What’s on the Reading List

As a college instructor, summer is the most wonderful time of year.  And NOT because I am not teaching college classes in the summer.  That’s not it at all as I miss my college students during the summer tremendously. Summer is the most glorious time of year because I get to dream.  I get to sit for a bit and observe and read and craft the classes that I will teach this fall and I love that part of the creative process in teaching.  I’ve been immersed in all things teaching of late so that I can get my book requests in to the bookstore and my reserve requests in the library and then actually start creating the 90 lesson plans I’ll need to teach this fall (I’m going from teaching 15 classes a semester to 90 this fall (by this I mean actual classes and not courses)).  That will take some significant adjustments on all fronts, and I’ve decided that the smartest thing I can do is knock out the bulk of that work this summer so that I am just keeping the trains running this fall as opposed to building the track. 

Anyway, whenever I talk about the classes I teach, people are really interested in the topics we discuss.  Given that, today, I thought I’d share the books that have made it onto this fall’s reading list for my body image classes (don’t worry, my students don’t have to buy this number of books.  We’re reading excerpts from most of them that will be on reserve in the library for them– including Hijas, I definitely don’t feel okay about making my students buy my book) in case you are interested in adding some books on the various issues surrounding body image to your list.  Later, when I have finished designing the Women and the Media course, I’ll share those books, too. 

Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image by Ophira Edut

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf

The World Has Curves: The Global Quest for the Perfect Body by Julia Savacool

Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body by Courtney E. Martin

The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg

Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV by Jennifer L. Pozner

30-Second Seduction: How Advertisers Lure Women Through Flattery, Flirtation, and Manipulation by Andrea Gardner

Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel by Jean Kilbourne

The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession by Harrison Pope, Katharine A. Phillips, and Roberto Olivardia  

Hijas Americanas: Beauty, Body Image, and Growing Up Latina by Rosie Molinary

Bodies by Susie Orbach

Unsqueezed: Springing Free from Skinny Jeans, Nost Jobs, Highlights and Stilettos by Margot Starbuck

Unlocking the Mysteries of Eating Disorders: A Life-Saving Guide to Your Child’s Treatment and Recovery by David Herzog, Debra Franko, and Patti Cable

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi

Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves by Crystal Renn

Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight by Linda Bacon 

Have any book suggestions for future body image classes, for the Women and the Media class I am now putting together, or for blog readers?  Hope you’ll leave them here!

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2 responses to “What’s on the Reading List”

  1. Marzipan

    I can’t WAIT to sink my teeth into these books this summer! Thank you for compiling such a kick ass list. xoxo

  2. Jean

    If you want the ultimate Orwellian dark side of how far female body image obsession can go you have to read SPA by B.F. Camis – It will knock you out.

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