Analysis Of Naomi Wolf's 'The Beauty Myth'

Equality (Restrictions May Apply) To be included is to be “contained as part of the whole being considered”. Using this definition, it would be easy to say that feminism is not completely inclusive, even though an inclusionist view exists. There is such a thing as an inclusionist feminism vision, one that strives to include women of all race, age, size, sexuality, and gender expression, though this vision is not currently implemented in mainstream feminism. Kimberle Crenshaw describes what an inclusionist feminist vision should be when talking about intersectionality. Peggy McIntosh, Naomi Wolf, and Audre Lorde all respectively write about how most feminist movements ignore factors that set many women apart, such as race, age, class, and …show more content…
Naomi Wolf’s “The Beauty Myth” begins with explaining how beauty is a social construct, and one that is constantly changing. The media constantly forces the idea that ideal beauty exists only if you are thin, white, blonde, and overall conventionally attractive. This creates an image for women to strive to, as well as perpetuating gender roles, and if a women’s appearance is anything less than ideal, she is not considered as much as women as those who are conventionally attractive. Wolf states how “we are in the midst of a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of female beauty as a political weapon,” (Wolf 11), and an inclusionist view would bring back the safe space for women of all appearances that the beauty myth is taking …show more content…
This is untrue, because mainstream feminism is nowhere near ideal, and improvements can always be made. As long as there is still inequality, feminism still needs to improve. It’s not only women who belong to other marginalized groups that are still discriminated against, but all women. The beauty myth is still very prominent, and despite the fact that beauty is a social construct it is still longed for. Sexism and racism still exist, even if some don’t believe so, such as student in Beverly Daniel Tatum’s class who asked “Oh, is there still racism?” (Tatum 3). Another argument could be that there is no such thing as an inclusionist feminist vision, and that feminism is always going to stay the same as the current movement. This argument also has no merit, especially considering the history of feminism and its three separate movements. Also, even though there is still a lot of improvement to be made, it is slowly happening. People speak up against racism, even white people, such as Peggy McIntosh. Improvement is being made, and it is being made because of the slowly growing phenomena of intersectionality and inclusionist