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
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
Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel by Jean Kilbourne
Hijas Americanas: Beauty, Body Image, and Growing Up Latina by Rosie Molinary
Unsqueezed: Springing Free from Skinny Jeans, Nost Jobs, Highlights and Stilettos by Margot Starbuck
Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi
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!
I can’t WAIT to sink my teeth into these books this summer! Thank you for compiling such a kick ass list. xoxo
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.