Rating: 
Summary: Social history doesn't get better than this!
Review: Joan Jacobs Brumberg has attracted her share of controversy for this book and her earlier work in the field of "body history". The criticism lies largely in the fact that Brumberg does not fit easily into the pro-sex feminist/anti-sex traditionalist dichotomy that characterizes far too much of the discussion about young women's sexuality and body identity these days.Using diary excerpts as her core sources of evidence, Brumberg charts the changing relationship between young women and their bodies over the past century and a half. Though the material on the 19th and early 20th century is fascinating, useful, and accessible for a general audience, the high point of the book comes over the final two chapters, which cover the period from the 1960s to the 1990s. Unlike cultural conservatives in the feminist world (think Christina Hoff Summers or Gertrude Himmelfarb), Brumberg is deeply appreciative of the enormous benefits of the sexual revolution, especially in terms of the availability of sexual information and the growing willingness of our society to see women as active sexual agents. On the other hand (unlike a Naomi Wolf), she is troubled (and rightly so, in my opinion) by the eagerness of our culture to sexualize and exploit the bodies of adolescent women who are simply not prepared to cope with the emotional, social, and physical impact of early sexual experience. In her final chapter, Brumberg writes: "Although I applaud the social freedom and economic opportunities enjoyed by the current cohort of high school and college girls, their "autonomy" seems to be oversold, if not illusory." Young men tend to only applaud young women's autonomy when it leads to sexual availability, not when it leads to the decision to postpone sex; advertisers certainly only applaud young women's autonomy when it leads them to buy their products, not when it leads them to question consumerism itself. The more I hear the stories of my female students, of all races and socio-economic backgrounds, about the prevalence of eating disorders, their anxiety about their own bodies, and the pain of our casual and exploitative "hook-up" culture, the more I realize that Brumberg is right when she notes, in her conclusion, "more than any other group in the population, girls and their bodies have borne the brunt of 20th century social change, and we ignore that fact at our peril." It is not anti-feminist to want to protect young women from sexual and commercial exploitation; indeed, it is the essence of what it means to believe in women.
Rating: 
Summary: Historical Ruse
Review: Many Americans believe that our country is in crisis and that our present time is a hazardous one, especially for our youth. Answers to this cultural emergency are sought in many different spaces and with various means. Joan Jacobs Brumberg, in her book, The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls explores the possibility that we can look to history for solutions to the problems that plague American girls today. Using mostly secondary historical sources, adolescent female diaries, and personal interviews, Brumberg presents the story of the change in how young women have felt about their own physicality and how society has viewed the female adolescent form and development. With an emphasis on the twentieth century but including 1808-1996, Brumberg explores the historical treatment of girls' bodies by the girls themselves, their families, and their culture. Through four main girlhood categories--menstruation, skin, body shape, and sexuality--Brumberg describes a world that has transformed from the simple and protective climate of the Victorian era into a hostile and complicated world where no female body is safe. Although Brumberg's work can be appreciated as a noble and genuine attempt at searching out a remedy and explanation for the situation that American girls have found themselves in, I believe that it is more of a personal diatribe than a piece of serious historical work. I feel that there are at least four main elements to The Body Project that cause it to be an unreliable piece of history. First, I believe that in comparing today's issues against history, Brumberg unintentionally glorifies the Victorian era. This is problematic in creating a strong piece of history because her interpretation is based on personal ethics rather than historical extraction. Secondly, The Body Project's historicity is tainted with Brumberg's moral judgments and "traditional" stance on sexuality. Although it can not be expected that a historical work will not contain any hint of personal judgments, there is a reasonable expectation that every attempt at impartiality would be made in a good historical piece. This attempt at ethical neutrality seems to be missing from The Body Project. Thirdly, I believe that Brumberg has a distinct age bias against the intellectual capabilities and moral understandings of young women. This bias warps the historical accuracy of the piece by removing personal agency from young girls for either their role in history or the implementation of a solution. Lastly, and most importantly, I believe that there is other evidence available that doesn't correspond with the information that Brumberg cites. In addition, the evidence that Brumberg uses to support many of her claims and historical retrogression is lacking in complexity and extracted from an unreliably small case size. Please think twice about taking her message to heart. It is more of an alarmist piece than an actual solution to what plagues the lives of adolescent women.
Rating: 
Summary: A point of view...
