As described by British reviewer Paula Singleton,
Jeffreys considers western beauty practices of femininity in their entirety as completely analogous to ‘harmful traditional/cultural practices damaging to the health of women and girls’, as defined by the United Nations – practices such as female genital mutilation. In common with those practices, Jeffreys argues, western beauty practices of femininity are performed for the benefit of men, create stereotyped roles for two genders, and are justified by tradition. In this way, she constructs the beauty practices common for women in the West today not as concerning individual choice, or space for expression of the self, but as an important aspect of the oppression of women, which should be wholly resisted.[1]
What do you think of Jeffrey’s argument that Western beauty practices are not about individual choice or self-expression, but are rather misogynistic practices that enforce women’s oppression?