The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women | Naomi Wolf

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women | Naomi Wolf | A Very Important Book

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The Beauty Myth: H...

	The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women Naomi Wolf Harper Perennial, 2002 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 83 reviews view larger image
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The bestselling classic that redefined our view od the relationship between beauty and female identity.

In today's world, women have more power, legal recognition, and professional success than ever before. Alongside the evident progress of the women's movement, however, writer and journalist Naomi Wolf is troubled by a different kind of social control, which, she argues, may prove just as restrictive as the traditional image of homemaker and wife. It's the beauty myth, an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of "the flawless beauty."

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Truer today than when it was written

What makes this book so important is that it is just as, if not more, relevant today than it was in 1991. Women continue to be judged more by our appearances than actions, and while there do seem to be a few examples of progress (like Queen Latifah showing that beauty comes in many sizes and everyone loving Ellen DeGeneres' show despite her non-model appearance), these are exceptions that prove the rule. Models are slimmer than ever, anorexia is considered normal, and women continue to lose the battle for self-esteem.

While the average reader may consider the writing to be a bit dry, Wolf presents one intellectually sound point after another. She even inserts a few personal memories which help the reader to identify with her as a person in addition to an accomplished thinker and writer. In addition, the pages and pages of notes prove that her statistics and arguments are based on intense research and not, as critics may suggest, merely whining. I would consider this to be essential "personal is political" reading for any person, of any gender, with a social conscience.

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A Very Important Book

The Beauty Myth is a must have for every woman in the world and the men who love them. Naomi Wolf hit the nail on the head about the isolating effect the beauty myth has on women, ie: women viewing each other with suspicion, women enacting painful, masochistic rituals to be "thin enough", "young-looking enough" and "pretty enough", while blinding women to the larger reality of the world like workplace inequality, economic inequality, lack of political power and the lack of intellectual freedom. How can they pay attention when all they can think about are their physical "flaws"? Except that's exactly where the powers of the society wants them - beaten down, fearful of oneself and each other and generally viewing oneself of low self worth. When you feel like that, you are no threat to the oppressive forces in society. In short, I completely agree with Naomi that the beauty myth has served as a distraction for women to keep them from realizing their full potential. Make sure that your teenage daughter has a copy of this book! It will be the most rebellious and courageous thing she's ever done - to face up to the ugly realities that are stacked against her. To dare to be different than pop culture's dictates.

As for men, this book can illuminate to them how women think. If any man has ever wondered "what was she thinking?" or "why can't she be happy with her weight/hair/thighs, etc..." this book is for you. Especially if you find yourself unable to reach her and help her through her self-imposed exile and depression. While it's not a magic bullet to break through that prison, it helps if you speak the language.

Another strength of her book is the historical approach to attitudes of sexism. They are so deeply ingrained that many readers will be shocked to find out that these attitudes aren't "moral or "natural" but rather, are leftover wrong thinking from earlier days. For example, the idea that women must suffer simply for being female (ie: able to have babies) is an ancient poison. No doubt, we are seeing this play out as anti-choicers bomb clinics, take to the courts and other tools at their disposal to make sure that women go back to being unable to choose when they want to have a baby, because suffering is the female way. Which comes from their desire to punish women for enjoying sex, which is another ancient, ingrained attitude. When viewed in historical context, their attitudes don't seem so holy. (They never were) Merely unexamined prejudices. (Which unfortunately, affects people other than themselves.)

The only criticism of this book that I have is that I wish the book made more of an effort to distinguish between deliberate malice against women versus impersonal indifference. At times, this book makes it seem like every injustice against women is a result of conspiracy by the powers that be. But more likely, they are the result of indifference and unawareness. Sure, the end result is the same - women feeling down-trodden and sapped of all sense of power and agency, but it helps to clarify which problems can be solved with more awareness and education, and which problems can be better solved with passionate protests and political solutions that right these injustices.

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The third wave

Naomi Wolf does an expert job defining her point of view of what is going on during the third wave of feminism. This is a good book to contrast the other historical feminist periods. However, the reader needs to keep an open mind about her point of view.
Good reference book to own.

interesting and well researched

I'm not an expert in feminist literature and don't have any strong opinions on the subject. I found this to be a very interesting read, though quite a bit of it bordered on the unpleasant and the disturbing--rape, violence, surgical violation of the body. It also treads the line between the scholarly and the general interest book, although it's probably much closer to the latter. Very well written, it felt a bit tragic, poetic, philosophical, and almost Freudian in style. A general criticism: could it be that some women seek to beautify themselves, even in an extreme manner, somewhat independent of modern societal, or patriarchical, influences? An evolutionary biologist might argue that some if not most women might have an emphasis on beauty that is hardwired into their brains, and we are simply observing a manifestation of that inherent nature in the modern environment. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.

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