Femininity

Susan Brownmiller

• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781480441965
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Feminism & Feminist Theory
• Index: Social Sciences

With intelligence and humor, Susan Brownmiller explores the history and unspoken rules of the burden of "feminine perfection"
What is femininity? How is it measured? What are its demands? How are women meant to dress, look, think, act, feel, and be, according to the mores of society?
Susan Brownmiller offers a witty and often pointed critique of the concept of femininity in contemporary culture and throughout history. She explores the demands placed upon women to fit an established mold, examines female stereotypes, and celebrates the hard-won advances in women's lifestyle and attire. At once profound, revolutionary, empowering, and entertaining, Femininity challenges the accepted female norm while appreciating the women throughout history who have courageously broken free of its constraints.

INDEX

A | B | C | D | E
F | G | H | I | J
K | L | M | N | O
P | R | S | T
U | V | W | Y | Z

accessories, 79–80, 85

pants feminized with, 94–95

acne, 132, 136–37

acting, cosmetics and, 161, 162–63

Adam’s apple, 105–6

adulterous women, veiling of, 97

Afghanistan, women in, 96

Africa, 40

breast shape in art of, 41–42

hairstyles in, 58–59

aggression, 201–3, 218

nurturance and, 228

verbal, 115, 121, 122

aging, 165–67

Alcott, Louisa May, 63–64

Allen, Woody, 44

Alone of All Her Sex (Warner), 226–27

ambition, 50, 219–31

clothing styles and, 3;, 91–92

Andersen, Hans Christian, 131

androgens, 27, 105–6, 182, 201, 202

acne and, 136–37

baldness and, 58

hair growth and, 139–40, 143

Angelico, Fra, 70

anger:

in men, 210

women’s inhibition of, 210–12

animals:

communication in, 106, 122

movement in, 192

size of, 30–32

anorexia, 32

in adolescence, 49–50

Anthony, Susan B., 88, 89–91, 94

anthropological theories:

of superior size of males, 28

of upright walking, 42

Aristophanes, 155

Aristotle, 207–8

Armstrong, Helen, 66

art, 27

African, 41–42

ideal feminine form in, 23–24, 37, 41–42, 46, 105, 132, 133, 153–54

Renaissance, 23, 46, 61, 70, 133

Artificial Face, The (Gunn), 138

Aryan supremacy, cult of, 71

Asian women, 134, 139, 189

breasts of, 43

voice of, 114–15

athletic women:

breasts of, 43

femininity of, 195–96

restrictions on, 190–91, 195

Austen, Jane, 125, 135–36

Bacall, Lauren, 100

Balanchine, George, 181, 183

baldness, 58

ballet, feminine movement...