{"product_id":"9780060171407","title":"The Power of Beauty","description":"Nancy Friday introduced readers to such watershed issues as the mother-daughter bond and female sexual fantasies. Now the author of \u003ci\u003eMy Mother\/My Self\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMy Secret Garden\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eJealousy\u003c\/i\u003e explores an even more provocative subject: how looks affect our lives, and life affects our looks\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe live in a culture, says Friday, that trades in the currency of seeing and being seen. In the patriarchal days of the Old Deal, when men provided for women, male power and female beauty were bartered. Women's absolute control of the beauty purse-strings continued until it was outlawed by feminism in the '70s. While the importance of looks went underground for a time, the power of beauty has reemerged with a vengeance. If the '80s were the decade of greed, the '90s are a decade of lust -- for the beauty that will draw all eyes to us. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Power of Beauty\u003c\/i\u003e traces the importance of looks in our lives from our first hours in the nursery through childhood, adolescence, the years as adults and parents and into old age. It examines developmentally the author's own experiences: The stages of life itself, the feminist revolution that for the past 30 years has rocked relationships between men and women and contemporary culture from high art to pop. In addition, it draws on a decade of research Friday has conducted on the psychology of physical appearance, including focus groups, symposia and a national survey conducted with DVG Inc. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart personal odyssey, part cultural memoir, \u003ci\u003eThe Power of Beauty\u003c\/i\u003e sweeps through the decades, blending an alluring array of controversial ideas with astute, outspoken reportage. Only Friday could write so lyrically and seamlessly about fashion, male bashing, women's fear of competition, the shoe as a sexual icon, psychoanalytic theory, the pain of adolescence, envy, the double standard of aging, erotic adventures, fairy tales, feminism and love.\u003cquote\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cremark\u003e\"A thorough explanation of the meaning of beauty.\"\u003c\/remark\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"RIGHT\"\u003e\u003cby\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Time Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/by\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003c\/quote\u003e\u003cquote\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cremark\u003e\"A pull-yourself-up -by-your-pumps manifesto.\"\u003c\/remark\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"RIGHT\"\u003e\u003cby\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/by\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003c\/quote\u003e\u003cquote\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cremark\u003e\"Fascinating...recommended highly.\"\u003c\/remark\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"RIGHT\"\u003e\u003cby\u003e\u003ci\u003e--New York Observer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/by\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003c\/quote\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47021180649712,"sku":"9780060171407","price":27.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780060171407_p0.gif?v=1763619980","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780060171407","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}