Media Collection Guide / George Mason University Libraries
WOMEN'S STUDIES: Body and Self Image
Baby beauty queens.
Parents, beauty pageant contestants and program directors talk about children's beauty pageants and what motivates them. Extensive footage captures every aspect of these pressure-packed pageants. And detractors discuss what they see as the negative influence of the thousands of such contests held every year.
Johnson Center Videotapes
PN1992.8.B43 B33 1999

Barbie nation an unauthorized tour.
"Journeying from Barbie conventions to anti-Barbie demonstrations, from girls' play dates to Barbie web pages, Barbie nation plumbs the cult of the Barbie doll, telling the Barbie stories of diverse men, women and children"--Container.
Johnson Center Videotapes
NK4894.3.B37 B4 1998

Beyond killing us softly the impact of media images on women and girls.
Companion film to: Killing us softly, Still killing us softly and Killing us softly 3. A documentary about the fight against the toxic and degrading messages to women and girls that dominate the media. The film presents the leading authorities in the fields of psychology of women and girls, eating disorders, gender studies, violence against women, and media literacy -- and focuses their ideas on practical solutions and the best tactics for reclaiming our culture.
Johnson Center Permanent Media Reserve
HF5822 .B49 2000

Bionic beauty salon.
"Bionic beauty salon addresses the insecurities of women of all ages who learn to place their self-worth in the measure of their beauty. The film offers a model for how to reclaim the media and find one's true self through one's own voice. Its personal voice and funny, adolescent sensibility make it intellectually accessible to women of all ages. As art, it provides students much needed direct contact with poetic and artistic uses of electronic media. Its primary audience is teenage girls but should include anyone who struggles to understand female socialization, and anyone who has ever assessed the physical beauty of a woman"--Container. Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ1219 .B56 1999

Body image let's get real.
This program, consisting mostly of personal, candid statements from teenagers, explores media glorification of arbitrary physical types, peer pressure and how these effect adolescent self-image. Discusses media stereotyping, eating disorders, self-esteem, balanced nutrition and sexuality.
Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ799.2.M35 B64 2000

Body image the quest for perfection.
Seven women go on a retreat to share their feelings about their bodies, the sources of these feelings and the images of women in mass media. Based on the research of Dr. Michelle A. Wolf.
Johnson Center Videotapes
BF697.5.B63 B615 2000

Body politics.
Academy award winner, Susan Sarandon, hosts and narrates this documentary series in which women from all walks of life around the world speak out to reveal their hearts and minds.
Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ1206 .B63 1997

The cult of the beautiful body observations from the plane of body consciousness.
"Extreme body consciousness has taken youthful narcissism to new heights, making 'boy meets girl' a ruthless physical selection process. This program examines the cult of the body in Western society and how it has reduced today's courtship ritual to a one-dimensional experience based primarily on physical attraction. Beginning with the pressure that men currently feel to conform to an abstract physical ideal, the role of the media is scrutinized, along with the culture that from Munich to Los Angeles excludes all who do not espouse the ideals of bodily perfection at the expense of all else"--Container.
Johnson Center Videotapes
BF697.5.B63 C96 1999

Dear Lisa.
Thirteen women describe incidents from their lives revealing their socialization as women and the roles society expects women to play.
Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ1206 .D42 1990

Facing themselves body dysmorphic disorder.
For some adolescents, what they see when they look in the mirror is driving them to despair -- and even suicide. In this program ABC news correspondent John Stossel reports on body dysmorphic disorder, which causes otherwise normal-looking teenagers to perceive themselves as unbearably ugly. Case studies reveal the good effects of drug therapy using serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and of cognitive behavioral exposure therapy. Drs. Katharine Phillips and Ralph Albertini, of the Butler Hospital Body Image Program, and Dr. Fugen Nesiroglu, of the Institute for Bio-Behavioral Therapy and Research, describe their pioneering studies.
Johnson Center Videotapes
On Order: Check Catalog for Call Number

The famine within.
Influenced by the coercive powers of consumerism and the mass media,North American women have come to judge their bodies according to the unrealistic standards of our culture's beauty ideal. The ultra-lean silhouette of the fashion mannequin and the manipulated image of the magazine model have become not only physical standards, but also symbols of competence and success. In pursuit of this simulated, body-centered ideal, many women are laying waste to their energies and self-esteem, and going on to develop the serious eating disorders bulimia and anorexia.
Johnson Center Videotapes
BF697.5.B63 F36

Gap-toothed women.
Interviews with 40 women, all of whom have a space between their two from teeth. Discussion of their beliefs, lifestyles and whether or not a space between one's teeth makes a difference.
Johnson Center Videotapes
P94.5.W65 G26 1987

The human body appearance, shape and self-image.
As the title implies, covers basically the attitudes of primarily young people toward their bodies. The rationale behind tattooing and body piercing is taken up, as is anorexia in young women.
Johnson Center Videotapes
BF161 .H85 1998

I, doll the unauthorized biography of America's 11 1/2" sweetheart.
A history and examination of the American and international social phenomenon of the Barbie doll, a toy, idol, role model and fashion model reflecting standards of appearance and lifestyle for girls and women since the 1950s.
Johnson Center Videotapes
PN1995.9.D6 I136

