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Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers
"You’d think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish I’d had as a teen and in college—an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how women’s bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just lik
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(showing 1-30)
Yeah, its 'graphic' but I hope that's not the only thing people take from this book. When I shared it with some people the reactions went from revulsion, to refusal to look at it. These reactions, as well as some of the reviews written right here on Goodreads, prove the necessity of the book!
Why should girls be ashamed to be naked? Plus, just because some teenage(or otherwise) boy is bound to pick it up and use it for his 'purposes' doesn't mean the book shouldn't exist! I don't think this argu ...more
Why should girls be ashamed to be naked? Plus, just because some teenage(or otherwise) boy is bound to pick it up and use it for his 'purposes' doesn't mean the book shouldn't exist! I don't think this argu ...more
I loved Our Bodies, Ourselves when my mother bought it for me in the early '70s. So I bought an updated edition for my own daughter a year or two ago. I don't think she's opened it, not even once.
Here comes Body Drama by Nancy Redd, which is SO different. It's all about the body, designed (and illustrated) to show that all bodies are different and normal. Pictures galore. I told my daughter she would get the book after mom read it first. This mom has learned a few things she didn't know. Highly ...more
Here comes Body Drama by Nancy Redd, which is SO different. It's all about the body, designed (and illustrated) to show that all bodies are different and normal. Pictures galore. I told my daughter she would get the book after mom read it first. This mom has learned a few things she didn't know. Highly ...more
I. Love. This. Book. Nancy Redd has written a book with "Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues & Real Answers" as it says on the front cover. The book is divided into five sections: shape, skin, down there, boobs, hair and nails. Each chapter covers several different "dramas" such as "My face is a zit factory" or "It's bumpy or lumpy down there."
Aside from very informative text, there are also photos. Many photos of actual women. In the back there is a two-page layout of front and back naked ...more
Aside from very informative text, there are also photos. Many photos of actual women. In the back there is a two-page layout of front and back naked ...more
I saw this book, and I must admit, the title and cover pictures intrigued me. This book had good advice in it, from the practical to the mundane and even a couple hints I didn't know. Nancy offers suggestions and tells you some of her humorous stories about growing up.
Overall I thought this was a really good book, if you are confused about certain parts of your body and want to know what "normal" is then you should definitely read this book. Nancy points out health pitfalls you can avoid throu ...more
Overall I thought this was a really good book, if you are confused about certain parts of your body and want to know what "normal" is then you should definitely read this book. Nancy points out health pitfalls you can avoid throu ...more
Amazing. Wish I had this going through puberty, but there's enough in here to last a lifetime, no matter the age.
The author is a Harvard grad with a mission to unveil the not so lady-like things that can go on/with/in a woman's bod. She is hilarious, and made me feel 100% better about my woo-hoo.
I will probably send this book to at least 3 of my friends.
I highly recommend this book for women of all ages.
The author is a Harvard grad with a mission to unveil the not so lady-like things that can go on/with/in a woman's bod. She is hilarious, and made me feel 100% better about my woo-hoo.
I will probably send this book to at least 3 of my friends.
I highly recommend this book for women of all ages.
I haven't actually read every single word in this book. But I spent about an hour a B&N paging through. This is the coolest book, and I wish I'd had this when I was younger. If you have a daughter, get her this book.
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
Since I started this job of reviewing about a year and a half ago, I've had the privilege of reading a number of self-help type books geared towards girls and women and their bodies. I have to admit that none have been as comprehensive, helpful, and realistic as BODY DRAMA. This is a book that leaves nothing to the imagination, states complete truths instead of half-truths and myths, and answers the types of questions that many females, regardless of age, are s ...more
Since I started this job of reviewing about a year and a half ago, I've had the privilege of reading a number of self-help type books geared towards girls and women and their bodies. I have to admit that none have been as comprehensive, helpful, and realistic as BODY DRAMA. This is a book that leaves nothing to the imagination, states complete truths instead of half-truths and myths, and answers the types of questions that many females, regardless of age, are s ...more
This is one of the best, most accessible, most interesting books on body stuff for young women that I’ve read. Be prepared for graphic photos of *real* bodies – skin, pimples, hair, lice, stretch marks, breasts, buttocks, vulvas, and more (is there more?) – this book has it all. Nancy Redd explains that she wrote this book to help reassure girls that what they’ve got going on with their bodies is normal (in most cases) and the pictures are there not to titillate, but to show them what real women
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This book is being heralded by print press as being an amazing "hand-book" for teenage girls confused and embarrassed by their bodies. It's supposed to upfront, hip and friendly to teen-angst. I had to pick it up and see if the Ivy League schooled author was on to something worth all the accolades. I'm still on the fence about it. Once I process, I'll get back to you. But, I do have to say that the book is highly informative and dispels a lot of misinformation that teens seem to thread through t
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A much-needed companion book to "Our Bodies Our Selves." Wish I had this as a teen.
