Am I Thin Enough Yet?

Am I Thin Enough Yet?:The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity, Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Oxford University Press, 1996

This book is about the lengths to which many young women, from all parts of society, will go in an effort to be thin. Everyday, women are given the message that the shape of their bodies is more important than the person inside, and that their only worth as a person is their ability to catch a man.

Skipping the usual psychological explanations for eating disorders, the author points the finger directly at the social, cultural and political forces profiting from women's disastisfaction with their bodies. It ranges from the assertion that the more time women spend worrying about their looks, the less time they'll spend on political activism or getting involved in their child's education to women's magazines full of models that resemble famine victims. Check out the infomercials on weekend cable TV; the vast majority advertise diet plans or exercise machines.

This is a powerful, first-rate piece of writing. It's very readable, and includes a section on what women can do to get away from the Cult of Thinness.