Books like The Beauty Bias

For months, Asian women in Oakland, CA, reported a nonstop stream of harassment and muggings by local youth. The problem: their harassers were Black. In a lineup, the women couldn't identify their attackers, and they walked free. To counter this, women in the community received cross-racial training...which failed. The robberies stopped when cameras were installed and the police didn't need a victim to ID anymore. Eberhardt’s book is full of gems like this, smart snippets of life, and the innate biases that run it. This smart examination of cognitive biases goes further than pointing out how racial biases influence criminal justice — it also offers some solutions, especially for unconscious prejudices. These take the form of unconscious bias training, and forcing people to deal with uncomfortable subjects.

This first-person account of what it’s like to grow up visibly different is beautifully written, and manages to be both heartrending and uplifting at the same time. Henley does a stellar job of keeping the reader invested in her struggles, and her musings on how pervasive the idea of arbitrary physical traits and one’s value as an individual is, makes for an uncomfortable but necessary read. A must-read for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t fit in.

I first encountered medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris when she published The Butchering Art, a biographer of pioneering surgeon Joseph Lister. This is another gore-flecked narrative that focuses on facial surgeon Harold Gillies’ pioneering work formulating ingenious surgical innovations and transforming the lives of patients disfigured fighting in WW1.

Plastic surgery has been around since the French Revolution, but attempts at facial reconstruction were limited. Gillies became fascinated by plastic surgery after watching French surgeon Hippolyte Morestin remove a cancer tumor from a patient’s face and cover it with a flap of skin taken from their own neck. In 1916, he requisitioned a ward at Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot, to cope with the grotesque procession of disfigured men disembarking from the hospital trains. He assembled a team of retired doctors, medical students, and even a vet to try to give these men their dignity back. A Daily Mail reporter at… show more.

This book spares no punches, diving straight into the chaos that was the Women’s House of Detention in NYC’s Greenwich Village, aka The Hellhole in the 60s and 70s. First-person narratives and choice juicy details make the lives of the women come alive, from their annual fashion show to their cellblock politics and pink-painted bars. All too often, dispatches like this lack color and clarity, but this unfiltered take is far more gripping, and avoids stereotypes. We meet a wide range of people, scarred sex workers who refuse plastic surgery as “it’s too late for them,” pregnant teens who dreamt of hair salon careers, and substance abusers who cycled in and out, multiple times.

Despite being forced to live in rat-infested slum-like conditions, with shoddy medical care, many of the women remained spirited, even upbeat. But their continued struggle to maintain their sense of identity and femininity, despite minimal resources,… show more.

The sordid history of women’s bodies and the institution of medicine is a focal point of dread for me. This is a terse study of the long history of misogyny in the medical field. It powerfully illustrates how women’s bodies have acted as sites for gender-based power struggles, along with the compounding overlay of class and race.

This book angered and inspired me, as the history it portrays is shockingly relevant to today’s discourse on reproductive rights. It’s scary as hell.

As someone who has battled the broken healthcare system for 25 years now, I felt seen, understood, and vindicated by Cleghorn’s book.

Through research and story, she reveals how male bias and misogyny are stitched into the healthcare system. From a lack of funding for female health issues, excluding women from drug trials, and not trusting women’s voices, the author makes a compelling case for the many ways misogyny makes it difficult for women to get well in the US.

This story about four patients cared for by nurse practitioner and acclaimed poet Cortney Davis reminds me a bit of pandemic narratives in that she works in a public clinic with individuals whose financial, emotional, or social situation puts them at risk. Since her patients are all female, their needs are related to gynecology, but the bigger story is Cortney’s ability to connect with them on a humanistic level and share their hopes, concerns, and fears.

This book is rich with medical revelations, describing how the long-perpetuated misinformation surrounding women’s bodies and the male-centric nature of health care has dire health consequences for women.

We especially love it because, like our book, Pain and Prejudice emphasizes the difficulty of navigating the health care system when it comes to gynecological issues, the struggle to receive a diagnosis and proper care, and the importance of advocating for yourself as a woman. 

Drawing on more than three decades of experience, Dr. Romm has written an essential guide to female health and wellness. For Romm, herbs hold pride of place in the art and science of healing. As a midwife, herbalist, and board-certified family physician with a specialty in women’s health and obstetrics, her work combines a deep understanding and respect for both traditional herbal medicine and Western allopathic medicine. Anyone who wants to better understand or address specific female health issues will benefit from this revelatory book. Anyone who wants to integrate herbs into their lifestyle will enjoy the book’s abundant tips, meal plans, and 6-week action plan. Dr. Romm’s big-hearted and encouraging style will leave readers feeling committed to charting a course for better health at any age.

If the healing power of crystals has ever drawn you in, I recommend having this book as a staple in your life. I personally know the author and she teaches from a truly pure, embodied, and reverent space. With this book you will learn everything from how to ethically source, care for and collect crystals, how to work with them for different purposes, the 10 crystals every woman needs, and specific crystal rituals for love, fertility, and more. Beautifully put together with breathtaking photos and integrity-filled practices, this book will elevate the power of nature in your life, health, and heart!