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Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image
Pick up a magazine, turn on the TV, and you'll find few women who haven't been fried, dyed, plucked, or tucked. In short, you'll see no body outlaws.
The writers in this groundbreaking anthology reveal a world where bodies come in all their many-splendored shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. In doing so, they expand the national dialogue on body image to include race, ethnicity, sexuality, and power—issues that, while often overlooked, are intimately linked to how women feel about their bodies. Body Outlaws offers stories by those who have chosen to ignore, subvert, or redefine the dominant beauty standard in order to feel at home in their bodies.
The writers in this groundbreaking anthology reveal a world where bodies come in all their many-splendored shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. In doing so, they expand the national dialogue on body image to include race, ethnicity, sexuality, and power—issues that, while often overlooked, are intimately linked to how women feel about their bodies. Body Outlaws offers stories by those who have chosen to ignore, subvert, or redefine the dominant beauty standard in order to feel at home in their bodies.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
14 people are currently reading
1176 people want to read
About the author
Ophira Edut
94 books41 followersOphira Edut and her twin sister Tali, known as the AstroTwins, are professional astrologers who reach millions worldwide every month. As the official astrologers for ELLE magazine and the matchmakers on Amazon Prime Video’s Cosmic Love they bring the stars down to earth with their empowering approach to horoscopes.
Bestselling authors, they’ve written a collection of books, including Love Zodiac and Momstrology (their #1 Amazon bestselling parenting guide) and their own brand imprint annual horoscope guides.
With a mission to “empower astrology lovers to create lives of passion and purpose using the stars as a guide,” the AstroTwins have created a suite of courses applying astrology to love, career and home design. Through their Astropreneurs offerings, they teach aspiring and current business owners how to tap into their unique astrological strengths to build careers they love.
Bestselling authors, they’ve written a collection of books, including Love Zodiac and Momstrology (their #1 Amazon bestselling parenting guide) and their own brand imprint annual horoscope guides.
With a mission to “empower astrology lovers to create lives of passion and purpose using the stars as a guide,” the AstroTwins have created a suite of courses applying astrology to love, career and home design. Through their Astropreneurs offerings, they teach aspiring and current business owners how to tap into their unique astrological strengths to build careers they love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 18, 2011
I was never so proud to be a woman than when I read this book. Some of the essays were much better written than others, but that didn't change how inspired I was after reading each individual experience.
No one other than Diana Courvant could have convinced me that stripping could actually be cathartic, only Jennifer Berger could have convinced me that skinny women have problems too. It was Regina Williams that really helped me by dispelling the myth of the BMI chart (hint: it was derived based on a sample of "rich white males" and so didn't include women at all, especially women of color.)
I realized the value of self love after reading this- that the standards of beauty are arbitrary and unattainable. I highly recommend this book to women everywhere who have ever, even for a second, felt uncomfortable in their own bodies.
No one other than Diana Courvant could have convinced me that stripping could actually be cathartic, only Jennifer Berger could have convinced me that skinny women have problems too. It was Regina Williams that really helped me by dispelling the myth of the BMI chart (hint: it was derived based on a sample of "rich white males" and so didn't include women at all, especially women of color.)
I realized the value of self love after reading this- that the standards of beauty are arbitrary and unattainable. I highly recommend this book to women everywhere who have ever, even for a second, felt uncomfortable in their own bodies.
June 12, 2008
Amy Herron gave me this book one year during the winter holidays. (She celebrates Hanukkah; I don't celebrate any of those winter holidays anymore, but I come from a Christmas background.)
Anyway, this book is all about young women loving their bodies, including fat, scars, hair, tattoos, piercings, etc. It is a rocking book and should be read by all women and men. Fuck those corporate beauty standards ladies and gentlemen.
Anyway, this book is all about young women loving their bodies, including fat, scars, hair, tattoos, piercings, etc. It is a rocking book and should be read by all women and men. Fuck those corporate beauty standards ladies and gentlemen.
January 8, 2015
Not terrible, but authors were more petty criminals than outlaws as the title would suggest. It would be nice to read something where people are unapologetic in their body acceptance, rather than people who are still struggling to find it, but there is value in reading the personal stories of those on the journey. Submissions from men that were included were highly problematic with respect to misogyny and unexamined privilege.
December 17, 2015
Body Outlaws is an anthology of essays from the late 90s and early 2000s. As such it is now heavily outdated. Although some of the essays still carry some weight - which in itself is a poor reflection on current society, for the most part it is no longer relevant. This is not to say that the experiences that each contributor shares is not relevant or valid - and if anything those experiences show us the progress society has made in understanding of eating disorders, the Fat acceptance movement, and Intersectional Feminism.
