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The Beauty Paradox

Femininity in the Age of Selfies

Chiara Piazzesi

Why must beauty be seen as a binary that is either oppressive or empowering for women? The Beauty Paradox: Femininity in the Age of Selfies argues that women’s experiences of beauty as both validating and belittling is grounded in the contradictory injunctions that they receive regarding their participation in beauty culture. Piazzesi identifies the four main paradoxes of Western beauty culture: the worth paradox, the authenticity paradox, the power paradox, and the commitment paradox and examines how they trail women’s everyday experiences, choices, and reflections regarding beauty. She examines the role of beauty in women’s everyday lives and in a variety of contexts: informal social encounters, work and career settings, parenting, intergenerational relationships, self-care, and online networking practices. The author broadens the current discourse on beauty with an emphasis on the digital world, primarily the use of selfies.

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Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 284 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-5381-7573-6 • Hardback • March 2023 • $120.00 • (£92.00)
978-1-5381-7574-3 • Paperback • March 2023 • $40.00 • (£30.00)
978-1-5381-7575-0 • eBook • March 2023 • $38.00 • (£30.00)
Subjects: Social Science / Sociology / General, Social Science / Women's Studies, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory

Chiara Piazzesi is Full Professor of Sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Born in Florence, Italy, she received her education at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and at the Università del Salento, where she earned her PhD. Among her publications are the books: Grammatiche dell’amore [Love Grammars] (2019) and Vers une sociologie de l’intime. Éros et socialisation [Towards a Sociology of the Intimate] (2017). Her research interests span love relationships, feminist issues, gender relations, digital practices, and the place of beauty in women’s lives. She has taught and done research in France, Germany, and Brazil.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Walking the Tightrope

Chapter One: The Paradoxes of Beauty

The Worth Paradox

The Authenticity Paradox

The Power Paradox

The Commitment Paradox

What Is a Pragmatic Paradox?

Conclusion: Negotiating the Paradoxes of Beauty

Chapter Two: Beauty, Wellness, and Authenticity

Where Is Beauty Situated?

Traditional Discourses on Beauty, Health, and Morals

The Paradoxes of Wellness and Self-Care

Natural Beauty and the Authenticity Paradox

Where Does “Feeling Beautiful” Really Come From?

Conclusion: Normative Authenticity

Chapter Three: Commitment and Investment

Investing Money and Time

The Salience of Hair and Makeup

Committing to Thinking, Planning, and Judging

The Day as a Measure of Beauty

Conclusion: How Much Is Enough?

Chapter Four: Time, Aging, and Motherhood

Being Young

Being No Longer Young

Motherhood

The Intergenerational Gaze

Conclusion: The Temporality of Beauty

Chapter Five: Work and Social Life

Beauty and Sociability

Working with Beauty

Favours and Privileges

Conclusion: Uncertain Gains

Chapter Six: Selfies and the Digital World

The Place of Beauty in Selfies

The Paradox of the “Narcissistic” Selfie

The Authenticity Paradox and the Selfie-Taking Online Persona

Conclusion: Negotiating Visibility

Conclusion: Beauty and the Paradoxes of Women’s Subjectivity

Appendix A: Introducing the Participants

Appendix B: Methodological Design and Procedure

Bibliography

In this smart and engagingly written book, Chiara Piazzesi argues that beauty is no superficial matter. Most women, even the staunchest feminists among us, gain satisfaction and confidence from beauty practices. The book invites us to look respectfully at how women of all ages and backgrounds walk a tightrope between the need for self-expression, the desire for recognition, and the pressures from social conventions. A clear and convincing call to understand the paradoxes that make women embrace the beauty culture, while, at the same time, being critical of it.


— Kathy Davis, VU University Amsterdam


A lucid exploration of women’s experience of beauty in their everyday lives: well researched, nuanced, and attuned to the paradoxes of Western beauty culture. The Beauty Paradox pinpoints the social and political dimensions of attractiveness and the influence this has on women’s daily lives.


— Christina Scharff, King's College London


Piazzesi’s work ventures into relatively uncharted sociological territory with its focused inquiry into the phenomena of beautification and selfie culture—areas that have (arguably) not traditionally been at the forefront of sociological research. This exploration is particularly significant as it broadens the scope of an area ripe for academic exploration yet often overlooked or underestimated in its complexity and impact on social identity and norms. Piazzesi’s work, therefore, stands as a pivotal contribution to the field, effectively opening the door for scholars to further investigate the nuanced interplay between digital self-representation, beauty standards, and femininity.


— Gender & Society


  • In a first for sociological scholarship on beauty, foregrounds the place of attractiveness in the production and circulation of selfies online
  • Widens current discourses on beauty through a combination of interview material, photographic material, online popular culture, and scholarly literature
  • Provides as conceptual framework that allows readers to think in a wholistic way about the empowering and disempowering effects of beauty
  • Examines the impact of beauty culture on women’s everyday lives and in a variety of social contexts
  • Showcases real women’s experiences, including their beauty routines, the role of attractiveness in the workplace, and the process of aging, among other topics



8/20/23, Le Monde: Piazzesi penned an article about the feminist version of beauty in the film Barbie. The book is mentioned in the by-line.

Link: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/08/20/barbie-the-younger-generations-are-trying-to-use-beauty-culture-to-their-advantage_6100259_23.html



2/29/24, The Walrus: in an article about the aging process of different generations, the book is mentioned and quoted.

