgery. The facts are certainly stacked to prove her thesis but, for the most part, provide convincing evidence. In her final chapter, Wolf instructs women on how to crack the beauty myth. Recommended, especially for women's studies collections.
- Anne Twitchell, National Re search Council Lib., Washington,
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Women's Handbook July 29 2009
By M. Cameron
Format:Paperback
Every woman should read this book; in fact every human being should read this book because it addresses the beauty myth for both men and woman. For men, this book will help them understand how their own behaviour plays a role and how they are impacted by the myth and it will also help them understand how their wives, sisters, mothers and daughters are affected by this myth. For women, this book thoroughly explains the modern female experience. I found myself wishing I had read this book when I was younger (I just turned 30), however I somehow doubt that I would have had enough life experience to really understand what this book talks about. This book has inspired me to a better woman: someone who loves her body, who is turned on by genuine human love not violence and pornography, does not buy everything that corporations insist I need to be beautiful and who really engages with other women of all generations about these issues so that we stop seeing each other as a threat.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book July 28 2007
By L. O'Gorman
Format:Paperback
This was one of the first books I read that looked critically at female body image and beauty ideals and it changed my life. I can't say enough about this book... I loved it.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing Jan 22 2010
By Kim
Format:Paperback
I borrowed this book from the town library when I was about 15 years old. I understood and had already internalized many of the social norms for female appearance. (Now 23, working on a B.A. in Law and Justice/Sociology; I had to look this up for a cite in my paper.)

I was prompted to write by a previous comment regarding the possibility that striving for beauty is an evolutionary trait. What comes to my mind are both the peacock and the turkey as well as many species of fish where the males are the ones with beautiful colouring or plumage to attract the females attention. Regardless of any evolutionary desire to be beautiful, it is clear, after reading the book, that partriacal authority has appropraiated it, and perhaps mutated it, in order to reinforce that system.
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