I also wonder about the editing process of some of the essays. Several are incoherent. A select few flounder. I am left wondering the point as the author was too swept up in their poetics or their analogy to offer ANYTHING that contributes to the greater argument. How exactly are they a body outlaw? In what way does this challenge or contribute to my understanding? What exactly am I meant to glean from this essay? When a standout essay was finally found, I felt a relief I shouldn't feel in an anthology of this size.
For the most part I felt like I was reading a large zine, though most essays in zines are better constructed and effortlessly make their point.
The book ends in curriculum ideas that need to be updated, and suggested reading lists and groups, something that impressed me as few books that tackle such issues do then offer places for help, acceptance, and ideas on where to find more information.
I also wonder about the editing process of some of the essays. Several are incoherent. A select few flounder. I am left wondering the point as the author was too swept up in their poetics or their analogy to offer ANYTHING that contributes to the greater argument. How exactly are they a body outlaw? In what way does this challenge or contribute to my understanding? What exactly am I meant to glean from this essay? When a standout essay was finally found, I felt a relief I shouldn't feel in an anthology of this size.
For the most part I felt like I was reading a large zine, though most essays in zines are better constructed and effortlessly make their point.
The book ends in curriculum ideas that need to be updated, and suggested reading lists and groups, something that impressed me as few books that tackle such issues do then offer places for help, acceptance, and ideas on where to find more information.
June 5, 2009
Definitely one of my more enjoyable feminist/body image reads. This is a collection of essays written by women of color, lesbians, strippers, and academics. To name a few. All of these are women resisting the societal expectations of the perfect woman. There were several essays that made me face my own unreasonable expectations, and recognize the limits I place on myself and others.
Like any book of essays from a variety of authors, some were stronger than others. And with any group of essays on such a personal topic there were certainly some that I couldn't relate to and others that hit me head on. But all of them were a pleasure to read, and challenged me without beating concepts like a dead horse.
Great book!
Like any book of essays from a variety of authors, some were stronger than others. And with any group of essays on such a personal topic there were certainly some that I couldn't relate to and others that hit me head on. But all of them were a pleasure to read, and challenged me without beating concepts like a dead horse.
Great book!
July 20, 2010
So this is an amazing book. I wish someone had given it to me as a teenager. It is a collection of non-fiction essays about women (and one man) and their choices, issues, and insecurities about their bodies. It is a totally uplifting and encouraging read that lets people know that they aren't alone in their struggle with how they feel about themselves. I loved this book and would recommend that well, every teenager and woman in America read it. It's really all about loving yourself. Many thumbs up!
May 1, 2010
An incredibly silly cover with a horrible shade of green, but, well, don't judge a book by it's cover. This book has some really great essays on everything from body image to ethnicity to sexuality. Reading this book, in all honesty, boosted my self-esteem. And a book that can do that deserves at least four stars.
August 9, 2020
A.k.a. Adios Barbie (1st edition, before Mattel threatened to sue, IIRC), Body Outlaws was one of my favorite nonfiction books in college during my adult-teenage years - when I was learning to love my body and figuring out my own identity in terms of gender expression, sexual orientation and sexuality in gender. It helped, and it was funny as hell at times.
August 16, 2018
While I enjoyed getting a primary account perspective on the late-90's/early 00's body positivity and health at every size movement, I found a great deal of the advice and wisdom offered in this collection to be incredibly troubling given a 2018 body positivity perspective. The obsession of many authors with a somewhat-disguised-but-still-a-diet diet as the answer to their disordered eating troubles screams improper and incomplete treatment. Additionally, one of the male authors included (Chris Godsey) spends the entirety of his 12 page article mansplaining his poor self-esteem and then semi-covertly insulting his wife. The first several articles I read made me hopeful, but the last third of the book generally took me much longer to get through because the authors included simply did not provide decent advice. I would love to see a similar collection filled with writings from contemporary Health At Every Size activists to see how it compares.
Overall: A pretty mixed bag of great, good, decent, bad, and horrible. I thought it was valuable for the perspective, but I won't feel the need to read most of the articles again.
Overall: A pretty mixed bag of great, good, decent, bad, and horrible. I thought it was valuable for the perspective, but I won't feel the need to read most of the articles again.
