The Body Project

Joan Jacobs Brumberg's book, The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls, is an inspiring, eloquent survey of the societal and psychological changes that have effectively molded and shaped young girls during the past hundred years. Her insight into Victorian culture and the succeeding eras – citing historical sources, unpublished diaries of adolescent girls and photographs – tells of a history that's crucial to us all: American girls are in crisis. And it's not just a temporary, teenage kind of thing.

The Body Project ventures beyond weight-control issues. Using numerous diaries from the 1830s on, Brumberg discusses acne treatments, orthodontia, contact lenses, body piercing, plastic surgery and more. The whole body, including one's bikini line, is now “the central personal project” of the American girl.

Brumberg sees the body as a kind of "message board" that girls manipulate fiercely in their attempts to keep current with the demands of popular culture. Sl...