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The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women

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The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women

By: Naomi Wolf  

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Description:
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."



Description:
In a country where the average woman is 5-foot-4 and weighs 140 pounds, movies, advertisements, and MTV saturate our lives with unrealistic images of beauty. The tall, nearly emaciated mannequins that push the latest miracle cosmetic make even the most confident woman question her appearance. Feminist Naomi Wolf argues that women's insecurities are heightened by these images, then exploited by the diet, cosmetic, and plastic surgery industries. Every day new products are introduced to "correct" inherently female "flaws," drawing women into an obsessive and hopeless cycle built around the attempt to reach an impossible standard of beauty. Wolf rejects the standard and embraces the naturally distinct beauty of all women.

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Release Date: 2002-09-24

Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Out of Date - Do not get this book if you are a forward thinking woman. This book is old and does not apply to anything that is current. Save your money. My book club decided not to finish this book because we all felt the same way.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
angry author with some good points - bought for a composition class meant for discussion. author is very angry and while some points are good and true, some of is crap. excellent discussion material but not a book meant for general enjoyment

Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Poorly written, flawed arguments, very outdated. - I understand if this book was groundbreaking and controversial when it was first published in 1990, and I respect it for bringing these issues to a forefront and empowering women during a particularly tough time, but the book does not age well.

In general, Wolf's arguments and justifications are extremely flawed, and her deductions are illogical. From a modern feminist perspective, she makes statements and generalizations about men and women (even as she tries to debunk other generalizations and myths) that aren't exactly progressive or feminist.

This book does not hold up to the test of time, and even then it has serious flaws.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A definite must read. - I have long been a fan of Naomi Wolf. She's very intelligent and insightful and her works have proven that she is a great observer of women's issues, espcially in this book, The Beauty Myth. I think my mouth dropped to the floor a gazillion times when reading this. All the information is spot-on and all women should read this one. I can't recommend it enough. I also recommend Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
'Abridged' not indicated - The audio book was not correctly described as 'abridged'. If I had known I would not have purchased the audio cassettes. However, Naomi Wolf is dead on.

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