American Beauty

Part I of Essay
You can never be too thin or too rich, said the Duchess of Windsor. She might have added "or too pretty." What psychologists call the "attractiveness stereotype" is so strong that beauty is literally equated with goodness. Good-looking people are not only preferred for dat ....

Part II of Essay
.... they flocked to enter public life. The first social history of culture: a richly textured account of how women created the cosmetics industry and how cosmetics created the modern woman. You don't need the latest census to tell you that America is, more than ever, a rainbow of faces with worldwide roots. More and more women of African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American heritage are celebrating their own personal beauty, and the cosmetics industry is responding. Viramonte uses the character of Champ to show the changing mood in America tow ....