Link: https://thewalrus.ca/me-my-selfies-and-i/



The Beauty Paradox

Femininity in the Age of Selfies

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Why must beauty be seen as a binary that is either oppressive or empowering for women? The Beauty Paradox: Femininity in the Age of Selfies argues that women’s experiences of beauty as both validating and belittling is grounded in the contradictory injunctions that they receive regarding their participation in beauty culture. Piazzesi identifies the four main paradoxes of Western beauty culture: the worth paradox, the authenticity paradox, the power paradox, and the commitment paradox and examines how they trail women’s everyday experiences, choices, and reflections regarding beauty. She examines the role of beauty in women’s everyday lives and in a variety of contexts: informal social encounters, work and career settings, parenting, intergenerational relationships, self-care, and online networking practices. The author broadens the current discourse on beauty with an emphasis on the digital world, primarily the use of selfies.

Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 284 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
    978-1-5381-7573-6 • Hardback • March 2023 • $120.00 • (£92.00)
    978-1-5381-7574-3 • Paperback • March 2023 • $40.00 • (£30.00)
    978-1-5381-7575-0 • eBook • March 2023 • $38.00 • (£30.00)
    Subjects: Social Science / Sociology / General, Social Science / Women's Studies, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory
Author
Author
  • Chiara Piazzesi is Full Professor of Sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Born in Florence, Italy, she received her education at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and at the Università del Salento, where she earned her PhD. Among her publications are the books: Grammatiche dell’amore [Love Grammars] (2019) and Vers une sociologie de l’intime. Éros et socialisation [Towards a Sociology of the Intimate] (2017). Her research interests span love relationships, feminist issues, gender relations, digital practices, and the place of beauty in women’s lives. She has taught and done research in France, Germany, and Brazil.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgments

    Introduction: Walking the Tightrope

    Chapter One: The Paradoxes of Beauty

    The Worth Paradox

    The Authenticity Paradox

    The Power Paradox

    The Commitment Paradox

    What Is a Pragmatic Paradox?

    Conclusion: Negotiating the Paradoxes of Beauty

    Chapter Two: Beauty, Wellness, and Authenticity

    Where Is Beauty Situated?

    Traditional Discourses on Beauty, Health, and Morals

    The Paradoxes of Wellness and Self-Care

    Natural Beauty and the Authenticity Paradox

    Where Does “Feeling Beautiful” Really Come From?

    Conclusion: Normative Authenticity

    Chapter Three: Commitment and Investment

    Investing Money and Time

    The Salience of Hair and Makeup

    Committing to Thinking, Planning, and Judging

    The Day as a Measure of Beauty

    Conclusion: How Much Is Enough?

    Chapter Four: Time, Aging, and Motherhood

    Being Young

    Being No Longer Young

    Motherhood

    The Intergenerational Gaze

    Conclusion: The Temporality of Beauty

    Chapter Five: Work and Social Life

    Beauty and Sociability

    Working with Beauty

    Favours and Privileges

    Conclusion: Uncertain Gains

    Chapter Six: Selfies and the Digital World

    The Place of Beauty in Selfies

    The Paradox of the “Narcissistic” Selfie

    The Authenticity Paradox and the Selfie-Taking Online Persona

    Conclusion: Negotiating Visibility

    Conclusion: Beauty and the Paradoxes of Women’s Subjectivity

    Appendix A: Introducing the Participants

    Appendix B: Methodological Design and Procedure

    Bibliography

Reviews
Reviews
  • In this smart and engagingly written book, Chiara Piazzesi argues that beauty is no superficial matter. Most women, even the staunchest feminists among us, gain satisfaction and confidence from beauty practices. The book invites us to look respectfully at how women of all ages and backgrounds walk a tightrope between the need for self-expression, the desire for recognition, and the pressures from social conventions. A clear and convincing call to understand the paradoxes that make women embrace the beauty culture, while, at the same time, being critical of it.


    — Kathy Davis, VU University Amsterdam


    A lucid exploration of women’s experience of beauty in their everyday lives: well researched, nuanced, and attuned to the paradoxes of Western beauty culture. The Beauty Paradox pinpoints the social and political dimensions of attractiveness and the influence this has on women’s daily lives.


    — Christina Scharff, King's College London


    Piazzesi’s work ventures into relatively uncharted sociological territory with its focused inquiry into the phenomena of beautification and selfie culture—areas that have (arguably) not traditionally been at the forefront of sociological research. This exploration is particularly significant as it broadens the scope of an area ripe for academic exploration yet often overlooked or underestimated in its complexity and impact on social identity and norms. Piazzesi’s work, therefore, stands as a pivotal contribution to the field, effectively opening the door for scholars to further investigate the nuanced interplay between digital self-representation, beauty standards, and femininity.


    — Gender & Society


Features
Features
    • In a first for sociological scholarship on beauty, foregrounds the place of attractiveness in the production and circulation of selfies online
    • Widens current discourses on beauty through a combination of interview material, photographic material, online popular culture, and scholarly literature
    • Provides as conceptual framework that allows readers to think in a wholistic way about the empowering and disempowering effects of beauty
    • Examines the impact of beauty culture on women’s everyday lives and in a variety of social contexts
    • Showcases real women’s experiences, including their beauty routines, the role of attractiveness in the workplace, and the process of aging, among other topics



    8/20/23, Le Monde: Piazzesi penned an article about the feminist version of beauty in the film Barbie. The book is mentioned in the by-line.

    Link: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/08/20/barbie-the-younger-generations-are-trying-to-use-beauty-culture-to-their-advantage_6100259_23.html



    2/29/24, The Walrus: in an article about the aging process of different generations, the book is mentioned and quoted.

    Link: https://thewalrus.ca/me-my-selfies-and-i/



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