105 Ways to Give a Book

Body Drama

Body DramaWhoa. You don’t catch me off guard too often, but the photos of twenty-four different... ahem, vulvas was a little startling. Body Drama, by Nancy Amanda Redd, pulls no punches in its efforts to show real teens and young women “real girls, real bodies, real issues, real answers.” It’s right there on the front cover. Reading the book was refreshing, enlightening, and a tiny bit uncomfortable all at the same time.

I’d put this book in the category for older... ahem, developed teens and young women as opposed to the preteen “What’s a period like?” crowd. The book covers body shape, skin, hair, and... ahem, boobs and “down there” with fast facts, question and answers, personal stories, and photos. Lots of photos.

The author (not a physician) is assisted in the medical aspects of the writing by Dr. Angela Diaz, the Director of Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. The end of the book includes numerous resources and an extensive bibliography. Several references are made to the author’s website for more information. The author is a Miss America swimsuit winner, Harvard graduate, and semi-exhibitionist. Kidding! She’s down to earth and not afraid to share some personal stuff from her own life in pursuit of the cause. Her goal — besides selling books — is to make young women comfortable with their bodies and comfortable asking questions about their bodies. To that extent, the last page of the book before the resources is pictures of women in all of their... ahem, full glory. And they are real women with real bodies looking proud or shy or happy or confident. But no one looked ashamed. It was one of the most interesting and moving things I’ve ever seen, and I certainly wouldn’t have expected it in a health book.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review! Women's health books are an interest of mine, and this book sounds particularly intriguing. I will definitely check it out.

tanita✿davis said...

Not one a school library would carry? Or would people have to have special permission to see this? It's always interesting to me where that fine line comes -- would parents complain about this, or be glad their children were learning?

Anonymous said...

TadMack: As a school librarian who has this book coming in on order (and based that decision on a review that didn't mention the extent of the photographs), I'll be wondering that too. I'm not so concerned about the girls, but if the boys get their hands on it - watch out! :P

MotherReader said...

You see, anonymous, that's why I'm a fan of blogger reviews. Because we'll say when something may be of interest in terms of purchasing - whether it's frank photos or constant cursing (Nick & Nora). Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with the books - but adults should have all the information that they need to decide on the purchase, particularly for a school library where age is a factor.

Anonymous said...

I'm the librarian at a Catholic high school for young women. My assistant, a nun, was ok with us adding Body Drama. Not sure what I'd do at a co-ed high school...
Depends on the community, I suppose.

Anonymous said...

I think this book would be good for young girls to help them feel better knowing that their not the only one with certain flaws...I've looked up this book and read reviews i think it will be real interesting...I'll have to get this