Non-Fiction. A guide to some of the weird shit that happens to female bodies, with an emphasis on health and knowing what's normal/average and what's cause for concern. This is geared towards teens and is written in that Seventeen style where it's obvious that no one near the age of seventeen was involved in the process, but it's not overly condescending and I found it pretty readable. Nancy Amanda Redd, Harvard graduate and former Miss Virginia, is open and friendly and makes the information ac
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The best part of reading this book was realizing I'm too old for it, and that being this age has a clear upside. But if I had a teenage daughter, I would get Body Drama for her. I think, depending on the maturity of the girl, this could work for anyone from junior high to college.
If I have one quibble it's with the section on birth control. I wish she had given more attention to fertility, in general, and how it works. At some point, her readers might like to reverse engineer the process and hav ...more
If I have one quibble it's with the section on birth control. I wish she had given more attention to fertility, in general, and how it works. At some point, her readers might like to reverse engineer the process and hav ...more
A self-help book of sexuality for teens, featured last year on the Oprah show, Body Drama was written to address a teen’s inferiority complex engendered by airbrushed images found in the media. The introduction, “No Body’s Perfect” sets the theme and states, “I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been curious to know what other women’s bodies really look like underneath their clothes. Not sexually, but in a ‘is my body as hideously deformed as I think it is?’ kind of way” and lays out “the ABC
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Product Description
“You’d think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish I’d had as a teen and in college— an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how women’s bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just like you and me (no airbrushing, no supermodels, no kidding) you’ll find medical pictures of things you need ...more
“You’d think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish I’d had as a teen and in college— an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how women’s bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just like you and me (no airbrushing, no supermodels, no kidding) you’ll find medical pictures of things you need ...more
I actually got this book for my office [I'm an OB/GYN]. My plan is to use for some of the patients that come in with complaints about things that are actually normal. It has a lot of good info in it and a lot of great photos - actual photos of different variations of normal in terms of anatomy as well as stds and other problems. I think it would be really good for girls before puberty to know what to expect. As well as for any woman with a concern about her body. The book is very easy to read an
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This isn't something I meant to read cover to cover--I meant to skim it, to see if it was something we should shelve in the Teen area or Adult. Ultimately, I'm coming down on the side of Teen, despite the many photographs, and we'll see how it goes from there.
This really is a fantastic book when it comes to teen girls' questions about their bodies--am I too big/small/lopsided, I'm Completely Abnormal, etc. In a conversational tone, it's very reassuring about the different kinds of normal (and th ...more
This really is a fantastic book when it comes to teen girls' questions about their bodies--am I too big/small/lopsided, I'm Completely Abnormal, etc. In a conversational tone, it's very reassuring about the different kinds of normal (and th ...more
There wasn't any new information for me in this book, but I really admire what it set out to do. There are questions that young women have about their bodies that are taboo to ask- too gross, too personal, or just too much information. So we don't realize that there are others with the same issues and dealing with them in different ways. So I thought it was great- she wrote the book honestly and I really appreciated the use of "real" women in the photos.
