a pair of legs, a beautifully made up eye or mouth. Our culture judges women, and women judge themselves, against this standard. It is forgotten that “beauty pornography”, as Wolf says, focuses on underweight models that are usually 15 to 20 years old. Flaws, wrinkles and other problems are airbrushed out of the picture. Wolf discusses the effect that these standards are having on women in the workplace. A woman’s beauty, or lack of it, can be used against her. In 1986, Mechelle Vinson lost a sexual harassment case. “Vinson was young and ‘beautiful’ and carefully dressed. The district court ruled that her appearance counted against her.” (Wolf 38) “In Hopkins v. Price-Waterhouse, Ms. Hopkins was denied a partnership because she needed to learn to ‘walk more femininely, talk more femininely, dress more femininely,’ and ‘wear makeup’.” She brought in more business than any other employee. (Wolf 39)I believe that this book has value and people from all walks of life should read it. We all need to become much more aware of how strong and how damaging this kind of media influence is. Women and men need to realize that there are companies in our culture that thrive on making us feel bad about ourselves, such as cosmetic companies, health clubs, clothing designers; anyone that is trying to change us. The book was well written and extremely interesting. The reviews on the back cover say it all; that this book is “essential reading.” I will recommend it to all of my friends. Hopefully those who are very self-doubting and considering cosmetic surgery will realize they are trying to fit into an abnormal standard of beauty. ...