September 18, 2019
An interesting collection of articles which included both men and women's voices on the topic of body image. The collection included diverse authors speaking about all kinds of topics under the big umbrella of body image. I did not particularly identify with any of the articles which was a disappointment but I feel that I come away with a better understanding of the many different ways in which people struggle to feel comfortable in and at peace with their bodies.
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January 24, 2020I read Body Outlaws: Young Women Write About Body Image and Identity in order to gain a better understanding of how young women perceive body image. Some of the essays taught me a lot. Some were poorly written and overwrought. However, this book, and others like it are very important because there needs to be an ongoing dialogue about these issues. Overall, I think in terms of writing, this is a marginal collection of essays, but I am still very glad that I read it.
January 30, 2022
Uneven, outdated collection of essays. A few are moving and still hold up. Many circle round issues with no depth of insight or meaningful conclusion and/or are poorly written. Some have nothing to do with body image at all, and quite a few have internalized misogyny and fatphobia. Also a strikingly hideous cover. I know they had to change the original title and cover due to the lawsuit from Matel but wow. Many better collections exist out there that provoke more thought and introspection.
December 1, 2013
This is a collection of short stories about body image in our society. I read one of short stories called The Butt: Its Politics, Its Profanity, Its Power by Erin J. Aubry. The author had an interesting writing style that kept me engaged and entertained while I was reading. Aubry uses similes to describe her butt to the reader. It is important to teach students how to use figurative language to enhance their writings. Aubry also describes her butt as its own entity and uses personification to give her butt human characteristics. Aubry uses the craft of figurative languages, focusing on similes and personification, to make her writing more interesting, “I have a big butt. Not wide hips, not a preening, weight-lifting enhanced butt thrust up like a chin, not an occasionally saucy rear that throws coquettish glances at strangers when it’s in a good mood and withdrawals like a turtle when it’s not” (p. 22). This is a great example of how Aubry uses figurative language to make her description of her butt attention-grabbing for the reader. I could use this passage with my students, but the butt talk would probably make them giggle a lot! There are other great children’s books I could use to do a mini-lesson on similes and personification. I would break these up into two different lessons. I would read a book aloud that used a specific type of figurative language and then have the student practice writing using figurative language. It is important for students to be exposed to figurative language and for them to practice what they have learned on their own.
July 30, 2009
Think you're an outcast from society? This book is a series of essays from a vast array of women regarding body image and identity issues. They are transgendered and wheelchaired. They have big butts, big noses, and big mouths. Their skin is too light, too brown, or too pimply. They are inspirational writers, and people.
Nearly every essay had at least a few sentences that I thought were speaking directly to me.
Here's an excerpt from an essay about the author's lifelong hatred for Barbie dolls:
...I now clearly recognize what I only sensed as a child. This "pop artifact" is an icon of Aryanism. Introduced after the second world war, in the conservatism of the Eisenhower era (and rumored to be modeled after a German prostitute by a man who designed nuclear warheads), Barbies, in their "innocent," "apolitical" cutesiness, propagate the ideals of the Third Reich. They ultimately succeed where Hitler failed: they instill in legions of little girls a preference for whiteness, for blond hair, blue eyes and delicate features, for an impossible "überfigure, perched eternally and submissively in high heels. In the Cult of the Blond, Barbies are a cornerstone. They reach the young, and they reach them quickly...
Nearly every essay had at least a few sentences that I thought were speaking directly to me.
Here's an excerpt from an essay about the author's lifelong hatred for Barbie dolls:
...I now clearly recognize what I only sensed as a child. This "pop artifact" is an icon of Aryanism. Introduced after the second world war, in the conservatism of the Eisenhower era (and rumored to be modeled after a German prostitute by a man who designed nuclear warheads), Barbies, in their "innocent," "apolitical" cutesiness, propagate the ideals of the Third Reich. They ultimately succeed where Hitler failed: they instill in legions of little girls a preference for whiteness, for blond hair, blue eyes and delicate features, for an impossible "überfigure, perched eternally and submissively in high heels. In the Cult of the Blond, Barbies are a cornerstone. They reach the young, and they reach them quickly...
May 21, 2015
This is a collection of essays by all sorts of people--thick, thin, brown, pale, female by birth and male by birth. The male end of the spectrum is a little underrepresented, but I'm not sure if that's a problem, since the body image issues are overrepresented in the female end. Women just got more to complain about.
Not that complaints are the purpose of the collection--there are a few complaints here and there, but in general, that's not the point. The point is to tell about your body image problems honestly, with as much insight as you can muster, and if you happen to have found a way to deal with them that you want to share, let's hear it!
