RELEASED: Feb. 26, 2004

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College will present a guest lecture by Susan Bordo, professor of English and women's studies at the University of Kentucky, titled "Wish List for My Daughter: Redefining Picture Perfect." The event will take place March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Weisiger Theatre.

Bordo will focus on the power of media representations in relation to the "perfect" body, how destructive the representations have been, and how they might be changed to "normalize" diverse body size and shape.

In the words of Susan Squier, professor of literature at Penn State University, Bordo's writings "can be said to have catalyzed the birth of the new interdisciplinary field of work known as 'body studies.' "

Bordo is the author of The Flight to Objectivity: Essays on Cartesianism and Culture; Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body; Twilight Zones: The Hidden Life of Cultural Images from Plato to O.J.; and The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private.

Bordo's best-known book, Unbearable Weight, is widely cited and discussed in scholarly writing. Named a Notable Book of 1993 by the New York Times, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and received a Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology.

Bordo's most recent book, The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private, was published in June 1999 to critical acclaim. Hailed by Michael Kimmel as establishing Bordo as "the Tocqueville of Gender Studies," The Male Body has been featured in Mademoiselle, Elle, Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine, George and Ladies Home Journal, and has been the subject of numerous radio and television interviews, including National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and MSNBC's "Special Edition With Ann Currie."

Most recently, Bordo was prominently featured in a Learning Channel Documentary, "The Science of Beauty."

Bordo lectures nationally on contemporary culture and the body, discussing topics such as eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, beauty and evolutionary theory, racism and the body, masculinity and the male body, sexual harassment, and the impact of contemporary media.

The lecture is sponsored by Parsons Student Health, BLISS, Panhellenic Council, the Dean's Office and Student Activities Council.

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