When A Return to Modestywas first published in 1999, it began an important and much-needed national conversation. Wendy Shalit persuasively argued that modesty is not some hang-up we should set out to cure, but rather a wonderful instinct that, if rediscovered and given the right social support, has the power to transform society. Now, in this newly revised edition, Shalit backs up her claim with the latest trends and research to prove that the issue is just as pressing today as ever. Unfortunately, many problems Shalit originally explored, such as date rape, harassment, and most alarmingly, the sexualisation of young girls, have only become more prevalent. Where once a young woman was ashamed of her sexual experience, today she is ashamed of her sexual inexperience. And as we continue to push the limits of what is accepted behaviour, the pressure to overcome embarrassment and discard all sense of modesty is greater than ever. A Return to Modestyis a deeply personal account as well as a fascinating intellectual exploration into everything from seventeenth-century manners to the 1948 tune "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Beholden neither to social conservatives nor to feminists, Shalit reminds us that modesty is not prudery, but a natural instinct-and one that may be able to save us from ourselves.

Across the country, there's a youth-led rebellion challenging the status quo. In Seattle and Pittsburgh, teenage girls protest against companies that sell sleazy clothing. Online, a nineteen-year-old describes her struggles with her mother, who she feels is pressuring her to lose her virginity. In a small town outside Philadelphia, an eleventh-grade girl, upset over a "dirty book" read aloud in English class, takes her case to the school board. These are not your mother's rebels.
Drawing on numerous studies and interviews, the brilliant Wendy Shalit makes the case that today's virulent "bad girl" mindset truly oppresses young women. She reveals how the media, one's peers, and even parents can undermine girls' quests for their authentic selves, and explains what it means to break from the herd mentality and choose integrity over popularity. Written with sincerity and upbeat humor, "The Good Girl Revolution "rescues the good girl from the realm of mythology and old manners guides to show that today's version is the real rebel. Society may perceive the good girl as "mild," but Shalit demonstrates that she is in fact the opposite. The new female role models are not "people pleasing" or repressed; they are outspoken and reclaiming their individuality. These empowering stories are sure to be an inspiration to teenagers and parents alike. Join the conversation at www.thegoodgirlrevolution.com
Praise for "The Good Girl Revolution"
"[Shalit's] conviction . . . will resonate with and bolster many parents."
"-Publishers Weekly"
"Shalit marshals her evidence with the diligence of a trial lawyer. . . . [She] does not preach; she merely reports on the pockets of girls who aretaking back their innocence."
"-The Globe and Mail"
"[Shalit is] a passionate defender of modesty and chastity-and [she is also] provocative and rebellious."
"-Toronto Star"
"[Shalit is] a prodigy at cracking the codes of culture."
"-Newsweek"
"Stands out . . . in its championing of 'new role models' . . . who are taking a stand against the excesses of the Sexual Revolution."
-"The Washington Times"
"A work of art. Wendy Shalit single-handedly transforms the way we view sexuality, and she is outrageously right-on. This is a book celebrating what women truly are and can be: loved, loving, strong, and complex. Shalit is a woman of high intellect, yet her arguments are witty, hip and logically presented (and she is also truly very funny!) making this book accessible and profound for the young and mature reader alike."
--Dr. Mayim Bialik, neuroscientist at UCLA and former "Blossom" star
"When Wendy Shalit wrote "A Return To Modesty" in 1999, she knew which way the cultural winds were blowing. Since that time, the sleaze factor in our culture has worsened in ways about which numbers of people now express dismay. But in this book, Wendy Shalit has documented voices of real girls who are raising important questions about the culture around them. Many of these individual girls are taking action to counter this prevailing culture--putting a new slant on counter-cultural! "The Good Girl Revolution" profiles girls and young women who think for themselves. They are proud of who and what they are, and are making the choices that will allow them to continue to feel this way."
--Dr. Patricia Dalton, clinical psychologist in practice in Washington, D.C.
"Here we are, decades after the feminist revolution, and yet crude self-display - of a kind that makes the daring of the 1960s seem quaint - is considered something that a "normal" college girl might eagerly choose to do for a stranger with a camera and a release form. What is going on? "We continually malign the good girl as 'repressed, '" notes Wendy Shalit, "while the bad girl is (wrongly) perceived as intrinsically expressing her individuality and somehow proving her sexuality."
-"The Wall Street Journal," reviewed by Pia Catton
"Even-tempered, sweetly reasonable, and full of pleasing glints of dry wit. . . an intelligent, illuminating, and unexpectedly optimistic book about those young women who have chosen to opt out of the revolution."
-"Contentions," reviewed by Terry Teachout
"Charming, moving, sometimes heartbreaking...brave and wonderful."
--"Commentary
"
." . .throws into detailed, sickening relief the actual content the average girl in North America is subjected to from birth onwards in the determination to make her "bad." . . A solid researcher, citing wide-ranging statistical, professional and anecdotal testimony, Shalit builds a persuasive case for promiscuity's harsher toll on women than men."
-"The National Post," reviewed by Barbara Kay
"The culture has not yet carved out a space for women to indulge their own fantasies rather than to fulfill those of men. Feminism has not finished its job; a version of nonmushy, nonmarital sex that makes women feel good about themselves is still hard to achieve. Yet as a feminist, it's hard for me to concede these things to Shalit. . . ."
-"The Nation," reviewed by Nona Willis-Aronowitz
"Shalit believes that too many girls and women have been denied a happy ending because, post-sexual revolution, we now believe it's good to be bad. . . .To make her point, Shalit roves through the bordello of popular culture, sweeping up unpleasant bits of evidence. She begins with Bratz dolls, a scantily clad line of playthings aimed at young girls, and goes as far as the "Girls Gone Wild" phenomenon, in which young women who ought to know better get drunk and take off their clothes and make lots of money for ungentlemanly types who sell videotapes of them. . . Shalit tells me to take heart, though, because there's a new sexual revolution a-brewing -- one in which sex is supposed to be a meaningful act between two people who actually care about each other. It's tempting to mock her, but what's so silly about the idea of self-respect and finding one's soul mate? Nothing, even if you're more the 'Sex and the City' type than the virgin-till-marriage type."
--"Washington Post Book World," reviewed by Jennifer Howard