All that said, I must admit that a few of the essays don't seem to have anything to do with body image. There are essays about being fat, thin, and hairy, of course, but also essays about being bisexual. Is that really a "body" image problem? There's an essay about a person's reasons for not having premarital sex--where does that fit in?
But they're all short and mostly well-written. At least a few of them will make you nervous...am you one of the people who look and look away, sorting and discarding members of humanity on the basis of a shallow memory, an unadmitted prejudice, a shudder?
Great collection.
Not that complaints are the purpose of the collection--there are a few complaints here and there, but in general, that's not the point. The point is to tell about your body image problems honestly, with as much insight as you can muster, and if you happen to have found a way to deal with them that you want to share, let's hear it!
All that said, I must admit that a few of the essays don't seem to have anything to do with body image. There are essays about being fat, thin, and hairy, of course, but also essays about being bisexual. Is that really a "body" image problem? There's an essay about a person's reasons for not having premarital sex--where does that fit in?
But they're all short and mostly well-written. At least a few of them will make you nervous...am you one of the people who look and look away, sorting and discarding members of humanity on the basis of a shallow memory, an unadmitted prejudice, a shudder?
Great collection.
February 22, 2009
I typically don't like creative non-fiction (funny, because that's the only I write when I bother to write at all), but this volume of essays is wonderful. It has woman of various races and body types all railing against the standards of beauty imposed by media and society in this country. Surprisingly, not all of them are "I am woman, hear me roar." One of my favorite pieces is one in which a woman proposes several new types of Barbies-- including Bisexual Barbie, which would come packaged with both Skipper AND Ken. :)
June 27, 2009
I think I would have liked this collection better if more of the essays were a little more narrative and a bit less philosophical, for lack of a better term. The ones that stood out to me were the ones that described specific anecdotes, especially from childhood, and built their stories from there. Once they got into the "moral" of the essay, they tended to get a little tedious and repetitive. I know part of the point is the way very different body image issues can manifest in similar emotional responses, but it still got a little boring after awhile. Still, an interesting read overall.
July 21, 2008
A great introduction to feminism and the politics of the body. Some of the essays are standouts while others are mediocre, but the candid tone and the importance of the topics make the entire book worth reading. I would have enjoyed it more with more critical analysis of the topics covered and a little more theory, but that's just not the point of the book.
May 20, 2011
I am currently reading this book for my Body Politics class. It's an amazing collection of essays from women and (2) men about how they feel about their bodies. At this point I would highly recommend it, it has helped me a lot to think about my own body image and how far I have to go before I actually feel good about what I have.
July 27, 2011
Troubles with body image are not just about white women. It's not just about weight. It's about everything that pulls people down and makes them feel like less than worthy beings. It's about skin color, hair, ethnicity, (dis)ability, fashion, class. And yes, weight. Everyone should read this book just as everyone should love themselves for who they are, not what they're not.
May 29, 2013
Fantastic intersectional book with many perspectives and ideas about body image. You may not agree with every author, but you will probably find several who seem like they speak to your needs. A definite recommend for those who enjoy feminist work, or are just looking for something to help them along the path of body positivity!
March 1, 2014
An amazing book filled with many essays on body acceptance. This is a must read for anyone with body or self-esteem issues. I would love if this reading was mandatory for teenagers, it would have changed so much of how I handled myself and my body issues over the years if I had read is at 14 instead of 24.
September 29, 2015
Nice, refreshing stories in there....from the texts, this book implies that one doesn't have to have a body that Hollywood sells year after year to accept one self as a sexual being and a person worthy of love. Kudos to the people in here courageous enough to write about their experiences wrestling with body image issues.
February 12, 2010
I read this because of its mention in the book, The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things. After reading just a few selections, I loved it. I especially loved "Klaus Barbie, and Other Dolls I'd Like to See", by Susan Jane Gilman, author of the above Kiss My Tiara.
November 15, 2012
Pretty great collection of essays. Really gets you thinking about your views on your own bodies. Can get tedious after a while, and the essays may be a little too predictable, but still an interesting read.
December 4, 2009
I'm not that far into it yet, but it is fabulous already.
January 16, 2016
I read this book in my college womens study class. I love the way the women in the book talk about their bodies, very empowering.
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January 15, 2010essays,women's studies
August 9, 2010
There are some really excellent essays in this book, and there are some pretty mediocre ones, as well. The good ones make it worth it. I also appreciate just how many different voices appear here.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews