Customer Reviews

The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

You must buy this book! This book is a "Best Of" compilation of articles that appeared over time in BUST magazine. I almost didn't purchase it because I thought it was a book strictly for teenagers. I'm glad I gave it a second look. This is a book for women of all ages and the guys that want to know what makes them tick. Subjects discussed include a woman's body, growing up, women in music, women in the media, sex, and more. This book does NOT talk about how to trap yourself a man by foregoing your own opinions and pleasure, how to diet until you look like Kate Moss, or anything else that masquerades in most women's magazines as empowering when all the time it is actually chipping away at your self-worth. This book will make you enjoy possession of those XX chromosomes!

Reading this book is a waste of energy. I was going to give it to my sister for her birthday, but after reading it I've changed my mind. There is almost no intelligent content. Oh! how naughty, they swear and they're in your face, but the content is the same tired catty, image-focused drivel. If you want to read yet another "I'm such a feminist because I wear dresses with Doc Martens and I know how to masterbate and drink til I puke and I live in New York or San Francisco and have no hobbies except shopping and painting my nails and gossiping about pop culture" book, then pick this one up. The pages are full of references to the most obvious icons of popular music, tv, and publishing, with nary a mention of female athletes, scientists, tradeswomen, etc (please! I might break a nail and I have a hot date with a totally f***able boy tonight). The book even insinuates that athletic women are anti-feminists who are thin "under the guise of good health"; only Roseanne is a "Real Live Girl." The BUST Guide is as vapid as Vogue, as clueless as Cosmo and more insidious than either because it thinks it's not. The only reason it got a star at all is for a few decent essays and short stories buried in the mess. Had I read those in a different context I would have enjoyed them more.

This book, like the magazine that spawned it, is a very nice book that makes feminism very fun and acessible for girls. But I wonder if too many things have been sacrificed to make this book acessible. This book was written primarily by white middle-class women who stay away from controversial topics like the prevalence of Asian and Latina fetishism in American culture today. The book tries to appeal to more girls by promoting a feel-good version of feminism. The book encourages girls to have self-esteem, but often fails to attack the societal institutions that cause these girls to have low self-esteem to start with. This book is very good next to drivel such as Cosmos and Glamour, but there's certainly room for improvement.

This collection of essays, rants, stories, etc. is fantastic. Every selection in it is a thought-provoking gem; some of the pieces inspired me to laugh out loud, others to reevaluate my views, still others to fondly or sadly recall girlhood, and some of them even made me angry, but there wasn't a single clunker in the bunch. After I finished my copy I immediately ordered one for my best girlfriend...I really can't recommend this book highly enough.

I love BUST, both the magazine and the book. Real women talk about their problems and experiences. Most of this time this book is a lot of fun and gives a lot of food for thought. That said, it's not written purely by academics. These are real women so there's not always an in-depth study of something or ground-shattering revelations. This book, however, is worth the read.

this book is a great new approach to feminism. although a lot of it is outdated---who wants to hang out with gwynth paltrow anymore? it provides an easy, yet self-empowering, way to introduce yourself to feminism. it clearly shows that not every feminist is the same, and that feminism does not have to mean man-hating, pop culture hating, or strict politics, the way so many people assume it does.

I loved this book and my only regret is I didn't get it sooner. I subscribe to Bust magazine... so I was fairly convinced I'd enjoy the book before I got it. I must say I had underrated my reaction. This book is terrific... I couldn't put it down. If you're a girl get it and if you know a girl get it for her.

I own a copy of this book, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It's a fun gift, I suppose. Check it out at the library. Don't bother buying it. It's a series of personal stories and essays - most are entertaining. Don't expect any radical insights.

I have been reading BUST magazine since it was a little bitty baby and it makes me glad to be a girl. I can't think of a better tribute to the readers and staff than to put out a book like this. It has a lot of essays that formerly appeared in the magazine (which I was happy about since I have passed around most of my back issues to girlfriends so much that I'm not even sure where some of them are - and back issues are hard to find - just try ordering them from their web site....most of them are sold out!)

This is a great book for teenage girls, young women, middle aged women, old women.... Women who read The Rules should be forced to read the BUST Guide for their own good. My nieces will all be given a copy as they turn 13.

Five great big kisses to the awesome women who thunk up BUST and this book!!!

The appeal of "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order" is jarringly similar that of the vapid glossy fashion magazines Bust's writers love to hate (and occasionally work for): It is easy reading, taut with unresolved ethical and philosophical paradoxes, and intercut with rather feeble attempts at insight and actual journalism.

This is not to say it isn't entertaining. It is, most of the time. The prose is not bogged down with complicated ideas or long words. It is light and easy reading, the kind one does before bed, allowing simplicity to tickle the brain into slumber.

Bust's core philosophy is very simple: Anything I like and find pleasurable is feminist and right and empowering. Because of this philosophy, it is unnecessary for any of the essays to examine why something may be wrong or negative or unfeminist or contradictory. It is an intoxicating atmosphere of stubborn self-righteousness and self-worship, but ultimately, it is completely devoid of any real feminist discussion or philosophy. The essays drop names like Susan Faludi and Naomi Wolf and Camille Paglia, but fall far short of posessing any of the virulence, thoughtfulness, intellect and linguistic prowess of the work of those authors.

Ultimately, "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order" is probably a good introduction to feminism for the novice--especially young teenage girls, as the juvenille writing tends to read as if it could have been ripped out the diary any given 14 year old girl. But for anyone who is well-aquainted with the subject matter, it is going to feel self-indulgent, shallow, and amateur, kind of a "Chicken Soup for the Feminist Soul."