The Beauty Paradox

Is beauty a form of oppression for women? Or does it offer them a path to empowerment? Some scholars see beauty as an oppressive system thwarting women’s agency, sometimes to the point of damaging their mental health; others have promoted an understanding of beauty as an empowering practice through which women can affirm their agency and self-determination. Western beauty culture is organized by contradictory injunctions framing women’s participation in beautification. Drawing on relevant scholarly literature, contemporary North American popular culture, and two years of sociological fieldwork, The Beauty Paradox begins by identifying the four main paradoxes of beauty culture: the worth paradox, the authenticity paradox, the power paradox, and the commitment paradox. Piazzesi looks at how these four paradoxes 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 supports her theoretical stance with data collected through two years of fieldwork with eleven women living in Montreal (funded by Fond du Québec de la Recherche—Société et culture). Participants were interviewed about their views on attractiveness, beautification, the pressure to be beautiful or to appear young, and how they negotiate these challenges on an individual basis. As part of this project, each participant produced a series of selfies, which they discussed in interviews. In a first for sociological scholarship on beauty, Walking the Tightrope foregrounds the place of attractiveness in women’s visual self-expression online.