"The Beauty Myth"

Article Review # 117432

Women Studies > Feminism
Women Studies > Women and Society

A review of Naomi Wolf's article "The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women".

993 words () | 0 sources | 2009 | United States

Published on: Dec 02, 2009

Paper Summary:

The paper explains Naomi Wolf's belief, as expressed in her article "The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women", that the beauty myth is about men's institutional power, where men want to psychologically weaken Western women now that they are materially stronger. The paper reviews Wolf's arguments about the way female beauty plays an enormous role in the acknowledgment of equality in women. The paper agrees with many of Wolf's assertions, but points out several limitations in her arguments.

From the Paper:

"The article, "The Beauty Myth", by Naomi Wolf, examines the underlying reasons of why feminism seems to fail time and time again. As women begin to gain more privileges and freedom their confidence is slowly stripped from them. Over the years, women have gained more money, power, and recognition but have physically downsized themselves to the point where appearance becomes poison to potentially successful women. Obsession about beauty has caused women to submit to the control of men. Wolf states, "Female beauty is a political weapon against women's advancement". Beauty has become exceedingly subjective to the determination of the social and political standing. According to Wolf, the beauty myth is not about women at all but more about men and their institutional power. Since Western women can be weakened psychologically now that they are stronger materially, the prosperity and survivability of women is left in the hands of sexual selection."