Book Review: "Rapunzel's Daughters" by Rose Weitz

[crankyoldman]

Read my first of three (and possibly more, but I only have to read three) for the herding cats reading challenge this weekend, mainly because it was a nice quick read and nonfiction. I love nonfiction. Particularly history/science/sociology. This falls into the last category, so be aware. No nice science rants here. XD But I really liked the book and it made me think! Recced by Callista.



So this is a book about hair. Yes, hair.

Considering that you read this LJ at all, you're likely to be a little odd if you're a girl. Maybe you're an intellectual. Maybe you have a nice little weird niche carved out for you. I know I do. So when reading through the trials and tribulations of other women about something as trivial to me as hair, I admit I scoffed a little.

Then I read more.

Discussions on different ethnic groups, the camaraderie of the beauty parlor, and especially the section about how women style their hair in regards to relationships... there was a lot more to this book that I could relate to than what was on the surface. It's about image, about expectations, and about control. We may not always notice it, because of how we're raised (or not) but a lot of social behaviors are very subtle. Not necessarily things that we absorb passively (the book made a strong point about that distinction and thus won me over compared to a lot of women's studies) but things we may get a little pushed into sometimes.

I mean, how many of you feel pressured to keep your hair long by boyfriends? How many of you feel like it should be buzzed because you're alternative? Or feel like you have to dye it as it goes grey, because older women aren't considered as sexy?

I wish I could explain more, but it's really one of those books you have to read through to get it. It's the perfect length too, no long diatribes into barely related studies (which plagues a lot of nonfiction) or an unbalanced perspective on an issue. The author even admits her shortcomings in regards to her viewpoints, but quite obviously spent a lot of time finding a diverse cross-section of people to interview. It feels very warm, and easy to relate to.

Took me a weekend to read (and not straight, more like on and off while I did laundry, sorted through yet another stack of old books, all that) and is easily accessible, not bogged down by academic language.

Comments

[taekwonangel.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good read - I could use some more nonfiction, and I like the way you've described it! Thanks for the rec, Cendri!

[astralavator.livejournal.com]

Funny, the few times I've actually worn my hair long was because my parents had when I was a child kept it short: for pratically, because my dad dislikes long hair which I have a feeling is attributed to my grandmother disliking long hair, and because I wanted to do nifty things with it like some of my friends did.

That's more the first thing I thought of but it sounds interesting.

[venefica-aura.livejournal.com]

Well, everyone's got different experiences with that, which is what makes it interesting. ^^

~Cendri

[astralavator.livejournal.com]

I didn’t mean to sound cheeky. I just found the differences a bit amusing.

[t3h-w0lfy.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that actually sound really interesting. Too bad I just went to the library on like... Saturday.

[moonmorgan.livejournal.com]

Callista here. I'm so glad you decided to read this book and even better, that you liked it! I too love nonfiction books about sociology. I have lots of reviews on my blog about them.

[venefica-aura.livejournal.com]

Well, I should definitely look some up then when my "To Read" list gets a bit shorter. XD

~Cendri