Fasting Girls

An acclaimed classic from the award-winning author of The Body Project presents a history of women's food-refusal dating back as far as the sixteenth century, providing compassion to victims and their families.

Here is a tableau of female self-denial: medieval martyrs who used starvation to demonstrate religious devotion, "wonders of science" whose families capitalized on their ability to survive on flower petals and air, silent screen stars whose strict "slimming" regimens inspired a generation. Here, too, is a fascinating look at how the cultural ramifications of the Industrial Revolution produced a disorder that continues to render privileged young women helpless. Incisive, compassionate, illuminating, Fasting Girls offers real understanding to victims and their families, clinicians, and all women who are interested in the origins and future of this complex, modern and characteristically female disease."Full of fascinating cases, from medieval saints and Victorian spiritualists to contemporary college students and media celebrities." —Alison Lurie

"Brilliant. A masterful blend of history and contemporary issues." —Journal of Social HistoryJOAN JACOBS BRUMBERG is a Stephen H. Weiss Professor at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York.Revised and updated with a new preface and postscript Award-winning author of The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls