WOLF, Naomi

Born 12 November 1962, San Francisco, California

Daughter of Leonard and Deborah W. Wolf; married David Shipley; children: one daughter

Often heralded as a voice of feminism's third wave, Naomi Wolf came to international attention with the publication of her first book, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women (1990), published first in England, then in the U.S. It explores the beauty standards imposed on women and argues that these standards serve to maintain the status quo by continuously undermining women's advances—making women answerable to beauty standards set by a male-centered culture.

The book grew out of Wolf's work as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University. She was exploring ideas about beauty in the 19th and 20th centuries when she made the connection to her own generation—females growing up in the 1970s. Her generation, despite the changes wrought by the second wave of the women's movement (the 1960s and 1970s), faced daunting beauty requirements; in response, many were succumbing to anorexia and bulimia. She further explored the idea that beauty standards circumscribe women in every occupation, subjecting them to required makeup, hair, and fashion routines that amount to a "third shift" of work. Successful women who want to continue up the corporate ladder know that looking young and vital is excruciatingly more important to them than to the male with whom they compete for promotions.

The Beauty Myth was a bestseller and embraced by many in the women's movement, though some questioned its depth of scholarship. It brought Wolf immediate fame and placed her in the celebrity circle of media attention. Her next book, Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How to Use It (1993), was more controversial. In part, it was a critique of second-wave feminism, accusing it of becoming too rigid in its views and calling on feminists to broaden their self-definition. Wolf presented the idea of "power feminism," arguing that the time had come for women to embrace their political power (political parties were then courting women's votes). She urged women, too, to eschew "victim feminism" and to acknowledge, celebrate, and build their own power in business and in all of life's realms. Unfortunately, the term "victim feminism," Wolf told Publishers Weekly in 1997, was picked up by antifeminists. It was used in ways that Wolf "couldn't control," she said. She had meant to "acknowl-edge that women are victimized." Instead, the term has come to mean the equivalent of whining and has been used against established feminists ever since.

Wolf, meanwhile, gained fame as a talk show guest and speaker, as well as author of numerous articles. Her third book, Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood (1997), again tackled views of women's power, this time focusing on the sexuality and coming-of-age stories of young women. In it Wolf shares reminiscences of her own and those of old friends about their sexuality during the confusing teen years, and attempts to generalize from them. Critics varied in their response. A New York Times reviewer called Wolf "a sloppy thinker and incompetent writer." But a New York Times Book Review writer called the book "a searing and thoroughly fascinating exploration of the complex wildlife of female sexuality and desire." Some reviewers panned the book's format. The Los Angeles Times reviewer called it "chaotic and frustrating," adding that it "reads like several projects pasted together: a memoir, a polemic, a random assortment of readings on female sexuality." Wolf has said her book is "not a polemic, but a set of confessions." And she is aware her format is a combination of personal and theoretical information. Promiscuities ' conclusions were questioned by some reviewers. The Library Journal stated that "overgeneralization abounds as she [Wolf] attempts to apply the microcosmic events of this mostly white, middle-class, liberal milieu to a whole generation." It also acknowledged that the book would likely be popular, and advised librarians to "purchase accordingly." Good advice. Promiscuities became a New York Times bestseller. Wolf continues to be a popular speaker and writer. In the 1997 words of New York Times Book Review 's Courtney Weaver, "One of Ms. Wolf's great strengths" is "blasting away myths." In the year following Weaver's review, Wolf was taking on many myths and closely held beliefs in a monthly opinion column in George magazine, exploring topics from patriotism, to the Virgin Mary, to the need for America to apologize for slavery. On the personal side, Wolf leads a busy life. She is married to political speechwriter David Shipley and has a daughter, born in 1995.

Bibliography:

Reference works:

CA (1994). CBY (1993). Who's Who in America (1996).

Other references:

Commonweal (25 Feb 1994). George (1998 passim). LJ (15 June 1997). Los Angeles Times (27 July 1997). Nation (9 June 1997). NYT (10 June 1997). NYTBR (8 June 1997). PW (30 June 1997). Time (30 June 1997).

—JUDITH HARLAN