The Frailty Myth: Redefining the Physical Potential of Women and Girls

by Colette Dowling

Book Overview

Can women be equal to men as long as men are physically stronger? And are men, in fact, stronger? These are key questions that Colette Dowling, author of the bestselling The Cinderella Complex , raises in her provocative new book. The myth of female frailty, with its roots in nineteenth-century medicine and misogyny, has had a damaging effect on women's health, social status, and physical safety. It is Dowling's controversial thesis that women succumb...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375758151
• ISBN13: 9780375758157
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Hate speech

Is it just me, or do some of the rather inflammatory reviews of this book belie some very insecure minds? Some of the condescending generalizations these people are making wouldn't be tolerated were this a book on say, racial or religious equality. Women have been socialized to be a lot smaller and weaker than they need to be, and in a more egalitarian society, they might learn from an early age to properly nourish, exercise, and use their bodies to realize more physical accomplishments and enjoy a greater sense of self. What exactly is it about this thesis that is evoking such a hostile reaction in you? Why are you acting so threatened? Did any of you misogynists actually bother to read the book? Given your frightened, contemptuous, kneejerk reactions, apparently not.

An Idea That Is Long Overdue

A very good book with many interesting facts. For a l;ong time now I have thought the proposition that with equal training women would show speed and pound to pound strength equal to men, is the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn. I am glad that Dowling agrees with me and from what I hear that proposition is becoming more acceptable to the general public. As a long time practitioner of martial arts I am glad that this book is inspiring women to become stronger and more agressive and in touch with thier true physical potential, as I beleive the next revolution in gender politics will be a physical one. My one criticism is that the tone of the book is often very sarcastic and at times preachy, but Dowling is very passionate about her position so I think this failing is forgivable.

A fascinating and absorbing read

This was an very interesting book. I picked it up after several discussions with my boyfriend as to whether or not men gain muscle faster than women. This book did talk about the muscle issue, but what was truely interesting were discussions on how society still discourages female participation in sports, tries to differentiate between male and female sports by changing the rules just a little in the women's half of the sport, and the pressure that still exists on female athletes to be girly and feminine. This book is also incredibly well written. It flows well and is rather difficult to put down.I highly recommend this book.

Inspirational fare for women athletes

Other reviewers on this site have chosen to look at this book from a fairly limited perspective--focusing, for example, on the information about Uta Pippig--rather than on the work as a whole and its implications for women and for everyone; another reviewer has mistakenly suggested that Dowling's intention is to disparage men by suggesting that women are gaining physical strength.Both of these readers/reviewers are mistaken, and have failed to consider The Frailty Myth completely and objectively, which leads to the false suggestion that her work is biased, untrue, and unimportant--this is simply not true. People appear to be threatened by her assertion that women's bodies can--and are--changing through the years, and that women are capable of far greater physical accomplishments than they were in the past, and will, in all likelihood, make ever more gains in the future.Dowling cites research that demonstrates how our society (and other world societies) teaches girls to limit their physical prowess, to question their physical abilities and prowess, and then to fulfill the messages we send them about their supposed "frailty" and "weakness." Our culture sends the message, Dowling says, that women OUGHT to be petite, thin, and passive--and that the purpose for this is to be attractive to men. Bulkier women, and women who aggressively pursue physical challenges, are less appealing, we tell our young women. The author is asserting that these messages CAN be changed, and that girls' ideas about what they can accomplish as athletes can have an enormous impact on what they actually accomplish. We can alter the messages we send and the opportunities we provide, and this may enable our young women to develop stronger muscles, more agility, better self-confidence, and the numerous other strengths that accompany physically fit individuals.Dowling is not suggesting that either sex is, or will ever be, superior to the other--simply that we owe it to our young women to provide them with the same opportunities and beliefs about physical fitness that we give our boys--and make available the benefits that accompany that fitness.

Makes you get excited about going to the gym!

I picked this book up because of its great cover, not really knowing what it was about. And when I started reading it in the bookstore, I just couldn't put it down. It's about what it has meant and still means for women to be treated as frail, as weaker, as needing to be helped, as in "Women and children first!" At first you think this is a nice thing, a gallant gesture on men's part, but I'd never thought about how it is for a woman to be treated on a par with children, physically, throughout all of her life! Who wants to be "taken care of" all their life? It's a lot like grown up women being called "girls." Anyway, the author is not haranging, she tells great stories, including wonderful ones about her daughters and friends. It's a great read. I just loved this book and feel more excited when I go to the gym now, I'm not kidding. I see it as part of a bigger picture.I highly recommend this book. It sounds like a cliche, but it's empowering.Eleanor Reynolds