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by: Rose Weitz  List Price: $14.00 Amazon.com's Price: $4.99 You Save: $9.01 (64%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 391.5 Format: Bargain Price Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 296 Publication Date: January 12, 2005 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Release Date: December 23, 2004 Studio: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: The first book to explore the role of hair in women's lives and what it reveals about their identities, intimate relationships, and work lives Hair is one of the first things other people notice about us--and is one of the primary ways we declare our identity to others. Both in our personal relationships and in relationships with the larger world, hair sends an immediate signal that conveys messages about our gender, age, social class, and more. In Rapunzel's Daughters, Rose Weitz first surveys the history of women's hair, from the covered hair of the Middle Ages to the two-foot-high, wildly ornamented styles of pre-Revolutionary France to the purple dyes worn by some modern teens. In the remainder of the book, Weitz, a prominent sociologist, explores--through interviews with dozens of girls and women across the country--what hair means today, both to young girls and to women; what part it plays in adolescent (and adult) struggles with identity; how it can create conflicts in the workplace; and how women face the changes in their hair that illness and aging can bring. Rapunzel's Daughters is a work of deep scholarship as well as an eye-opening and personal look at a surprisingly complex-and fascinating-subject. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Nothing New HereSure the book is easy to read - because any woman could write it. I found very little here that any person with common sense would not realize on her own. For example, the author says that most women who learn they have cancer learn on the same day that they will need chemotherapy and will lose their hair, and therefore link the cancer and their hair loss forever. Is this even noteworthy? Also, while the author obviously tries to address the way different cultures and ethnicities ... Read More Rating:  - Covers what you've never even thought aboutI thoroughly enjoyed Rapunzel's Daughters because I learned so much about hair. When I first saw the book, I was trying to figure out how someone could possibly fill a whole book about hair. However I was pleasantly suprised to find there is lots to talk about. The chapters are called The History of Women's Hair, Hot Combs and Scarlet Ribbons, Ponytails and Purple Mohawks, What We Do For Love, Paychecks and Power Haircuts, Bald Truths, At the Salon, I'll Dye Until I Die and No More Bad Hair Days. ... Read More Rating:  - Not quite scholarly enoughThis book describes the almost mystical link between women and their hair. Dr. Weitz is a professor at ASU, and I've taken a couple of classes from her over the years. I remembered her mentioning the book she was writing, so I recently looked it up, saw it was out, and went and purchased it. I was a bit disappointed at the unacademic tact the book took with its subject. Perhaps I'm just accustomed to reading scholarly texts, but much of the discussion seemed superficial and didn't explore in detail ... Read More Rating: - Cultural history of women's hairA fascinating look at women and their relationship with their hair. Weitz conducted many interviews and personal research to provide the nine interesting and thought-provoking chapters. She begins with a short history of women's hair, touching briefly on some ancient, medieval and early modern sources and pictures. Most of the book focuses on modern women and the advances within the past one hundred years such as chemical treatments for straightening and relaxing the hair, as well as permanent waves ... Read More Rating: - It's so good it hurtsSeriously people, buy this book. I've had to read many scholarly publications, and I've learnec to avoid them at all costs, lest my eyes start hemorraghing. This book is quite a different story. Everything it promises it delivers on. Dr. Weitz has done quality research, and doesn't stop there. She covers enough history of feminism and haircare to make the rest of the book intelligible, and well contexed. She then procedes on to provide insight into the multifacted culture which women's ... Read More 
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