Customer Reviews

The Body's Edge: Our Cultural Obsession With Skin

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The skin is the largest organ in our bodies, and it is one of the things that defines us in the eyes of others. It is not nearly enough to say that someone is black, or brown or white since there are many shades of black, brown and white, and as far as skin goes not one of them is really black, brown or white. Also there is a difference in the smoothness and texture of skin that is seldom addressed, but very keenly felt. I am amazed that I can tell the relative age of someone even in a still photo by the feel of their skin that my eyes can discern. Is there anything so appealing as the graphite smooth skin of youth? And how we notice it! And how we long to reclaim it! Which, in a sense, is what Lappé means by "Our Cultural Obsession with Skin." We are attracted to and repulsed by the skin of others. Big pores may offend us. An oily sheen may put us off. Freckles we may like or not. Skin advertises our age and the state of our health. Try as we might we cannot hide because our skin is there for all to see.. And the skin doesn't lie, although how hard we try to get it to!

This is an informative and interesting but hardly inclusive little book, especially strong on how we try to improve the appearance of our skin. One of Lappé's major points is that there isn't all that much we can do. Most of what the pharmaceutical industry sells us doesn't work. He offers insights into how the skin functions, to what extent it is a barrier and a sieve. He includes material on "the silicone story," and skin diseases, but is a little heavy on his role and interest in testifying against some chemical companies--but certainly I think we can approve of that.

Although I enjoyed reading this, I would like to see a book on skin that goes more deeply into the cross-cultural and political aspects of skin, how the color and texture, how the oiliness and the blemishes of the skin affect different people. Also a more detailed history about attitudes toward skin differences would be very interesting, including practices such as scaring, tattooing and how the grooming instinct is played out on the skin.

In short this is readable and interesting, but only touches the surface. (I know that's a stupid pun, sorry.)

You will learn just as much as reading a medical reference, except Marc Lappe adroitly puts it all together in a plain text. We are all very obesses with colors and appearance of our skins yet neglect the fact that skin is the front-line boundary against an inimical world. Therefore, more than to your anesthetic sense of beauty, the skin provides resistance and separates us from the outside world through a thinnest of margins. Lappe discusses how the newly discovered permeability of the skin, long recognized by other cultures, has lead to the use of drug-bearing patches; how potentially harmful chemicals penetrate the skin; how vulnerable we are to particular environments. You have to read it yourself and discover "skin".

This was the best book i have ever read in my life. I learned so many causes and how it could be gone. I think this book is a good reference.