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Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women's Lives Audiobook
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A thought-provoking examination of how we think and talk about beauty today—and the unexpected and often positive ways that beauty shapes our lives.
For decades, we’ve discussed our insecurities in the face of idealized, retouched, impossibly perfect images. We’ve worried primping and preening are a distraction and a trap. But have we focused too much on beauty’s negative influence?
In Face Value, journalist Autumn Whitefield-Madrano thoughtfully examines the relationship between appearance and science, social media, sex, friendship, language, and advertising to show how beauty actually affects us day to day. Through meticulous research and interviews with dozens of women across all walks of life, she reveals surprising findings, like that wearing makeup can actually relax you, that you can convince people you’re better looking just by tweaking your personality, and the ways beauty can be a powerful tool of connection among women.
Equal parts social commentary, cultural analysis, careful investigation, and powerful personal anecdotes, Face Value is provocative and empowering—and a great conversation starter for women everywhere.
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“Using extensive research and interviews with a variety of women, the author speaks in a warm tone while explaining our perception of beauty and its positive effects. With a passionate, precise voice, she examines how beauty is intertwined with science, relationships, language, and advertisements. Encouraging, curious, and intellectual in her dialogue, she offers substantial analysis, opinions, and personal stories.”
— AudioFile
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“[This] survey of the way women interact with beauty standards today invites women to explore their relationship to beauty culture, beyond the surfaces.”
— Elle -
“A surprising take on the role of beauty…Citing research and examining everything from compliments (is “cute” a dis?) to photoshopping, the author comes to a provocative conclusion: The real beauty myth might be that caring about appearance is bad for us.”
— People -
“After more than a decade spent working at women’s magazines, the author has a bird’s eye view of the behemoth that is the beauty industry and how it affects us every day.”
— Forbes -
“Face Value is particularly apt for a generation of women who came of age with glossies…The most striking section of the book is imagining how that fresh sobriety felt.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Thoughtful and erudite…at once playful, illuminating, and troubling.”
— Guardian (London) -
“A wide-ranging, often entertaining look at how we feel about, well, looks…[and] that beauty can also be an arena for artistry, self-expression, and confidence.”
— Boston Globe -
“Wherever there is a conventional, easy conclusion or stereotype about beauty’s role in human lives, she injects doubt, and detail, and nuance…with a cheerful, blog-inflected tone.”
— Atlantic -
“Outlines the history, theory, and expert feminist voices who have been shaping the female view of self for generations. This is a valuable addition to contemporary feminist writing, providing much-needed perspective to a pervasive issue.”
— Library Journal
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About Autumn Whitefield-Madrano
Autumn Whitefield-Madrano is the author of Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women’s Lives. Her writing has appeared in Marie Claire, Glamour, Salon, Jezebel, The Guardian, and more. She created The Beheld, a blog examining questions behind personal appearance. Her work on the ways beauty shapes women’s lives has been covered by The New York Times and the Today show. She lives in Astoria, Queens, and will tell you her beauty secrets if you tell her yours.