Beauty Secrets: Women and the Politics of Appearance

by Wendy Chapkis, Gon Buurman (Photographs)

Through a series of candid and often painful interviews with women, Wendy Chapkis examines the tyranny of 'proper' feminine appearance. She looks at the pernicious roles that stereotypes of women have played in the control of perceived beauty and shows how women are striking back and redefining their own 'beauty secrets.'

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Sociology, Gender, Gender and Sexuality

214 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1986

About the author

Dr. Chapkis is the author of many articles in the area of gender and sexuality including “Sex Workers” (in the anthology "New Sexuality Studies," Seidman, Fischer and Meeks, eds., Routledge 2007), "Soft Glove, Punishing Fist: the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000" (in the anthology "Regulating Sex," Bernstein and Schaffner eds, Routledge 2004), "Trafficking, Migration, and the Law: Protecting Innocents, Punishing Immigrants," (in the journal "Gender & Society," 2003), and "Power and Control in the Commercial Sex Trade," (in the anthology "Sex For Sale", Weitzer ed., Routledge 2000). She has also edited two anthologies ("Loaded Questions: women in the military," and "Of Common Cloth: women in the global textile industry," co-edited with Cynthia Enloe, both published in the 1980s by TNI/IPS) and has authored two books in the area of gender and sexuality ("Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor," Routledge 1997 and "Beauty Secrets: Women and the Politics of Appearance," South End Press 1986).

Research Interests
My current research is in the area of drug policy; in this field, I have published several articles including "Cannabis, Consciousness and Healing" (in the journal "Contemporary Justice Review," 2007), "Mother's Milk and the Muffin Man: grassroots innovations in medical marijuana delivery systems" (co-authored by Richard J. Webb and published in the journal of "Ethnicity in Substance Abuse,'" 2005) and “Patients, ‘Potheads,’ and Dying to Get High” (in the anthology "Production of Reality," Jodi O’Brien ed., Pine Forge Press 2006). I am also the co-author (with Richard J. Webb) of the book "Dying to Get High: marijuana as medicine" (New York University Press 2008).

Reviews

[Natasha Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ideas I’ve heard before put in a wildly original and extremely comforting way. Deeply intersectional for its time. Invigorating and affirming. Highly recommend.

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a great intersectional discussion of beauty standards that still applies today despite being written in the 80s

[Joanna Parungao]

thesis

[Farhana Karim · Rating 3 out of 5]

beauty, personality , characteristics , feminism , love!

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely of its time. What is most depressing is how, 30 years on, so many of the issues Chapkis raises still exist.