Review: Quite an interesting book for a sociological aspect of feminine attitude through the body and through the late 19th and 20th century. There is a lot of material, though, that the author seems to have some problems to express properly. Some ideas are truly lacking proofs to be believed (private diaries are not enough) and the author makes many assumptions and subjective comments (ex: the body-piercing/homosexuality attempt). But never forget that a book is a point of view from one person only... However, it makes a very good companion to the different "Hope in a Jar",by Kathy Peiss, a book published around the same time and much more enjoyable if you want to learn more (being man or woman, feminist or not) about life of women in America. Recommended anyway! :)
Rating:
Summary: Unique coverage, second half descends into vaguery
Review: The Body Project gives us an insight into the ideologies and technologies which were poured into constructing the pubertal and post-pubertal girl during the last 100 years. Brumberg begins by mapping historical ideas about girls, and acknowledges that puberty is beginning earlier and earlier. She explores Victorian concepts of - and the social structures around - "a girl's first period", and shows how this event was gradually medicalized and brought into the discourse of groups such as the Girl Scouts. She then moves on to examine the historical shift in attitudes toward acne and complexion, and the way that the beauty industry - aimed at whites and at the middle-class - manipulated this. In the second half of the book, she looks at the history of "training bras" alongside the increasing cult of the "slim figure". She then examines the current vogue for body-piercings. In the third section she looks at the "disappearance" of virginity as a social factor in the 90s, running through a history of the meaning of virginity and the 'sexual danger' of loosing it, from the 1880s to the current day. Unfortunately, in the latter section she trots out statistics on "teens getting pregnant by older men" without examining these too deeply - if she had done further research here then she might have found the work which shows clearly the statistical conjouring trick these so-called figures represent. She goes on to talk of "girls today" as if they had no sexual desires and were just doing things to 'please their boyfriend'. This is surely insulting to girls' intelligence. In the last section Blumberg drifts away from history into somewhat hazy modern anecdote and what sounds moralising, and does so in a way which strongly reminds me of the "teen girls are just scatterbrains, can't be trusted with anything!" Aunt Jemima-style prejudice, dressed up in 1990s feminist 'concern'. However, Blumberg's book is a worthy read for the historical overview it provides.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading for revivers of Ophelia
Review: The Body Project is a splendid expansion of a theme of Mary Pipher's Reviving Ophelia: the valuing of the adolescent girl by herself, peers, and the popular media for her physical appearance and resulting early sexual activity. Brumberg makes her points compelling and bone-true by illustrations from the diaries of girls themselves, diaries culled from recent years and as far back as the Victorians. It is a surprise to learn that even the teenaged Victoria Herself was dissatisfied with her body (she thought her hands were too big.) As the author suggests, it should be read and discussed by both girls and the adults who care about them. Let's all of us who love and are concerned with adolescent girls buy this book and pass it around until it disintegrates in tatters while we try to help them understand and deal with their world's physical obsession.
Rating:
Summary: The Body Project reaches mainstream concerns about girls
Review: The Body Project reaches a mainstream society that is dealing with concerns facing our young women and our society. I was, however, upset that Brumberg chose to talk about the body without referring to some of the most well known theorists on the body, like Irigaray and Butler. I know that the book was meant for a mainstream audience, but I still think the opportunity to expose a wide variety of readers to such important theorists is a worthwhile undertaking. I was disappointed. I was also worried about some of the information... the sources for the piercing section of the book were very out dated. Being a member of the g/ l/ b community, I felt that the assumption Brumberg called on that said piercing was somehow related to homosexuality misleading. I am worried about Brumberg's approach, but I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the history behind the body projects we are currently undertaking as a society. Beyond that history (the second half of the book) I feel could be skipped.
Rating:
Summary: Great start, disappointing finish
Review: The first few chapters are a thrilling read. Here is a scholarly writer with an engaging way of interweaving detailed research, including 100+ year old diaries kept by adolescent women, with a storyteller's skill. One learns how an earlier onset of puberty has combined with the relentless ability of corporations and manufacturers to market any variety of tampons, bras, acne creams, etc. to make coming-of-age for young women a consumer function. Often ignored in this equation is nurturing a young woman's ability to develop inner strength, control, and confidence, the skills she will need as an independent, satisfied adult. The author gives great background about how the "precommercial puberty" had much to offer to young women. But I felt this background often strayed into unrealistic admiration on the author's part. It's easy to mine the past to try to find answers to today's problems. But trying to fit answers to problems that didn't then exist is simply too simplistic.
Rating: 
Summary: A moving book
Review: The reason I decided to read this was because I had to do a paper for my modern Lit. class on the sterotypes of Beauty. I felt that the book did a reaaly good job in uncovering some of the mysteries of why adolesent girls act the way they do. I felt that after reading the book I came to a new understanding of what real beauty is and why we as women try to achieve such a high standard of beauty. The book flows very well, I like the fact that you don't have to read it cover to cover but skip around to sections you are more interested in. Bravo to Brumberg one of the first book that really fully explains the complexities of the female mind and body.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and Insightful Book for Women
Review: Thirty years after the Second Sexual Revolution we face still face the challenge of reconciling a woman's familial duty with her professional goals. We are realizing more and more that there are no easy answers. Brumberg's The Body Project chronicles the lives and feelings of adolescent girls (a frequently ignored segment of the population). She does not claim to have all the answers, but rather asks all the right questions -- a necessary first step in a dialogue. The Body Project is a necessary read for anyone who has (or will have) contact with adolescents. Brumberg guides us to the conclusion that discussion of sex and sexual attitudes is essential to the health and well-being of women in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and Insightful Book for Women
Review: Thirty years after the Second Sexual Revolution we face still face the challenge of reconciling a woman's familial duty with her professional goals. We are realizing more and more that there are no easy answers. Brumberg's The Body Project chronicles the lives and feelings of adolescent girls (a frequently ignored segment of the population). She does not claim to have all the answers, but rather asks all the right questions -- a necessary first step in a dialogue. The Body Project is a necessary read for anyone who has (or will have) contact with adolescents. Brumberg guides us to the conclusion that discussion of sex and sexual attitudes is essential to the health and well-being of women in the future.
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