Plucked : a history of hair removal / Rebecca M. Herzig.

Author
Herzig, Rebecca M., 1971- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • New York : New York University Press, [2015]
  • ©2015
Description
vii, 287 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks RL92 .H49 2015 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    • Biopolitics (New York, N.Y.) [More in this series]
    • Biopolitics: medicine, technoscience and health in the 21st century
    Summary note
    "From the clamshell razors and homemade lye depilatories used in colonial America to the diode lasers and prescription pharmaceuticals available today, Americans have used a staggering array of tools to remove hair deemed unsightly, unnatural, or excessive. This is true especially for women and girls; conservative estimates indicate that 99% of American women have tried hair removal, and at least 85% regularly remove hair from their faces, armpits, legs, and bikini lines. How and when does hair become a problem--what makes some growth "excessive"? Who or what separates the necessary from the superfluous? In Plucked, historian Rebecca Herzig addresses these questions about hair removal. She shows how, over time, dominant American beliefs about visible hair changed: where once elective hair removal was considered a "mutilation" practiced primarily by "savage" men, by the turn of the twentieth century, hair-free faces and limbs were expected for women. Visible hair growth--particularly on young, white women--came to be perceived as a sign of political extremism, sexual deviance, or mental illness. By the turn of the twenty-first century, more and more Americans were waxing, threading, shaving, or lasering themselves smooth. Herzig's extraordinary account also reveals some of the collateral damages of the intensifying pursuit of hair-free skin. Moving beyond the experiences of particular patients or clients, Herzig describes the surprising histories of race, science, industry, and medicine behind today's hair-removing tools. Plucked is an unsettling, gripping, and original tale of the lengths to which Americans will go to remove hair"-- Provided by publisher.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-274) and index.
    Contents
    • Introduction: Necessary suffering
    • The hairless Indian : savagery and civility before the Civil War
    • "Chemicals of the toilette" : from homemade remedies to a new industrial order
    • Bearded women and dog-faced men : Darwin's great denudation
    • "Smooth, white, velvety skin" : x-ray salons and social mobility
    • Glandular trouble : sex hormones and deviant hair growth
    • Unshaven : "arm-pit feminists" and women's liberation
    • "Cleaning the basement" : labor, pornography, and Brazilian waxing
    • Magic bullets : laser regulation and elective medicine
    • "The next frontier" : genetic enhancement and the end of hair
    • Conclusion: We are all plucked.
    Other title(s)
    History of hair removal
    ISBN
    • 9781479840823 ((hardback))
    • 1479840823 ((hardback))
    • 9781479852819 ((paperback))
    • 1479852813 ((paperback))
    • 9781479830657
    • 1479830658
    LCCN
    2014027535
    OCLC
    876883391
    Other standard number
    • 40024708406
    • 99967220818
    Statement on language in description
    Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...
    Other views
    Staff view

    Supplementary Information