Becoming Women

"Becoming Women reveals and analyses crucial dimensions of women's experiences, with a depth that has not been attained before. A model for all in examining people's lives, it constitutes a serious advance in state-of-the-art research." -- Natalie Beausoleil, Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University "Well written and accessible, this is an interesting book that raises some important issues around women's embodiment." -- Sarah Grogan, Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University "Based on interviews with the first generation of women to have grown up in an image-saturated world replete with image technologies, Becoming Women offers the reader an extensive and engaging exploration of 'image culture'. The rich narrative about how women 'worry about their bodies' provides a good introduction to issues surrounding beauty culture and its impact on girls and women. -- Dawn Currie, Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia

BecomingWomen offers a thoughtful examination of the search for identity in an image-oriented world. That search is told through the experiences of a group of women who came of age in the wake of second and third wave feminism, featuring voices from marginalized and misrepresented groups.

In a culture where beauty is currency, women’s bodies are often perceived as measures of value and worth. The search for visibility and self-acceptance can be daunting, especially for those on the cultural margins of “beauty.”

BecomingWomen offers a thoughtful examination of the search for identity in an image-oriented world. That search is told through the experiences of a group of women who came of age in the wake of second and third wave feminism, featuring voices from marginalized and misrepresented groups.

Carla Rice pairs popular imagery with personal narratives to expose the “culture of contradiction” where increases in individual body acceptance have been matched by even more restrictive feminine image ideals and norms. With insider insights from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, Rice exposes the beauty industry’s colonization of women’s bodies, and examines why “the beauty myth” has yet to be resolved.