Rating: 
Summary: A great book for every woman who has ever felt unattractive!
Review: This book should be read by every person so that we can all gain a better understanding of how the notion of beauty is constructed. I enjoyed it and feel that Wolf presents a great argument. I read it at a time when I was having a negative body image, and understanding the issue of beauty helped me feel better.
Rating:
Summary: This book heralds a new start for the female generation.
Review: With the Beauty Myth Naomi Wolf provides an educated insight on the traumas that women have to face daily throughout their lives. Since reading this book throughout writing a sociological assignment on eating disorders I discovered so many facets about female life that I had never thought about before..Now I feel informed I believe that I have a distinct advantage over people who have yet to read this book..In short..and at the risk of sounding shallow... this book rescued me from anorexia and has allowed me to be actively critical of the media , both aimed at women, and men. It may seem a tad biased in some areas.. men do suffer from depression and eating disoerders as well (have you noticed that advertising campaigns for male grooming and cosmetic surgery have increased over the past two years?) yet the methods used by Wolf to back up her arguments are mainly infallible. In short the 'Beauty Myth' should be retitled as the 'Modern Women's Bible'..It helped me understand myself and the manipulating media world around me..it may also help you.
Rating: 
Summary: a thought provoking read
Review: This is a good book for anyone who has ever felt the pressures of society telling you how to look. The book will make you angry and it will also make you think. I would recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great content but she has a political agenda to push.
Review: As one of countless women in this country that obsess about our weight and image, I found this book both interesting and informative. Ms. Wolf's style is enjoyable and makes for an easy read, but there is one problem: she quite obviously has a political agenda that permeates the book. This is the biggest drawback, and makes some sections rather difficult to get through if you do not agree with her politics. If you can look beyond her soapbox speeches, the book does have some valuable content for modern women and I have given copies of it to a number of my friends.
Rating:
Summary: A life-changing, eye-opening book
Review: This book really opened my eyes to American culture and our obsession with beauty and thinness. The ideas and concepts presented have shown me a whole new way to look at the world around me as well as given me a new appreciation for the body and face that I was born with. I don't think I will ever look at magazine and television advertisements the same again. I truly recommend this book to any woman who is sick of the " she who dies thinnest and with the fewest wrinkles, wins " mentality that has been forced upon us for decades. However, be prepared for one thing. The book does read a bit like a high school text book which can be a little daunting at times but, the education and self-esteem boost you will get makes it worth the time to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Well intentioned and intriguing, but deeply flawed
Review: I was deeply disappointed in this book. While it was obviously well-intentioned (and brought up challenging and intriguing ideas), it was so ill written that I could hardly bring myself to finish it. Wolf overgeneralized to such a degree that I couldn't take her seriously. Though the central idea is interesting, I had a hard time finding it at first. The writing was disappointing -- full of illogical leaps and implied causality. (I have to wonder if Wolf has ever taken a critical writing course. It would certainly be of use to her.) To be honest, this book looked like a very promising first rough draft that accidentally made it into print. In my opinion, this book could have used some serious editing and re-writing before it ever saw print. I would reccommend this book only on the condition that one reads for concepts (which Wolf has in abundance) and not for proof or argumentation (which this book utterly lacks).
Rating:
Summary: It is a must-read for every man and woman in America.
Review: This book exposes the truths about American
society that are so deeply ingrained in the whole
system that their anti-woman nature is not immediately apparent
to the person raised in this country. Even for me, who grew up in a totally different
society (that for the most part treated women no different than men, at least on the level of professional development and opportunity), this
book was an eye opener. It gave
me a powerful and sad realization that as a woman in America, I have to live with those truths every day. I think that everyone will benefit from reading this book.
I bought my own copy after I read the one I borrowed
from the library, and I plan to forcibly lend
it to all people dear to me :).
Rating:
Summary: Great deconstruction of North America's idea of beauty
Review: Excellent book. Wolf does a great job of peeling back the layers of why the idea of "beauty" is what it in North America today. Some may find this book daunting if they have never been exposed to some of these theories before, but it is truly a valuble read
Rating:
Summary: An interesting look into social perspectives and beauty...
Review: This book was an enlightening look into our society's expectations of beauty and the ideals that are placed on women. Wolf covers the exploitation and idealization of beauty at every opportunity to demonstrate how this detracts from women as human beings and objectifies them within a social hierarchy. Though some of her conclusions may seem far-fetched and unsupported, many women can understand the trappings of attempting to fit in and will find Wolf's writings particularly meaningful. As a young girl, for instance I often felt depressed and dejected because I did not exemplify our culture's standards of beauty. Bombarded by magazines and movies showcasing rail-thin models with ridiculously over-exaggerated features, I judged myself harshly- one reason why my self-esteem plummeted during my teenage years. Perhaps if I had read this book earlier I might have been spared years of discontent.
The Beauty Myth helped me to realize the fallacy in this desire to fit within this pre-arranged standard, and led me instead to focus on my own sense of beauty- a keen intelligence, understanding, and strength of will. This is perhaps the most redeeming quality of her writing: Wolf has an uncanny ability to connect to other women and promote an image of self-acceptance, beyond the cliché stereotypes that control beauty. Wolf covers everything from cosmetic surgery to religion with adept poise, and asks us why we are so inclined to judge our manner of appearance as critical to ourselves. Though I disagree with some of her primary conclusions, of beauty being utilized as a form of subjugation against women and so forth (these ideals seem intrinsic to our culture of "sex sells" and are not necessarily related to patriarchal tendencies), I do agree that many of the unrealistic standards of beauty in our country place women at a disadvantage because they draw our attention to exterior features rather than more important aspects- our mind and character. I must admit that much of Naomi Wolf's conclusions are based on her perception, filtered through her feminist positions and observations on a personal and social level which probably don't represent the whole. I give it four stars instead of five because, even though the writing is superb and many of her ideas on the mark, She doesn't back up her conclusions with factual information or evidence. The suggestion that men specifically use beauty as a means to control women seems a bit ridiculous and over-inflated. This is America, after all- and women have more opportunities than ever before. Overall, this book is a remarkable read for those interested in the social perception of women or women's studies.
Rating: 
Summary: Sentence by sentence, the stupidest book I've ever read
Review: Naomi Wolf was a lovely young slip of a girl when she wrote this remarkably brainless book. The only reason people paid attention to this idiotic book was because Naomi was young and hot-looking. It drove Camille Paglia insane that Naomi was being treated like she knew anything about life. Naomi has done a lot of growing up since then, and I imagine she must be pretty humiliated that people are still reading this deeply awful book.
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