About the Book

Today's young women face a bewildering set of contradictions when it comes to beauty. They don't want to be Barbie dolls, but still feel they must look like Barbie dolls. They're angry about how women are treated by the media, but they readily consume the same media that belittles them. They mock our culture's absurd beauty ideal. They make videos exposing Photoshop tricks. But they can't help wanting to emulate the same images they criticize. They know what they see isn't real, but they still long for it. They know better, but knowing better is not enough-they still download apps on their phones to airbrush their selfies.

But, those same young women are all in when it comes to issues they care about. They are itching for a fight. They are ready to drop their mirrors and create a different world for girls and women. Beauty Sick is the book that will help them do so. It will review evidence for the myriad consequences of appearance monitoring, including depression, eating disorders, disruptions in cognitive processing, and lost money and time; and it will provide solutions, because once we have a better understanding of how words, especially fat talk and appearance commentary, affect ourselves and other women, change is in reach.

Critical Praise

“Girls learn that how they look is more important than who they are—the essential symptom of beauty sickness.’ But Engeln doesn’t stop at diagnosis: she offers the possibility of a cure.” — Peggy Orenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Girls & Sex

“Her solid ideas...will help women think positively about themselves regardless of body shape. Thorough research and helpful personal stories effectively relay the dilemma that nearly all women face on a daily basis.” — Kirkus Reviews

“[Beauty Sick] will blow the top off the body image movement…provocative and necessary.” — Rebellious Magazine

“Renee Engeln...argues that our obsession with women’s looks amounts to a society-wide psychological illness...The book indicts social and news media in helping to create beauty sickness by drawing on research and interviews with real-world girls and women.” — Pacific Standard

“[P]rofessor Engeln’s sharp examination of beauty sickness reveals its disturbing impact on women of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds...Engeln’s writing is engaging and conversational...Engeln’s book is thought provoking and will be fascinating for all readers, especially those interested in psychology, cultural studies, media, or gender studies.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Engeln’s new book, Beauty Sick: How the Cultural Obsession With Appearance Hurts Girls and Women (Harper), explores the ways we remind women—young and old—that the most important thing they can be is beautiful.” — Chicago Tribune

“Inspiring.” — PureWow

“Info-packed...highly readable...” — Elle

“Beauty Sick is the title of Engeln’s new book, which has more than 350 pages of exhaustive research, interviews, and analysis into the set of contradictions that inform the reality of millions of women’s lives.” — The Times (London)

Product Details

• ISBN: 9780062469786
• ISBN 10: 0062469789
• Imprint: Harper Paperbacks
• On Sale: 04/17/2018
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.900 in (d)
• Pages: 400
• List Price: $18.99
• BISAC1 : PSYCHOLOGY / Mental Health
• BISAC2 : SELF-HELP / Eating Disorders & Body Image
• BISAC3 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies