'Whenever we dismiss or do not hear a woman on televisison or in print because our attention has been drawn to her size or makeup or clothing or hairstyle, the beauty myth is working with optimum efficiency.' Let me allow Wolf's words to speak for herself: I can appreciate what it meant to the feminist movement, while also A) not liking it and B) specifying how and why.įirst off, the good. Nowadays, practically every feminist work talks about how women are forced to adhere to a certain beauty stereotype - hence how I discovered this book in the first place!īut just because a book is a 'classic', doesn't mean it's above criticism. I'll bet back in the early 90's, there wasn't as much information about the push for women to be beautiful over their rights. That is not to say this book has no good points or wasn't influential at the time. Every current feminist work brings it up therefore, it must be amazing right? Up there with Friedmam's 'The Feminine Mystique' and Gloria Steinem? (OK, so I haven't read either, but I DO plan on rectifying that at one point!) So when a friend of mine recommended we buddy read this, I figured, 'Why not!'īut - and you knew this was coming - I had a great many problems with this book, from writing style to over-generalizations to some of the messages to how dated it seems now. How many women are in a Catch-22 at work - you must be pretty and feminine, but not TOO pretty and feminine, else it's your fault for sexual harassment! At a time when many are saying there is no need for feminism, Wolf shows that sexism is still alive and well and how trying to adhere to the Perfect Woman is holding women back.Īs I dig more and more into feminism, particularly the portion where women take great pains to look the part that society tells them (sexual, but not TOO sexual, smart but not TOO smart), I kept seeing this book.

How many women rush to pursue the next makeup line instead of equal pay for equal work. A seminal feminist work, 'The Beauty Myth' digs into the ways that the pursuit of beauty has hampered feminism.

The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf