Debra L. Gimlin's Books

Body Work

Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture

By: Debra Gimlin

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Body Work

Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture

By: Debra Gimlin

Today women are lifting weights to build muscle, wrapping their bodies in seaweed to reduce unwanted water retention, attending weigh-ins at diet centers, and devoting themselves to many other types of "body work." Filled with the voices of real women, this book unravels the complicated emotional and intellectual motivations that drive them as they confront American culture's unreachable beauty ideals. This powerful feminist study lucidly and compellingly argues against the idea that the popularity of body work means that women are enslaved to a male-fashioned "beauty myth." Essential reading for understanding current debates on beauty, Body Work demonstrates that women actually use body work to escape that beauty myth. Debra Gimlin focuses on four sites where she conducted in-depth research--a beauty salon, aerobics classes, a plastic surgery clinic, and a social and political organization for overweight women. The honest and provocative interviews included in this book uncover these women's feelings about their bodies, their reasons for attempting to change or come to terms with them, and the reactions of others in their lives. These interviews show that women are redefining their identities through their participation in body work, that they are working on their self-images as much as on their bodies. Plastic surgery, for example, ultimately is an empowering life experience for many women who choose it, while hairstyling becomes an arena for laying claim to professional and social class identities. This book develops a convincing picture of how women use body work to negotiate the relationship between body and self, a process that inevitably involves coming to terms with our bodies' deviation from cultural ideals. One of the few studies that includes empirical evidence of women's own interpretations of body work, this important project is also based firmly in cultural studies, symbolic interactionism, and feminism. With this book, Debra Gimlin adds her voice to those of scholars who are now looking beyond the surface of the beauty myth to the complex reality of women's lives.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

182

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520926862

ISBN 13

9780520926868

Computing in Organizations

Myth and Experience

By: James B. Rule,Debra L. Gimlin,Sylvia J. Sievers

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Computing in Organizations

Myth and Experience

By: James B. Rule,Debra L. Gimlin,Sylvia J. Sievers

Is any image in modern times more evocative of social change than the computer? Popular mythology ascribes extraordinary powers to computers in the ordering of human affairs. Computers are seen as instruments of social transformation and economic change. Indeed, it is hard not to find computers in the modern workplace, let alone in the home. They are ubiquitous in government offices, businesses large and small alike, the school, and not-for-profit organizations. In this meticulously researched study of computers and computing, authors James B. Rule, Debra Gimlin, and Sylvia Sievers present a fascinating, entertaining, and thought-provoking survey of the use of what may be the most powerful tool in today's workplace. In the chapter entitled "The New York Study: Design and Execution," the authors describe their inspiration for the undertaking of their study, how they designed their research methods, and how they obtained funding for the project. In the chapter "What Computers Do; How Computing Changes," case studies involving businesses that adopted greater computer usage are described, and the authors explain how the new technology was employed for their benefit. In "Employment and Efficiency" time saving and cost-effectiveness qualities of computer technology are explored. And in "Management and Structure," the authors posit the role of the computer in organizational transformation. Computing in Organizations is a timely and relevant work, and will prove of great benefit to strategic consultants, business management personnel, sociologists, and students of information technology. James B. Rule is professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and is a member of the editorial board of Dissent magazine. Debra Gimlin holds a doctorate in sociology, and is vice president of V2, Inc., a strategic consulting and marketing research firm for the pharmaceutical industry. She is the author of Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture. Sylvia Sievers is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is an experienced researcher in computing use and has had several articles published in scholarly journals.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

176

Publisher

Transaction Publishers

ISBN 10

141282009X

ISBN 13

9781412820097

Body Work

Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture

By: Debra Gimlin

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Body Work

Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture

By: Debra Gimlin

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

182

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520926862

ISBN 13

9780520926868

Book's by Debra L. Gimlin

Body Work

Body Work

Computing in Organizations

Computing in Organizations

Body Work

Body Work

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email