The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness

The Obsession is a deeply committed and beautifully written analysis of our society's increasing demand that women be thin.

It offers a careful, thought provoking discussion of the reasons men have encouraged this obsession and women have embraced it. Kim Chernin examines the clinical records of psychiatric illness alongside the testimonies of chronic dieters, tracing how private shame reflects a wider cultural hostility.

The study turns to medical research and anthropological evidence to challenge the prevailing assumption that female flesh signifies pathology. By exploring the ancient veneration of the matriarch, Chernin exposes the psychological cost of reducing women to an adolescent ideal.

It is a book about women's efforts to become thin rather than to accept the natural dimensions of their bodies--a book about the meaning of food and its rejection.

• Body Image: Evaluates medical research from Johns Hopkins and anthropological field studies in Western Samoa, questioning whether standard health metrics conflate physical danger with cultural stigma.
• Eating Disorders: Unpacks the symbolic meaning of starvation through figures like Margaret Atwood’s fictional protagonist Marian MacAlpin, whose physical refusal of food mirrors an unvoiced rebellion against domestic constraints.
• Case Studies: Investigates the tragic life of Ellen West, analyzing her personal diaries and psychiatric records to show how suppressed intellectual ambition can manifest as self-destructive bodily control.
• Cultural History: Contrasts the voluptuous nudes of Auguste Renoir with modern advertising campaigns that promote preadolescent silhouettes, charting how commercial fashion enforces physical diminishment.
• Also by This Author: A Different Kind of Listening, The Hungry Self and A Woman Who Gave Birth to Her Mother.

The book, The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness [Bulk, Wholesale, Quantity] ISBN#9780060925055 in Paperback by Kim Chernin may be ordered in bulk quantities. Minimum starts at 25 copies. Availability based on publisher status and quantity being ordered.