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The Beauty Myth, published in 1991, is a book by Naomi Wolf. It examines beauty as a demand and as a judgement upon women. Subtitled How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women, Wolf examines how modern conceptions of women's beauty impact the spheres of employment, culture, religion, sexuality, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgery.

Wolf believes that women in Western culture are damaged by the pressure to conform to an idealized concept of female beauty—the Iron Maiden. She argues that the beauty myth is political, a way of maintaining the patriarchal system. It allows women to enter the labour force, but under controlled conditions. The beauty myth replaced the feminine mystique, which relegated women to the position of housewife, as the social guard over women. Public interest in a woman's virginity has been replaced by public interest in the shape of her body.

It was republished in 2002 with a new introduction by Wolf.

[edit] References

• Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. William Morrow & Co. 1991. ISBN 0-688-08510-5

[edit] External links

• "Critical Thinkers" Naomi Wolf resources