“Women understand that there are two distinct economies: There is physical attraction, and then there is the “ideal.” When a woman looks at a man, she can physically dislike the idea of his height, his coloring, his shape. But after she has liked him and loved him, she would not want him to look any other way: For many women, the body appears to grow beautiful and erotic as they grow to like the person in it. The actual body, the smell, the feel, the voice and movement, becomes charged with heat through the desirable person who animates it. Even Gertrude Stein said of Picasso, “There was nothing especially attractive about him at first sight…but his radiance, an inner fire one sensed in him, gave him a sort of magnetism I was unable to resist.” By the same token, a woman can admire a man as a work of art but lose sexual interest if he turns out to be an idiot.What becomes of the man who acquires a beautiful woman, with her “beauty” his sole target? He sabotages himself. He has gained no friend, no ally, no mutual trust: She knows quite well why she has been chosen. He has succeeded in buying a mutually suspicious set of insecurities. He does gain something: the esteem of other men who find such an acquisition impressive.”

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About Naomi Wolf

American feminist author, journalist, and conspiracy theorist

Naomi Rebekah Wolf is an American feminist author, journalist, and conspiracy theorist. She became widely known after publishing her first book, The Beauty Myth, in 1991, which made her a prominent voice in third-wave feminism. Her work drew both praise and criticism. Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan were among those who supported it, while Camille Paglia was among its critics. In the 1990s, Wolf also worked as a political adviser to the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

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Books by Naomi Wolf

The beauty myth : how images of beauty are used against women

1991

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Vagina : una nueva biografía de la sexualidad femenina. - 1. edición

2013

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Vom Ende der Unschuld. Oder Das sexuelle Drama, eine Frau zu werden

2000

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Fire with Fire

1993

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Misconceptions

2001

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