American women invest millions of dollars, as well as much time and energy, in a quest for a body that meets our culture s standard of beauty slenderness. Since we define a woman s sexual attractiveness as essential to her social worth, it is no wonder that fat is a feminist issue.

Commercial weight loss organizations have come under attack from feminist scholars for perpetuating the very social values that cause women to obsess about their weight. In Women and Dieting Culture, sociologist Kandi Stinson asks how these values are transmitted and how the women who join such...

Focusing on the kinds of networks that most adequately meet adolescent needs, Stinson conducts thirty in-depth interviews with adolescents and their custodial parents. She divides interviews evenly between those living with biological parents, with divorced mother, and with mother and stepfather.