I was surprised to see the two pages of f ...more
I was surprised to see the two pages of f ...more
In a straightforward, conversational tone Nancy Amanda Redd presents physician-backed information about girls' bodies. Photos of real girls accompany the text and show that many, many different body types are perfectly normal and beautiful. Ms. Redd also points out which differences are normal and which merit a call to your doctor. Be warned: girls bare it all in this book, which may make some parents uncomfortable, but I think the photos are invaluable. This should be required reading for all y
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Jun 01, 2008
Laurie
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
middle school and high school girls and their mothers
I really think this book would be good to lead discussion with a group of girls, like some sort of after-school program through a YMCA or community center. The book addresses questions and concerns (and air-brushing) that girls have about their bodies but might be too afraid to talk or ask about. I think mothers should go through this book with their daughters because it could be a great segue into deeper discussions. I applaud Nandy Redd for putting this book out there and not being afraid to t
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This book rocks! I wish I had had it when I was 11-15 somewhere in there. It's all about girls' bodies and all the cool and weird things that goes on in them, on them and around them. But more importantly, it shows girls' bodies of all colors, shapes and sizes - this is something young girls (or older women for that matter!) never see in the media and you grow up, easily thinking there's something wrong with your body because you've never seen it represented anywhere. I'm buying it for my 13 yea
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i wish this book had been out when i was in high school. nancy redd, a harvard grad who also did pageants, writes frankly and helpfully about the female bod and all the bizarre things it can do in the teen years. there are fun tidbits too, like silly facts and lists of all the different words that mean "vagina." AND there are pictures. real, untouched pictures of everything from third nipples to pubic lice to cellulite. ("baby, come here!" i yelled to my husband while he was cooking dinner. "thi
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I like this book and I think it's really valuable. I don't know that teens who are too timid to talk about such matters are likely to pick up this title though. I also didn't like the emphasis on BMI as a way to gauge healthy weight because, frankly, BMI is bogus. According to BMI some famous basketball players are obese. It took years to convince myself that the BMI was wrong and I was not obese so it's hard to get behind a book where that's the go-to weight guide. Would probably like this book
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This is young adult, but not too young. The information is fabulous and does a wonderful job of helping to explain things that young girls may be too embarrassed to ask about. There are pictures of all kinds of body parts and they are photographs of real people so it isn't a book you would leave laying around for your pre-school or elementary school age children to thumb through. Great for teens that are trying to figure out what is going on with their body. I wish there had been a book like thi
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This one really is one of my favourites - It's perfect for all those who have or are teenage daughters or feeling insecure about their own bodies at times.
BODY DRAMA by Nancy Amanda Redd is really awesome!
From "Is my bottom to big?" over "eek! - one of my breasts is bigger than the other!!" to "Is it okay how my pussy looks?" - it's all in there! The message: It's quite ok - every body is wonderful - no matter which size!
I ♥ it!! Every single woman in this world who now or then is not too sure ...more
BODY DRAMA by Nancy Amanda Redd is really awesome!
From "Is my bottom to big?" over "eek! - one of my breasts is bigger than the other!!" to "Is it okay how my pussy looks?" - it's all in there! The message: It's quite ok - every body is wonderful - no matter which size!
I ♥ it!! Every single woman in this world who now or then is not too sure ...more
Thumbed through this last night. It made YALSA's Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Top 10 List last year and with good reason. It's filled with lots of good information girls might want to know about their bodies but are too afraid to ask. The information is accessible, well-researched, and is separated into chapters about skin, hair, breasts, and "down there". Nancy Amanda Redd is also very candid about her own experiences as a teen. I think every girl could benefit from having a copy of this b
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"I loved this book. As a mom, I will be sharing this with my daughter and I know it will provide some answers to questions she has! I also like the fact that it will help open lines of communication about things that maybe can be a little nerve0wrac...more I loved this book. As a mom, I will be sharing this with my daughter and I know it will provide some answers to questions she has! I also like the fact that it will help open lines of communication about things that maybe can be a little nerv
...more
This book was so cool and it helped me feel so much better about myself. All of us girls know that we are self concious about something or another, but this book shows you how everyone looks so different so there is no right or wrong way to look. It shows how easily the media edits pictures and how they really are. It also talks about funny smells you may have and how to smell better down to good shaving techniques. It isa great book for any girl to read, you'll be surprised at it and feel much
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I read this for a book club that I'm in. We read books about Girls going through adolesants..At first I thought this way graphic, but growing up, as a teenage girl I find it relieving because it gives you all the answers to your most private questions..Every mom should give this to their daughter when she reaches her peek of becoming a teenager. I wish I had it at that age..
My daughter is a bit young right now to read this, when she does reaches that age, I know I'll give it to her..
My daughter is a bit young right now to read this, when she does reaches that age, I know I'll give it to her..
I purchased this after seeing the author on a morning TV program. She insisted that every women of every age could benefit from this book. She was wrong. I'm in my late 20's (for now!) and this book told me nothing I did not already know. However, I think this would be beneficial for pre-teens or younger teenagers who may have questions about their bodies.
But, be aware that there ARE graphic photos in this book of female bodies. I was shocked when I came to the pages 117-122.
But, be aware that there ARE graphic photos in this book of female bodies. I was shocked when I came to the pages 117-122.
Great reference book for teens about the good, bad, and ugly (and beautiful!) of their bodies. Best in small doses as not to create a freak out about all the things that could go wrong. Nice to see so many unairbrushed bodies looking happy, however it would be nice to see someone with small breasts and a big butt. Not everyone gains weight in their boobs! But other than that, very informative and down-to-earth.
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