Images in media.
The pictures in our heads that define who we are and help us neatly categorize others are increasingly shaped by the newspaper, magazine, film, and TV images that bombard our senses. To convey a message quickly, these images often rely on stereotypes and primal reflexes that can foster in an audience an inordinate fear of violence, racial and ethnic prejudices, diminished self-worth, and even eating disorders, as young women attempt to mimic the look of high-fashion models. This program is a behind-the-scenes look at the media's image-makers, from the first photographers to today's Madison Avenue wizards, and asks some disturbing questions about the self-selected few who hold a distorted mirror up to our society"--Container.
Johnson Center Videotapes
P90 .I4 1998

Killing us softly advertising's image of women.
Explores the image of women presented by modern advertising. Illustrates with examples the use of women as sex objects.
Johnson Center Permanent Media Reserve
HF5827 .K55

Killing us softly 3.
Discusses the manner in which women continue to be portrayed by advertising and the effects this has on their images of themselves.
Johnson Center Permanent Media Reserve
HF5822 .K56 2000

Mirror mirror.
Explores women's perceptions of their own bodies compared with society's definition of the "perfect" figure. Women of various ages, races, and body types comment about their own bodies and tell how they think others perceive and treat them based on their physical appearance.
Johnson Center Videotapes
PN1995.9.E96 M57

Miss-- or myth?
Chronicles the Miss California Pageant when it was held annually in Santa Cruz, and the recent demonstrations against it, termed the Myth California Pageant
.
Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ1220.C3 M58

A Question of color.
Examines the issue of color consciousness within the black community. This film explores a caste system based on how closely skin color, hair texture and facial features conform to a European ideal. A variety of African Americans give their experiences and attitudes towards the question of color.
Johnson Center Videotapes
E185.625 .Q47 1992

Reviving Ophelia : saving the selves of adolescent girls.
Mary Pipher discusses the challenges facing today's teenagers, especially girls, as well as the role of media and popular culture in shaping their identities.
Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ798 .P57 1998

Sally's beauty spot.
A black mole above an Asian woman's breast serves as a metaphor for cultural and racial differences.
Johnson Center Videotapes
GN298 .S24 1990

Slaying the dragon.
Describes racial and gender stereotyping of Asian women in U.S. motion pictures as well as other filmic media. Includes interviews with actresses and other Asian American women who describe their experiences of such stereotyping.
Johnson Center Videotapes
PN1995.9.A78 S583 1988

Slim hopes advertising and the obsession with thinness.
Illustrated lecture which explores the manner in which women are portrayed by advertising with the focus on thinness. Discusses the impact this portrayal has on the self images of women and girls.
Johnson Center Permanent Media Reserve
BF697.5.B63 S64 1995

Stigmata the transfigured body.
Women discuss tattooing and piercing and the link between these practices and women's empowerment.
Johnson Center Videotapes
PN1995.9.E96 S85

Still killing us softly advertising's image of women.
Discusses the manner in which women continue to be portrayed by advertising and the effects this has on women, men, and children and their images of themselves.
Johnson Center Permanent Media Reserve
HF5822 .S74 1987

Teen sexuality in a culture of confusion.
Profiles eight young people of diverse race, ethnicity, socio-economic level, geographic locale, and sexual orientation. They share their personal experiences and outlooks on a wide range of issues, including body-image, gender identity, peer pressure, family, religion and their decisions about how and when to act on their own sexuality. Two of the eight talk about living with AIDS.
Prince William Campus Videotapes
HQ27 .T448 2000

Thin at any cost treating eating disorders.
This ABC News program spotlights the work of Dr. Angela Guarda, of The John Hopkins University, and other therapists of John Hopkins Medicine in treating women with anorexia and bulimia. Footage of candid group therapy sessions, which include a 21-year-old with a family history of eating disorders as well as other residents at Hopkins' in-patient psychiatric clinic, provides insights into the root causes of these devastating illnesses.
Johnson Center Videotapes
RC552.E18 T44 2001.

Two lies.
Story of two young Chinese-American girls and their relationship with their vain, flirtatious mother who is having plastic surgery performed to alter her oriental features.
Johnson Center Videotapes
PN1995.9.E9 T86 1989

Wasting away.
This emotionally charged program profiles four young women attempting to recover from anorexia nervosa. Ranging in age from 14 to 25, they struggle to gain weight while dealing with associated conditions such as osteoporosis and depression, family dysfunctionality, and a mindset that equates starvation with self-control. Filmed at the adolescent eating disorder unit of Westmead Hospital in Sydney and a private outpatient clinic, the program captures the complexities of a devastating psychological disorder that drives women to continuously lose weight -- even if it kills them.
Johnson Center Videotapes
RC552.A5 W378 2001.

Western eyes.
Examines the search for beauty and self-acceptance through the experiences of a young Filipina and Korean woman living in Canada who both believe their appearance, specifically their eyes, affect the way they are perceived. Both feel unsettled in Western society and are contemplating cosmetic surgery on their eyes. Layering interviews with references to super models and other pop-culture icons of beauty, the filmmaker captures the pain that almost always lies behind the desire for plastic surgery.
Johnson Center Videotapes
RD119.5.E94 W47 2000

What a girl wants.
Eleven girls ages 8 to 16 and two classrooms of middle and high school students discuss their views on mass media and how it impacts their lives.
Johnson Center Videotapes
HQ798 .W46 2000

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Developed and maintained by Thomas Herndon, Multimedia and Interdisciplinary Programs Librarian at the George Mason University Libraries.
Please e-mail comments and suggestions to therndo2@gmu.edu.
Last Reviewed, May 2002