The Beauty Myth

The bestselling feminist classic that redefined our view of 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 grapples with her body image and tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of "the flawless beauty."

In this landmark work of cultural criticism, Wolf exposes the myth's foundations:

• A Backlash Against Feminism: Wolf argues that as women gained more power, the beauty myth intensified to undermine their progress, creating a new form of social control.
• The Illusions of Mass Media: An incisive look at how magazines, advertising, and popular culture create and enforce an impossible standard of physical perfection.
• Work, Money, and Power: Discover the connection between professional beauty standards and economic discrimination, revealing how appearance is used as a weapon against women's advancement.
• Hunger and Violence: A groundbreaking examination of the political roots of eating disorders and the rise of cosmetic surgery as tools of social coercion.