Summary Of The Body Project By Joan Brumberg

"Skin blemishes made it impossible for me to really enjoy myself. I was always worrying about the way I looked" (Brumberg, p. 87). Woman all around the world share the same problem, they feel unhappy and self-conscious with the appearance of their bodies. In The Body Project by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, she successfully illustrates the way adolescents begin to change focus from inner to outer beauty in the early 19th and 20th centuries. Through use of personal diaries and historical research, Brumberg shows her readers the physical differences between girls then and now. Brumberg talks about an array of topics in her book – periods, acne, dieting, piercing, virginity, and sexuality. From their roots in the 1800’s through the Victorian era and

As the process of menarche that transitions a child into a young woman begins and their bodies become more visible and exposed, so do the problems of becoming a young adult. Having perfect clear skin wasn’t always an epidemic for young adolescents. The desire to be beautiful was not always a priority and of the many body projects talked about by Brumberg, skin care was really the first to be supported by middle class parents. Having clear skin was of great social and cultural trend of the time. During this era when blemishes indicated to society that acne was a sign of poverty and uncleanliness, as well as displayed signs of promiscuous sexual behavior mothers did everything in their power to make sure that their youths received the proper face

Cosmetic surgery is one of them and becoming very popular, not because people need surgery, but because society has created the ideal woman and man and what he or she should like. Every women and a good amount of men modify their bodies to fit the image every day. Cosmetic surgery is the new hip thing going around and everyone is going to extremes in order not to fall behind. Plastic surgery itself has been around since the ancient times. As Doctors Richard Backstein and Anna Hinek state in their article plastic surgery can be traced to as far back as ancient times (2005). The first recorded surgical procedures according to Doctor Haiken were in India, and they consisted of reparations to the nose and ears, usually because the person had been injured in battle or as punishments for crimes (1997). Such procedures though were not openly talked about and were kept secret for centuries by the Indian society (1997). Indians weren’t the only ones to take to such practices; Romans also became proficient in advanced plastic surgery procedures. To the Romans it wasn’t so much about to trying to make reparations to past wounds, but rather assure a person’s beauty by removing any imperfections. As a matter of fact the most popular surgery was circumcision removal to both females and males (Random