An interesting history of the evolving relationship between American girls and their bodies that left me wanting more in the way of conclusions or recommendations. While populated with fascinating tidbits, I also found the writing a bit redundant here and there. ( )

An utterly fascinating look at body image and cultural beliefs through history. Even though girls have worried about different things at different times, the fact that we all feel inadequate or awkward at times because we don't fit the cultural norm remains the same. If only young girls today could learn to be at peace with themselves. ( )

I had not expected to enjoy this book, since others of a similar nature that I have read recently have disappointed for the most part…but, enjoy it I did. It was well written and easy to understand…with notes even. I was fascinated on the evolution of body image and cultural expectations of women from the Victorian era to the present day…very interesting. I think the “trouble” with sexuality, body image, and the like is not going to go away until “we”, as women, accept and embrace who we are and how we look…fat, skinny, small breasts or large…and acknowledge that whatever it is we feel we are lacking, the girl that has it is probably just as angst ridden at what she feels she hasn’t got…the trouble is teaching that to young girls…I know it has been a hard road to my own acceptance of my body. It was a good read! I give it a solid A. ( )

I'd read most of this book in segments in various course packets while earning my Gender Studies degree, but wanted to have a proper go at it. It's an excellent work that looks at the ways in which American adolescent women's attitudes toward menarche, clothing, fitness, virginity, and personal appearance have changed from the 18th century to the present. Brumberg's analysis is carefully considered and lucidly presented, and she deftly avoids slipping into shrill alarmism. "The Body Project" imparts a sense of the dangerous ways in which women have been encouraged to focus on the outer, encouraged all the while by businesses that see the potential for big earnings in adolescent insecurity. It's an accessable and entertaining volume whose enjoyment potential reaches far beyond the women's studies cachet. (Brumberg's bemusing insistance that body piercings and tattoos are signs of sexual deviance are the only reason I've failed to award it five stars.) ( )

A very interesting book in which the author discusses the adolescent female body and the changing expectations of our culture on that body over the last 100 years. She specifically focuses on menstruation, skin, dress, and sex. It is apparent that there have been problems at each stage in history. The present problem is of girls maturing earlier than they are emotionally ready to handle. She provides a solution to this problem, but it would require a huge change in thinking on the part of most parents. ( )