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Title: The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness by Kim Chernin ISBN: 0-06-092505-1 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 May, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Obsession: a feel-good feminist study
Comment: This thoughtful, powerful, and well-researched study of women`s preoccupation with food and weight is one of the best feminist reads ever. I began the book with expectations of simply enjoying a valid cultural history of food and eating. Soon, however, I could`nt put it down, as I recognized myself and many of my friends and relatives in Chernin`s case histories and literary examples. She captures perfectly the feelings of guilt and low self-esteem that ensue when you don`t stick to a society-prescribed diet, even though that diet may be harming you physically and emotionally. She mentions at length the uneasiness felt by women who are miraculously happy with their bodies, because a culture and media obsessed with willowy, thin figures subtly pressure them to feel uneasy. The structure of the book is set up as a neat balance between real-life studies of anorexia and other weight disorders juxtaposed with cultural and literary views on women and their appetites and figures. The section on Margaret Atwood`s novel "The Edible Woman" and its treatment of the anorexic personality is just one instance where Chernin`s insights amaze you. At the book`s fascinating conclusion, I felt like cheering. It makes one feel proud to be a woman, no matter what size you wear or which body part you dislike. I`m not going to say that it turned my entire self-image around, but it definitely helped set me on a path of self- discovery and liking my physical body beter. That`s why I hope today`s young women will find and read it, too. Oh, and the poem comparing designer jeans to girdles is priceless!
Rating: 5
Summary: A life-changing historical perspective of women's bodies
Comment: I read The Obsession back in 1980, when it first appeared. I was struggling with a severe eating disorder, and thought my problem had to do with will power and discipline. The Obsession was one of three books I read that year that literally turned my life around: the other two were Feeding the Hungry Heart, by Geneen Roth, and Fat is a Feminist Issue, by Susie Orbach. Each gave me a different, and crucial, perspective on my own struggles. Kim Chernin's book reminded me that the craze for skinniness is a very recent development in Western culture; that it has everything to do with the power dynamics of our society, and nothing to do with whether we're good or bad people based on our size; and that the most powerful female figures in history have been amply endowed, if not (by modern standards) downright fat. After reading this book, I felt like a warrior goddess for weeks. It helped me let go of a lot of self-hatred and confusion about my body. Kim Chernin is also an exquisite writer - there were passages that literally took my breath away. I give this book my highest recommendation for any woman struggling with her body image, or any reader wanting to understand women's minds at a deeper level.
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Title: The Hungry Self: Women, Eating, and Identity by Kim Chernin ISBN: 0060925043 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 May, 1994 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Am I Thin Enough Yet?: The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity by Sharlene Hesse-Biber ISBN: 0195117913 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Fat Is a Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach ISBN: 0883659875 Publisher: BBS Publishing Corporation Pub. Date: 01 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg ISBN: 0679735291 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf ISBN: 0060512180 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 24 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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