My Beautiful Mommy

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J+
so what do you guys think of this new book? [url="http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-blogs/ajc/parenting/entries/2008/04/23/picture_book_he.html"]Here's a news article[/url]. IMHO, i think it's stupid. we're not teaching our children to be happy with their looks or to have self-esteem in spite of (or because of) their looks, we're teaching them how to look exactly the same. has anyone seen that Twilight Zone episode where everyone has to have plastic surgery to look the same?

[url="http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2008/04/my-beautiful-mo.html"]Here's an opinion article about the book.[/url]

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
one problem i do have, it's directed specifically at young girls, not boys. as the author of the opinion article i linked to says:
[quote]And shouldn't we be familiarizing children with tummy tucks and boob jobs at a young age, so when they want to do it in grade/middle school/high school, they're not scared of going under the knife?[/quote]

and again from the article
[quote]"Apparently cosmetic surgery causes you to be surrounded by fairy dust (the ultra-handsome) and butterflies, and your kid will throw open her arms because she finally loves the new, not ugly, you," medical librarian Rachel Walden seethed on Women's Health News.[/quote]

once again, [url="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27973"]the Onion[/url] proves prophetic. their piece was published 5 years ago.

[CatherineM]

There are doctors giving 16 year olds breast implants, so I guess they need to prepare them in some way ahead of time. Wonder if the AMA is funding the publication.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1508365' date='Apr 24 2008, 11:41 AM']There are doctors giving 16 year olds breast implants, so I guess they need to prepare them in some way ahead of time. Wonder if the AMA is funding the publication.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
it's self-published.

[Archaeology cat]

I saw this in the paper today and was appalled. I suppose it's somewhat ironic, in that so much effort is put into complaining about girls wanting to be a size 0, so that they don't even stock some of the smaller sizes (which smells of elderberries for those who are naturally quite petite and thin), and yet books like this are published, and sites like "Miss Bimbo" teach children that it's all about looks.

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1508365' date='Apr 24 2008, 06:41 PM']There are doctors giving 16 year olds breast implants, so I guess they need to prepare them in some way ahead of time. Wonder if the AMA is funding the publication.[/quote]
The article said it was self-published, but I suppose that just means he didn't go through a big publisher. It would be interesting to see what the AMA thinks of this.

[cathoholic_anonymous]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1508443' date='Apr 24 2008, 08:54 PM']The article said it was self-published, but I suppose that just means he didn't go through a big publisher. It would be interesting to see what the AMA thinks of this.[/quote]

That probably means that he couldn't find a publisher willing to take on the book, which is one good thing. If you self-publish you have to pay for all the publication costs yourself and organise your own sales and marketing. Conventional publishers shoulder the risk of something going wrong when they take on a new author, as they're the ones doing the financing. With self-publishing, the risk is the author's own.

Some authors have managed it very successfully, but I doubt that he will be one of them.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Cathoholic Anonymous

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Cathoholic Anonymous' post='1508721' date='Apr 24 2008, 11:06 PM']That probably means that he couldn't find a publisher willing to take on the book, which is one good thing. If you self-publish you have to pay for all the publication costs yourself and organise your own sales and marketing. Conventional publishers shoulder the risk of something going wrong when they take on a new author, as they're the ones doing the financing. With self-publishing, the risk is the author's own.

Some authors have managed it very successfully, but I doubt that he will be one of them.[/quote]
Thanks for the input. :-)

[Deb]

Things like this just dampens my hope for the future of humanity and for women. So sad.

[CatherineM]

He'll probably sell them to doctor's office waiting rooms.

[Deb]

and he wants $19.95 a book! What a grub.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Deb

[CatherineM]

My book is going for $35. Guess that makes me twice a grub.

[Deb]

Is your book about the mutilation of self for whatever? If not, your price is okay. What is your book?

[CatherineM]

It's the story about my testifying against the head of a white supremacist group, and getting attacked for it. So in a way I guess it is about self mutilation. It's mostly about be very young and very dumb.