Customer Reviews

Locker Room Diaries: The Naked Truth about Women, Body Image, and Re-imagining the "Perfect" Body

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought the book based upon its previous shining reader reviews, and absolutely adored it! I am shocked by M. Prindle's negative review, and couldn't disagree more with her/his opinion. Did M. Prindle even read Locker Room Diaries in its entirity? I doubt it; in my opinion, this book was filled with invaluable anecdotes and information about women and body image.

Like many women in my 30s, I have experienced a myriad of body image issues---ranging from anorexia in my teens, to a combination of anorexia and exercise bulimia in graduate school. I'm considered healthy now (thanks to therapy and medications), but I always carry with me an awareness of my body---my physical fitness and dietary intake are omnipresent in the back of my mind. Locker Room Diaries helped my to realize that I am not alone, and that body image issues are pervasive in our society. It also helped me to see that my body has meaningful and amazing functionality, and it's physical beauty (based upon societal and cultural standards) doesn't need to define me as person.

Locker Room Diaries made me both laugh and cry, but more importantly, made me contemplate my view of my own body in a less critical way. Also, Goldman's writing style was easy, flowing and infinitely witty. I read the book in three nights before bed, and wished that it was even longer! I can't wait for Goldman's next book!

Locker Room Diaries is a thorough study of the gauntlet that modern women will run to feel attractive, from hair removal to eating disorders to that elusive goal, self-acceptance. The book's most revealing moments showcase the judgements we pass on ourselves and other women--for anyone who has ever thought to themselves, "Her _____ looks so much better than mine," this book invites the reader to join the club.

It treads the dark territory between elliptical machines and showers in brutally honest flip flops, not shying away from the pressures that our towel-wrapped sisters can apply--usually unknowingly and unintentionally. In anecdote after anecdote, Goldman shines a light into the heart of every woman's insecurities, especially her own.

Through its astute observations about the nature of women au natural, Locker Room Diaries gives any woman who has ever been in a locker room a sense of sorority, and the hope that maybe we shouldn't worry so much about being perfect, because we're already beautiful.

I devoured Locker Room Diaries over two days and I have since passed a copy along to my 3 sisters, my girlfriends, my husband, and even a student! I teach writing at a local university and Goldman's words sing and dance across the pages of her powerful book - a book that is part memoir, part ethnography, and part sociology. It is a beautiful work of art and a true labor of love.

Like Goldman, I too have struggled with my body over the years - constantly pushing it too many miles until it breaks or pinching every ounce of fat on my stomach and magically wishing it would turn to rock hard stone. Goldman's book is a testament to the times that we live in where Dove pushes for a "real beauty" campaign, yet the "real women" splashed across billboards are selling FIRMING lotion.

For any woman who has ever spent time in a gym, Locker Room Diaries will resonate with her. She will laugh and cry simultaneously as her fingers turn the pages. The voices that we hear talking about their boobs, bikini waxes, and food obessions are voices that we are familiar with - that we can relate to.

I highly recommend this book!!! Goldman will NOT disappoint.

I applaud Ms. Goldman for giving those who have struggled with body image issues the opportunity to read and relate to how a variety of women have felt about their bodies at various points in their lives. This book is unique because it blends a lot of wit and humor, research and expert opinions, and women's experiences together into a diary of lessons learned. Moreover, I appreciate that Ms. Goldman sometimes shares or even illustrates her own struggles with body image throughout the book. This is another attempt by the author to allow those readers who have been struggling with similar issues to understand it may be a long and sometimes bumpy road to recovery, and most of all, no"body" is perfect.

This book is amazing. Goldman's hilarious and honest stories on body image made me laugh and cringe at the same time. I applaud Ms. Goldman for providing such a well-written and funny book on this serious subject.

I read this book in one day - it was THAT fascinating and THAT funny! My favorite chapters are the ones about whether being a twin is a bane or a boon to self-image, the cultural differences of body image, and the real truths about aging. There were more than a few gems of knowledge that I learned by reading this book and it makes for a great conversational piece.

Beyond finding myself laughing at Goldman's quick-witted barbs, I found myself having greater compassion for my own self-image...flaws and all! And THAT...is priceless.

Locker Room Diaries is at once a fun read and an important commentary on society's unhealthy obsession with weight. I identified with many of the interviewees, and I saw my friends and family in many others. This book made me re-evaluate my own "health" habits and helped me to gain perspective on what's truly important. Goldman addresses difficult issues and unspoken insecurities with candor and wit.

I enjoyed Locker Room Diaries so much that I recommended it for my book club! Everyone loved reading it and it generated very honest, open, and revealing conversation. This is truly a great book!

The author was far more interested in discussing her own preoccupations with weight and her own looks than in really opening up some kind of valid discussion about body image. This book is mainly a self-involved narrative of the author's own rituals, with the occasional nod in the direction of "wouldn't it be great if women just accepted their own bodies?" The anecdotes are simply that: pretty banal observations without any real content or analysis.

LOCKER ROOM DIARIES: THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN, BODY IMAGE, AND RE-IMAGINING THE 'PERFECT' BODY stems from interviews with hundreds of women over five years, conducted in gym locker rooms. Women's self-image and bodies are the focus here, providing a survey which examines weight, changing perceptions of body style, and more.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

Goldman has taken a realistic and fun approach to a serious and often morbid topic. As someone who has recovered from both bulimia and anorexia, and someone that has read every book on the topic of body image, I find it refreshing to finally laugh about it. Goldman's visual descriptions, brutal honesty and writing style made me feel like I was sitting at brunch with my best friend gabbing away; sometimes serious, sometimes funny, but all honest. She also made me appreciate my body in ways I had never considered as she took body image beyond just "fat" or "thin". Locker Room Diaries made me stop and think: my body will fight disease, my legs strong enough to kick and fight off an attack, my belly will be home for a fetus, my breasts will feed a baby, my arms will provide hugs and love to people around. And just like the older woman Goldman talks to, I too hope that when I'm 90 I can look back at a body I hated so much as an adolescent and young adult and not only accept it for what it carried me through, but treasure it for the sacred moments it brought me that define "life". Thank you Leslie Goldman for your very poignant observations and the chance to have one of those "Oprah Ahah" moments! Every woman should read this (as well any man that wants insight into how women think.)