Full Description
Few books in this field focus solely on beauty ideals, and this volume is unique in terms of its scholarly, interdisciplinary approach. The eleven chapters offer readers a comprehensive analysis of beauty and patriarchy. They reflect a variety of approaches to the study of feminine beauty, including philosophical, historical, sociological, cross-cultural, and empirical. Feminine beauty is discussed as a means of patriarchal, social control, which shapes the socio-cultural, political context as well as the everyday lives of women.
Contents
Introduction by Karen A. Callaghan
Philosophy, Religion and Beauty
The Terrible Beauty and Her Reflective Force by Algis Mickunas
Body Images and the Politics of Beauty by Ben Lowe
The Sita Myth and Hindu Fundamentalism: Masculine Signs of Feminine Beauty by Usha Zacharias
Changing Perceptions of Feminine Beauty in Islamic Society by Amira Sonbol
Women, Beauty, and Self-Image/Control
Symbolic Violence and the Disembodiment of Beauty by John W. Murphy
Making Love Alone: Videocentrism and the Case of Modern Pornography by Eric Mark Kramer
The Anorexic as Overconformist: Toward a Reinterpretation of Eating Disorders by Debra Gimlin
Female Bodily Perception and the Divided Self by Catherine G. Valentine
The Frosting of the American Woman: Self-Esteem Construction and Social Control in the Hair Salon by J. Greg Getz and Hanne Klein
Young African American Women and the Language of Beauty by Maxine Leeds
Nothing to Lose: A Naturalistic Study of Size Acceptance in Fat Women by Cheri K. Erdman
Selected Bibliography
Index
