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Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and
Body Image
(Seal
Press, 1998; 2000; 2004)
In
this collection, over 30 young writers courageously
explore and expand the body image dialogue beyond weight
to include culture, sexuality, hair, skin, "ethnic" features,
and so much more. The premise of Body Outlaws is that it's
become so unfathomable (and unsupported culturally) for
a woman to like her body that if she does, she becomes
marginalized from the mainstream. Like an outlaw, she lives
on the fringes of the culture, considered odd because she's
not obsessing over her appearance.
Through
diverse and honest voices, this book shows the important,
culture-shifting role a body outlaw plays through her brave
acts of self-acceptance. She treats the world to some badly-needed
shock therapy, reminding us that confidence, beauty, and
natural bodies do come in many forms...even the ones our
eyes have been trained to forget.
Keeping
the beat with body image, this book has seen its share
of makeovers. It was first published as Adios,
Barbie, until a brief tet-a-tet with Mattel's
pink and not-so-pretty legal powers forced Seal Press to
change the title and cover. (Read
details of the saga here!) After toying with new names
like "Kiss My Azz, Babs" and "She Ain't
Streisand, She's My Sister," I decided to retitle
this collection of multiculti body image tales as Body
Outlaws.
Because
the book has rocked on mightily, lawsuits be damned, Seal
Press published an expanded edition in February 2004. It
included 8 new essays (including 2 by men), a resource
guide, and a short curriculum section.
Visit
the website! --> www.bodyoutlaws.com
"[Body Outlaws] is THE book I would recommend
to any feminist, young and old. It is one of the few books
to try and tackle the broad continuum of race, class, and
age while exploring body image. It is a diverse group of essays
that truly give hope to women that one day we will be able
to love ourselves and each other." (from Amazon.com)
"I
love this book, and I've read parts of it over and over again
for my own healing. I admire every writer in this book so
much, and after I finished reading it, I felt like something
in me changed...I recommend this book to anyone who has the
slightest issues with their bodies." (from Amazon.com)
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