Joan Jacobs Brumberg focuses on the historical experiences of adolescents, with an emphasis on themes of gender and body image. Her work delves into the evolving understanding of adolescence and the social issues that shape it. Her writing probes deeply into gender studies, examining boys and violence as well as girls and their relationship with their bodies. Brumberg shares her insights through lectures and publications that offer valuable perspectives on the development of youth.
Presents historical evidence, based on research that includes the diaries of American girls written between the 1830s and 1990s, to show how the process of maturation has changed since the nineteenth century, making young women more anxious than ever before about their bodies and themselves
An acclaimed classic from the award-winning author of The Body Project presents a history of women's food-refusal dating back as far as the sixteenth century, providing compassion to victims and their families.Here is a tableau of female medieval martyrs who used starvation to demonstrate religious devotion, "wonders of science" whose families capitalized on their ability to survive on flower petals and air, silent screen stars whose strict "slimming" regimens inspired a generation. Here, too, is a fascinating look at how the cultural ramifications of the Industrial Revolution produced a disorder that continues to render privileged young women helpless. Incisive, compassionate, illuminating, Fasting Girls offers real understanding to victims and their families, clinicians, and all women who are interested in the origins and future of this complex, modern and characteristically female disease.