 "Beauty is confidence. Beauty is a smiling face. It is an appreciation of everything you are blessed with, without focusing on the traits you missed out on. Beauty is having a passion for life, and the ability to live in the moment. Beauty is serenity, warmth, strength, knowledge, kindness and respect. Beauty is wisdom. " -- Bridget Fair, Photographer
Too fat? Too thin? Too short? Too nerdy? Too...whatever? Many of us--guys and girls--aren't satisfied with the way we look. But is that healthy? How much does media & culture influence our body image? What's the deal with eating disorders? Check out these sample resources to help you explore how our insides feel about our outsides.
WEBSITES - NON-FICTION - FICTION
WEBSITES
About Face
www.about-face.org/
"Promotes positive self-esteem" and combats negative & distorted images of women in the media.
Adios Barbie.com
http://adiosbarbie.com/
Articles, information, resources & fun (like the "Feed the Model" game) about body image.
Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders (ANRED)
www.anred.com/toc.html
Provides information on everything from warning signs to different types to men and EDs to recovery to prevention.
Eating Disorders Information Index
www.edap.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=294
Lots of quick facts & info on a variety of Eating Disorders-related issues. From the National Eating Disorders Association.
Eating Disorders Resources
www.bulimia.com/
The main purpose of this site is to sell you books & subscriptions. However, there is some useful free information about eating disorders available.
In the Mix: Self Image: The Fantasy, The Reality
www.pbs.org/inthemix/selfimage_index.html
A transcript of the PBS TV show, statistics about body image, & input from teens.
Love Your Body Day
http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/
Get factoids & action ideas for promoting positive body images for women (and countering negative media images). From the NOW Foundation.
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders
http://www.anad.org/
Information about eating disorders, a self-evaluation quiz, tips for confronting someone, etc.
Something Fishy
www.something-fishy.org/
News, information & resources about body image & eating disorder issues.
Teens Health: Your Mind
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/
This section links to articles on a variety of body image-related issues, from binge eating to anorexia to body dysmorphic disorder to plastic surgery.
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NON-FICTION
 The Adonis Complex: THe Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession
Harrison Pope (155.332 POP)
Information & research about how men are becoming obsessed with their appearance, and the lengths they're going to look more "masculine."
 Adios, Barbie: Young Women Write About Body Image & Identity
Ophira Edut (155.9 ADI)
A collection of essays about female body image and definitions of beauty.
 No Body's Perfect: Stories by Teens About Body Image, Self-Acceptance & the Search for Identity
Kimberly Kirberger (158.1 KIR)
A collection of stories, essays & poems by teen and adult women addressing body image.
 Feeling Freakish? How to Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin
Veronique le Jeune (305.235 JEU 2004)
Offers advice & tips for teens & pre-teens on caring for & accepting their bodies.
 Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self
Sara Shandler (305.235 SHA)
Essays, poems & commentary about the struggles of being a young woman; topics addressed include eating disorders.
 Girl Power in the Mirror: A Book About Girls, Their Bodies, & Themselves
Helen Cordes (306.4 COR)
Suggests ways for girls to develop self-esteem and become assertive in the face of pressures from advertisers, family, and peers to have a "perfect" body.
 Focus on Body Image: How You Feel About How You Look
(306.4 HIN)
Includes info & personal accounts about teens' relationships with their body image and the effects of advertising & societal pressures.
 Body Image
(306.4613 BOD 2003)
Deals with issues such as body image & the media, body modification & costmetic surgery, and how to improve body image.
 Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager
Beatrice Sparks (362.25 KIM)
When Kim can't handle things, she eats. Then she purges. Sometimes she fasts. She knows she isn't as thin as the other girls on her gymnastics team, and she's worried that now, away from home for the first time as a college freshman, she won't be able to live up to expectations -- especially her own. Eating is the one thing she can control -- or can she?
 Real Gorgeous: The Truth About Body & Beauty
Kaz Cooke (613.0424 COO)
"You are not your buttocks." A funny, informative read about the truth & lies about our bodies & what we've been told (and sold) about them.
 Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self
Lori Gottleib (616.85 GOT)
Lori has one goal: "to be the thinnest eleven-year-old on the entire planet."
 Wasted: A Memoir
Marya Hornbacher (616.85 HOR)
"How did your eating disorder start? the therapists ask years later, watching me pick at my nails, curled up in a ball in an endless series of leather chairs. Hell if I know."
 Eating Disorders
Diane Yancey (616.85 YAN)
Information & case histories about different kinds of eating disorders.
 Starving: A Personal Journey Through Anorexia
Pettit, Christie (616.8526 PET 2003)
Through journal entries, personal anecdotes, and Scripture, Pettit reflects on her struggle with eating.
 Eating Disorders
Trudi Strain Trueit (616.8526 TRU)
Discusses different eating disorders & how to change our images of ourselves.
 The Looks Book: A Whole New Approach to Beauty, Body Image & Style
Rebecca Odes (646.72 ODE)
An exploration of the history, culture, science, and business of beauty, this book answers tons of questions and gives lots of tips for accepting your outer beauty and improving your inner beauty.
