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Paperback
Publisher: University of California Press
Leslie Heywood
In this Tenth Anniversary Edition, Susan Bordo examines how women's fantasies of transcending their material existence have led to narcissistic efforts to reinvent themselves. Infatuated with youth, surrounded by homogenous representations of beauty, they surrender themselves to plastic surgeons in ever greater numbers for larger breasts, smaller noses, collagen-plumped lips and wrinkle-free faces. The author's preface brings the book up to date in 2004 and Leslie Heywood's foreword places Susan Bordo's work in the front ranks of the research on women and their bodies.
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| I feels as though apathy is setting in. (oxymoron?) |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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I would say that this book is written from an academic perspective. I could see it being read in an Intro. to Femnist Theory course. That being said I did like this book. It could have been wordy, but it wasn't. I can't say that it wasn't readble. This book was good but I didn't love it. Unbearable Weight did not touch me the same way that some other feminist volumes have. I didn't have the same kind of visceral, electric reaction to it that I've had from other books. That was dissapointing. It was a little bit dry and for some reason felt a little outdated. This review is being written by a high school senior. I am not hoplessly hip or anything but this book just didn't have it's finger on the pulse of the younger feminist community. Not bad but certainly not great.
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| insightful critique of patriarchy/modern culture/postmodernism |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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my favorite aspect of this collection of essays were the ones critiquing the excesses of postmodernism since they encourage a feminism grounded in reality. for instance, she critiques a music video produced by madonna in which she is the object of the voyeur. a postmodernist reviewer admired the film for playing with the boundaries of gender (due to a throwaway moment at the end of the video), but seriously, what is the reaction of normal viewers to the video? it just promotes the objectification of women. bordo acknowledges that race, class, and sexual orientation make it impossible to envision a quintessential female subject, but that power structures in society still impose similar demands of most women and postmodern critiques detract attention from reconstructing the power structures. her essays insightfully critique the media for producing images which encourage the repression of women (for example, images of slenderness, which values a "masculine" domination of the inner will). as a psychology student with faith in the ability of the clinical field to cure, her discussion of anorexia and bulimia as a culturally-driven phenomenon overcame my tendency to classify them as "psychological" problems.
as for her writing style, bordo is straightforward and persuasive. she presents examples to support each of her arguments, and she displays the power of philosophy to address societal concerns instead of being a field ultimately detached from the concerns of the modern subject. i would enthusiastically recommend this collection of essays to everyone.
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| This book was earthshattering! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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The first time I read Ms. Bordo's book, I was so into it that I didn't get enough sleep that night. This book tells us the brainwashing media and society use to control women as well as to maintain the power elite. If the elite, media or otherwise, didn't use impossibly thin, beautiful, made up blonde women to keep them divided and in control, the whole structure would have collapsed long time ago.
Thanks Ms. Bordo for informing me about this, for I've been in darkness for many years.
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| Convincing |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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The one thing you want to keep in mind when purchasing this book: it's not a light read and it ain't supposed to be. If three syllable words throw you for a loop, stay away. If you feel every fat acceptance book you've read recently has insulted the depth of your intelligence, then read up! At the very least, you can't walk away from this book failing to be convinced that the world at large is at war with our bodies.
Warning: not a feel-good book! You'll be angry and start snapping at your husband, but righteous fury is where change begins.
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| Brilliant, relevant, a must-read for feminists |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Although a challenging read for me at times, this book was full of "aha!" moments. I think Bordo nails it when it comes to how the issues women's size and appearance are portrayed in the media. I recommend this book highly to other feminists and those interested in media literacy.
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