Leora Tanenbaum – författare

Chances are that you are getting it all wrong. In this eye-opening new work, slut-shaming expert Leora Tanenbaum explains that when we criticize young women for wearing body-revealing outfits and sharing sexy selfies, we are losing the plot.The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.Young people are sick of being held responsible for others’ inability to keep their eyes off their bodies. They explain that most of the time, they aren’t even trying to sexualize themselves—and, when they do, they are taking control over their bodily autonomy and standing up for themselves.Tanenbaum demonstrates that “sexy” does not mean “inviting sex,” and that when young women and nonbinary people embrace a sexualized aesthetic or post sexy pictures, they do so on their own terms.In choosing to wear body-revealing clothing and posting sexy selfies, young people are taking a stand for themselves and against three pillars of nonconsensual sexualization that shape their daily lives:Gendered dress codes, which allow teachers and administrators to scrutinize and comment on girls’ bodies; Nonconsensual sharing of intimate images (“revenge porn” and “deepfakes”), which portray girls and women as sexual objects deserving of public humiliation; The aftermath of sexual harassment and assault, when victims are told—still today, even after #MeToo—that they were “asking for it.” There’s nothing wrong with taking and sharing intimate pictures. There’s nothing wrong with feeling good about one’s body. Everyone should be able to stand up for themselves, experience a sense of bodily autonomy, and shape and share their image on their own terms. If you like cultural criticism that supports women of all identities, then you'll love Sexy Selfie Nation.

Bad Shoes & the Women Who Love Them is a lighthearted wake-up call to women to make informed decisions when buying and wearing fashionable shoes. Arming the reader with essential facts, citing medical literature as well as leading podiatric surgeons and orthopedists, Tanenbaum covers the history of high heels, Chinese foot binding, the controversy over cosmetic surgery of the foot, and what Freud had to say about women''s shoes and sex.Illustrated by artist Vanessa Davis throughout, Bad Shoes & the Women Who Love Them also includes hilarious anecdotes from women who love shoes. And yes—it is possible to make smart footwear decisions without sacrificing style! Tanenbaum shows you how.

Catfight: Women and Competition is Leora Tanenbaum''s dissection of the gender war waged among women. Tanenbaum meticulously analyzes the roots of destructive competitiveness among women, asserting that "catfights" thrive because, despite women''s many gains, American women are conditioned to regard each other as adversaries rather than allies. She investigates the arenas-from diets to dating, from the boardroom to the delivery room- in which American women are apt to compare their lives with the lives of others in a tacit contest over who is the "better" woman, a contest in which no one wins. Throughout Catfight, Leora Tanenbaum puts her own life experiences under the lens of scrutiny. As a writer, a friend, a mother, a wife, and a daughter, she analyzes her own insecurities and background and how these influence her relations with other women. With the sociologist''s perspective of a Barbara Ehrenreich and the feminist outrage of a Gloria Steinem, Tanenbaum demythologizes the age-old "catfight."