 Beyond Beauty
Jane Pratt (OS 646.72 PRA)
Twenty-five teenage girls from varying backgrounds reveal their personal thoughts about beauty, style, health, fitness, individuality, and self-acceptance.
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FICTION
 Life in the Fat Lane
by Cherie Bennett (YA BENNETT)
Homecoming queen. Beauty pageant winner. Lara has it all. And then she gets fat. That won't really change things, right?
 Fat Chance
by Deborah Blumenthal
(FIC BLUMENTHAL)
Newspaper columnist Maggie is the champion of the overweight. Then she gets a chance to go to Hollywood...and decides she's better drop a few pounds.
 Beauty
by Nancy Butcher (YA BUTCHER)
Ana knows the only way to keep her mother's love is to make herself ugly. But then she's sent to the Academy for Girls, where beauty is valued above all.
 Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
by Chris Crutcher (YA CRUTCHER)
Eric goes to extremes to help save his friend from the scars she bears inside and out.
 Look at Me
by Jennifer Egan (FIC EGAN)
Charlotte has always gotten by on appearances. Until she loses her face in a car accident.
 Ravenous
by Eve Eliot (YA ELIOT)
4 teens continue to struggle with their eating issues, as well as with new life challenges thrown their way.
 Born Too Short
by Dan Elish (YA ELISH)
Matt's best friend has it all: the looks, the girls, the skills, the teeth. So what can it hurt for Matt to wish a little ill luck on his BF?
 Perfect
by Natasha Friend (YA FRIEND)
“The week before school started, my ex-sister burst through the closed door of the bathroom we share & found me. On my knees. With my head in the toilet….I removed my fingers from my throat and swallowed. ‘Don’t tell mom.’”
 Perk! The Story of a Teenager with Bulimia
by Liza Hall (YA HALL)
"So all of those times I asked you if I looked fat and you said no, you were just lying to me."
 Second Star to the Right
by Deborah Hautzig (YA HAUTZIG)
Leslie's a perfectionist. When she starts something, she finishes it. No matter what. She started a diet, and now she can't stop.
 When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
by Kimberly Holt (YA HOLT)
Nothing much happens in Antler, TX, until "The Fattest Boy in the World" comes to town.
 Parallel Universe of Liars
by Kathleen J. Johnson (YA JOHNSON)
For "Little Robin Fat Butt" it seems like everyone around her is thin, beautiful, having sex and living secret lives.
 Stoner & Spaz
by Ron Koertge (YA KOERTGE)
He's Brooks Brothers, she's Salvation Army. He's never even smoked a cig, she's got 20 different chemicals running through her veins. But when these two lonely teens meet one night at Ben's favorite hang, sparks fly. At least for Ben they do.
The Best Little Girl in the World
by Steve Levenkron (YA LEVENKRON)
No one notices that something's wrong with Kessa, until she drops her weight down to 78 pounds--now it may be too late.
Girl, 15, Charming But Insane
by Sue Limb (YA LIMB)
"Girl, 15, charming but insane, huge bum, massive ears, seeks...well, seeks Ben Jones, but failing that, seeks large burka-type garment to cover her deformities."
 Slot Machine
by Chris Lynch (YA LYNCH)
Sometimes real strength comes from breaking the rules, rather than playing the game.
 The Earth, My Butt & Other Big, Round Things
by Carolyn Mackler (YA MACKLER)
There’s Virginia: overweight, junkfood-obsessed, web-aholic. There’s her family: thin, successful, perfect. And then a phone call changes everything.
 The Grooming of Alice
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA NAYLOR)
Alice, Elizabeth & Pamela are getting in shape for the new school year. But is Elizabeth taking this whole weight loss thing too seriously?
 Unexpected Development
by Marlene Perez (YA PEREZ)
Just once, Megan wishes guys would look her in the eye instead of her chest. How can she trust that any guy is interested in her for her?
 Freak the Mighty
by Rodman Philbrick (YA PHILBRICK)
Alone, they're a dummy & a cripple. Together, they're something mighty.
 A Dance of Sisters
by Tracy Porter (YA PORTER)
Pearl deals with their mother's death through witchcraft. Delia turns to ballet & the drive to be paper slim.
 Lucy the Giant
by Sherri Smith (YA SMITH)
Lucy searches for a life that fits, in a way that her body doesn't.
 More Than You Can Chew
by Marnelle Tokio (YA TOKIO)
Marty's stuck in "Camp Eat-a-Lot" because she takes control of her life the only way she knows how: anorexia. Can she figure out a better way to deal before she starves herself to death?
 Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld (YA WESTERFELD)
Everybody in Tally's world gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? So, why does Tally's friend Shay refuse the "transformation" and run away?
 Girls Under Pressure
by Jacqueline Wilson (YA WILSON)
It's better to be thin than happy, right?
 Face
by Benjamin Zephaniah (YA ZEPHANIAH)
People ride around in cars every day? So how come this particular ride has to change Martin's life forever?
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