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Product Description
Why are adolescent girls prone to depression, eating disorders, addictions and suicide attempts than ever before? Mary Pipher believes adolescence is an especially precarious time for girls, a time when the fearless, outgoing child is replaced by an unhappy and insecure teenager. Her view is that for the most part it is our look-obsessed, media-saturated, 'girl-poisoning' culture - and not parents - which is to blame. Despite the advances of feminism, escalating levels of sexism and violence cause girls to stifle their creative spirit and natural impulses, which, ultimately, destroys their self-esteem. Yet it is often their families that are blamed. Here, for the first time, are the girls unmuted voices. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, "Reviving Ophelia" offers parents compassion, strength and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Amazon.com Review
At adolescence, says Mary Pipher, "girls become 'female impersonators' who fit their whole selves into small, crowded spaces." Many lose spark, interest, and even IQ points as a "girl-poisoning" society forces a choice between being shunned for staying true to oneself and struggling to stay within a narrow definition of female. Pipher's alarming tales of a generation swamped by pain may be partly informed by her role as a therapist who sees troubled children and teens, but her sketch of a tougher, more menacing world for girls often hits the mark. She offers some prescriptions for changing society and helping girls resist.
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