Tuesday afternoon in the library, I happened upon Cressida J. Heyes' book Self-transformations which is really relevant to my doctoral research project with its working title "Feminist Performance Art Can Change Your Life For the Better!?"
Here's a particularly poignant quote:
"... Western feminism has urged women to look inside to find the authentic and diverse selves patriarchy has denied and suppressed, this very gesture of self-discovery has been deeply implicated in emergent discourses that paradoxically take the disciplined and conformist body as a site of truth reflecting the self within. For women the elusive promise of self-determination often displaces its own radical intent with the poor substitutes of dieting, exercise routines, cosmetic surgeries and makeovers."[1]
In other words, women's culture industry uses feminist language to convey the misguided notion that outer-beauty reflects our 'authentic' inner selves. I can't help but see this statement reflected in the (should I say 'tragic'?) trajectory of Jane Fonda's career. It also reminds me of Suzanne Somers' opening monologue to her video Think Great, Look Great in which she states that it's important to understand the connection between inner peace and outer beauty.
[1] Heyes, C. J., 2007, Self-transformations: Foucault, Ethics and Normalized Bodies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 5