The Beauty Myth
Encyclopedia
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women is a nonfiction book by Naomi Wolf
, published in 1991 by William Morrow and Company. It was republished in 2002 by HarperPerennial with a new introduction by Wolf.
The basic premise of The Beauty Myth is that as women have gained increased social power and prominence, expected adherence to standards of physical beauty
has grown stronger for women.
determines the content of that construction with the goal of reproducing its own hegemony
. In her introduction, Wolf offered the following analysis:
Wolf also posited the idea of an "iron-maiden," an intrinsically unattainable standard of beauty that is then used to punish women physically and psychologically for their failure to achieve and conform to it. Wolf criticized the fashion
and beauty
industries as exploitative of women, but claimed the beauty myth extended into all areas of human functioning. Wolf wrote that women should have "the choice to do whatever we want with our faces and bodies without being punished by an ideology that is using attitudes, economic pressure, and even legal judgments regarding women's appearance to undermine us psychologically and politically". Wolf argued that women were under assault by the "beauty myth" in five areas: work
, religion
, sex
, violence
, and hunger
. Ultimately, Wolf argued for a relaxation of normative standards of beauty.
Germaine Greer
wrote that The Beauty Myth was "the most important feminist publication since The Female Eunuch
, and Gloria Steinem
wrote, "The Beauty Myth is a smart, angry, insightful book, and a clarion call to freedom. Every woman should read it." British novelist Fay Weldon
called the book "essential reading for the New Woman", and Betty Friedan
wrote in Allure magazine that "The Beauty Myth and the controversy it is eliciting could be a hopeful sign of a new surge of feminist consciousness."
With the publication of The Beauty Myth, Wolf became a leading spokesperson of what was later described as the third wave of the feminist movement
.
criticized Wolf for publishing the claim that 150,000 women were dying every year from anorexia
. Sommers claimed that the actual number is closer to 100, a figure which others, such as Jennifer Baumgardner
and Amy Richards, claimed to be much too low. In the same interview, Sommers stated that Wolf had retracted the figure. Jeanine Cogan, PhD, claims that the death totals may be underreported because death certificates don’t cite eating disorders per se as a cause of death.
Humanities scholar Camille Paglia
also criticized the book, arguing that Wolf's historical research and analysis was deeply flawed.
Naomi Wolf
Naomi Wolf is an American author and political consultant. With the publication of The Beauty Myth, she became a leading spokesperson of what was later described as the third wave of the feminist movement.-Biography:...
, published in 1991 by William Morrow and Company. It was republished in 2002 by HarperPerennial with a new introduction by Wolf.
The basic premise of The Beauty Myth is that as women have gained increased social power and prominence, expected adherence to standards of physical beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
has grown stronger for women.
Summary
In the book, Wolf argued that "beauty" as a normative value is entirely socially constructed, and that the patriarchyPatriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
determines the content of that construction with the goal of reproducing its own hegemony
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
. In her introduction, Wolf offered the following analysis:
Wolf also posited the idea of an "iron-maiden," an intrinsically unattainable standard of beauty that is then used to punish women physically and psychologically for their failure to achieve and conform to it. Wolf criticized the fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
industries as exploitative of women, but claimed the beauty myth extended into all areas of human functioning. Wolf wrote that women should have "the choice to do whatever we want with our faces and bodies without being punished by an ideology that is using attitudes, economic pressure, and even legal judgments regarding women's appearance to undermine us psychologically and politically". Wolf argued that women were under assault by the "beauty myth" in five areas: work
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, and hunger
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
. Ultimately, Wolf argued for a relaxation of normative standards of beauty.
Impact
Wolf's book was a quick bestseller, garnering intensely polarized responses from the public and mainstream media, but winning praise from many feminists. Second-wave feministSecond-wave feminism
The Feminist Movement, or the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the early 1990s....
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
wrote that The Beauty Myth was "the most important feminist publication since The Female Eunuch
The Female Eunuch
The Female Eunuch is a book first published in 1970 that became an international bestseller and an important text in the feminist movement. The author, Germaine Greer, became well known in broadcast media of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and her home of Australia...
, and Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
wrote, "The Beauty Myth is a smart, angry, insightful book, and a clarion call to freedom. Every woman should read it." British novelist Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
called the book "essential reading for the New Woman", and Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was an American writer, activist, and feminist.A leading figure in the Women's Movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the "second wave" of American feminism in the twentieth century...
wrote in Allure magazine that "The Beauty Myth and the controversy it is eliciting could be a hopeful sign of a new surge of feminist consciousness."
With the publication of The Beauty Myth, Wolf became a leading spokesperson of what was later described as the third wave of the feminist movement
Third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study whose exact boundaries in the historiography of feminism are a subject of debate, but often marked as beginning in the 1980s and continuing to the present...
.
Criticism
Christina Hoff SommersChristina Hoff Sommers
Christina Hoff Sommers is an American author and former philosophy professor who is known for her critique of late 20th century feminism, and her writings about feminism in contemporary American culture...
criticized Wolf for publishing the claim that 150,000 women were dying every year from anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
. Sommers claimed that the actual number is closer to 100, a figure which others, such as Jennifer Baumgardner
Jennifer Baumgardner
Jennifer Baumgardner is an author, filmmaker, and third-wave feminist activist.-Early and personal life:Baumgardner grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and attended Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, graduating in 1992...
and Amy Richards, claimed to be much too low. In the same interview, Sommers stated that Wolf had retracted the figure. Jeanine Cogan, PhD, claims that the death totals may be underreported because death certificates don’t cite eating disorders per se as a cause of death.
Humanities scholar Camille Paglia
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia , is an American author, teacher, and social critic. Paglia, a self-described dissident feminist, has been a Professor at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 1984...
also criticized the book, arguing that Wolf's historical research and analysis was deeply flawed.