This volume approaches questions about gender and the politics of
appearance from a new perspective by developing the notion of
aesthetic labour. Bringing together feminist writing regarding the
'beauty myth' with recent scholarship about new forms of work, the
book suggests that in this moment of ubiquitous photography, social
media, and 360 degree surveillance, women are increasingly required
to be 'aesthetic entrepreneurs', maintaining a constant state of
vigilance about their appearance. The collection shows that this
work is not just on the surface of bodies, but requires a
transformation of subjectivity itself, characterised by notions of
personal choice, risk-taking, self-management, and individual
responsibility. The book includes analyses of online media, beauty
service work, female genital cosmetic surgery, academic fashion,
self-help literature and the seduction community, from a range of
countries. Discussing beauty politics, postfeminism, neoliberalism,
labour and subjectivity, the book will be of interest to scholars
and students with an interest in Gender, Media Studies, Cultural
Studies, Sociology, Social Psychology and Management Studies. "This
highly engaging, smart, and wide-ranging collection analyzes how,
under the self-governing mandates of neoliberalism, the demands
that girls and women regulate and control their bodies and
appearance have escalated to new, unforgiving levels. A special
strength of the book is its emphasis on the rise of 'aesthetic
labour' as a global, transnational and ever-colonizing phenomenon
that seeks to sweep up women of all races, ages and locales into
its disciplinary grip. Highly recommended." -Susan J Douglas,
University of Michigan, USA the inherited responsibility that
remains women's particular burden to manage." -Melissa Gregg, Intel
Corporation, USA "This book incisively conceptualizes how
neo-liberalist and postfeminist tendencies are ramping up pressures
for glamour, aesthetic, fashion, and body work in the general
public. In a moment when YouTube 'makeup how to' videos receive
millions of hits; what to wear and how to wear it blogs clock
massive followings; and staying 'on brand' is sold to us as the key
to personal and financial success, 'aesthetic entrepreneurship' is
bound to become a go-to concept for anyone seeking to understand
the profound shifts shaping labor and life in the 21st century."
-Elizabeth Wissinger, City University of New York, USA
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