StepSister Press

 

Bitchin' Bodies: young women talk about body dissatisfaction began as a series of individual and small group interviews with young college women in the United States. Over a seven-year research period, Terri used these conversations to create a compelling analysis of body shape discourse and the way it is experienced, shared, and reframed by young women in conversation.

While most of us are aware of eating disorders, Terri's approach encompasses the everyday experiences of being dissatisfied with personal appearance, and the impact of these preoccupations on our interactions, goals, and participation in society. Divided into sections exploring personal, interpersonal, and cultural dimensions of body dissatisfaction, this book serves at once as a comfort for personal reading, a resource for young women and those working with them on these issues, and a compelling introduction to topics in feminism and communication studies. Karin Lekan's images complicate this text by creating a surreal world in which strangely empowered women move with a sense of reflection in relation to their bodies, which sometimes literally come apart in pieces. Her images appear throughout the book, creating an uncanny interpretation of the world Terri describes.

Terri L. Russ is intimately familiar with the phenomenon of body dissatisfaction from years of personal experience and professional study. Terri earned a PhD at Purdue University in Communication Studies, as well as a JD from DePaul University. A former practicing attorney, she has worked with a number of community organizations involving issues pertaining to girls and women. She is an Assistant Professor in the department of Communication Studies, Dance, and Theatre at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where she continues to explore expectations for female beauty in her teaching and scholarship.

Karin E. Lekan received her BFA in Illustration from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2002. Her illustrations have appeared in several issues of Venus magazine. She has exhibited with the Chicago Art Brigade, Sweet N’ Slow at the Elbo Room, and Monkey Business in Chicago, at the Yacko Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri, and at the Moreau Art Galleries at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She lives and works in San Francisco, California.

Check out Terri's blog at bitchinbodies.blogspot.com for updates on her work and upcoming events related to the publication release, and please join our mailing list if you'd like to receive email updates.

Bitchin' Bodies: young woman talk about body dissatisfaction is available online at amazon.com.
US $19.95
ISBN 978-0-9802300-1-7