"Ugly: Giving Us Back Our Beauty Standards" by Anita Bhagwandas is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of the beauty industry's impact on our perceptions of self-worth and identity. Bhagwandas' writing is both insightful and compelling, offering a deeply personal yet universally relevant critique of the societal standards that define beauty. Through a mix of personal anecdotes, cultural analysis, and historical context, she challenges readers to reconsider what beauty truly means and who gets to define it. The book is a call to action for reclaiming beauty standards in a way that celebrates diversity and individuality rather than conformity. "Ugly" is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the pervasive influence of beauty culture and how we can reshape it to be more inclusive and empowering.

Offers a thought-provoking critique of society's obsession with beauty. Through a blend of personal anecdotes, rigorous research, and social commentary, Bhagwandas examines the pervasive influence of beauty standards and their impact on individuals. She challenges conventional ideals, urging readers to reassess their relationship with beauty and embrace diversity. The book's empowering narrative encourages self-acceptance and inclusivity, advocating for a shift towards defining beauty on individual terms. Bhagwandas' insights resonate deeply in today's culture dominated by unrealistic standards, making "Ugly" not just informative but transformative in fostering healthier self-perceptions and societal attitudes towards beauty.

I found this book fascinating. It was so interesting to learn where a lot of today’s beauty standards come from and how different things influence them at different times. It was also great to see so many different perspectives in one book.

Fantastic listen. U er feminist, utterly compelling, much needed book about the issue of how women are viewed, absolutely loved it!! 5 massive stars

A thorough examination of beauty standards - who invented them and why, how they have changed and who benefits from them, how political climate influences them and how they harm us.

Wow this book was fantastic. So many woman and young girls will resonate with this. It’s smart and sad and very honest and I loved the pop culture references. I liked the fact that Anita actually offers ways out of this toxic way of thinking to help people get their confidence back. She discusses her personal experiences whilst also addressing wider i issues that truly affect everyone. A must read for all.

I especially loved the audiobook of this.

This audiobook delves into the beauty standard issues our society currently faces. Are you beautiful? Are we ugly? Why are we never happy with how we look.

This audio book really got me thinking about the pressure woman put on themselves to meet the ideal beauty standard, whether that is following the latest trends, having plastic surgery, or scrolling of Instagram for hours a day.

In part this made me realise we spend all this time worrying because of the industry whether that be products, advertisements or society itself. We are obsessed with looks.

Is it worth it? Probably not after listening to this audiobook.

I enjoyed the narrator of this, and really related to the points raised. In some sections I thought it was quite repetitive, however the arguments for each chapter were valid and the repetition supported the evidence.

Would I recommend this? Yes for the woman out there that spend their time worrying about how they look! You are beautiful.

Thank you Net galley and Bonnier UK Audio for sending me this audiobook for my honest review and feedback.

Review of audiobook provided by Netgalley

I really enjoyed this in-depth study of modern beauty standards and how they came to be, and how that influences women living today. As a woman in my early 30s, there was plenty to relate to and I will definitely recommend this to some of my friends, who I can see living under some of the harmful influences that Bhagwandas explores. It is completely modern and up to date too, taking into account the new spectre of 'wellness' in particular which is rife on social media now.

You can tell it has been thoroughly researched, and with plenty of strong factual evidence - although this topic is an aspect of feminism I've read a lot about (The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf was lifechanging), I still learnt a lot of new things. As someone who also wants to move away from trying to meet beauty standards, to instead a point of neutrality about it, it was heartening to see the author agree with this rather than embrace the toxic positivity of 'everyone is beautiful'. As women it should not be important whether we are beautiful - we are so much more than that!

I particularly liked how each chapter ended with 'action points' of actual solid advice on what we can do to deconstruct these ideals. It can feel sometimes like it is pointless to try to do this, but by suggesting things to do, like following more people who look like us rather than those we aspire to, it seems a bit more achievable, on a personal scale at least.

This was a fascinating tour through many aspects of what make up beauty culture, from culture and tradition, to the ways that this is shaped by wider media and various geopolitical factors. The author tells her own story through this lens, marrying together her own relationship with beauty and identity, alongside the wider factors.

It is well-researched, angry and thoughtful.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I firstly want to thank Bonnier UK Audio, Net Galley and Anita Bhagwandas for sending me a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read and gave good information to where and how the idea of beauty has changed over the years. It highlights how beauty standards affects all of us and how these beauty ideals are barbaric and unobtainable.

It also highlights how our race, gender and age are all analysed and picked at throughout our lives when we identify as female. It's made me realise the beauty standards I have struggled to obtain all my life are a struggle for others too. It has made me realise how ridiculous these standards are for us as women.

I like how she put her own experiences into this too it really made me realise I'm not alone with my fears; fears many of us women have been made to feel. She gives insight to how plus sized, disabled, lgbtq+ and people who are neurodivergent are affected by their experiences.

She talks about what black and indigenous women experience and how their beauty standards are portrayed. It really highlights how messed up the beauty standards is and how it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to achieve. She talks about diet culture and how others actions affect how we perceive beauty. She also mentions how plastic surgery has changed over years and the terrifying transformations woman have put themselves though for the sake of "beauty" and remaining young, and how we are treated so much more different compared to men of the same age.

There were times I found this difficult to listen to, it was heartbreaking and extremely relatable. It's another reminder that the concept of beauty is a scam! We are all beautiful in our own way and we shouldn't have to change how we look for no one! It is very obvious that a LOT of research has gone in to make this book and I loved how Anita narrated this book as well as writing it. This is a must read for all in my opinion.

A challenging but ultimately empowering listen offering loads of food for thought. I'll be recommending it to our young people in school.

Ugly is a compelling and thought-provoking analysis of modern beauty standards, their roots, and their impact on society. It appears to be a well-researched and thoughtful book. Though I listened to the audiobook, so I can’t speak to or verify the references used.

The book delves into just how early beauty standards affect us, especially as women (even further for women of colour). Something I think I’ve always known, but it felt so validating to hear so many stories similar to my own experiences as a chubby black girl. It really hits on some of my deepest insecurities, some of which I thought I had moved passed. But this isn’t a bad thing, just a reminder of how universally damaging these external standards can be to us all.

Very insightful and refreshing read. - 4/5

This ebook ARC was provided by NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was very insightful and dug into the genesis of certain beauty myths and standards. The book was arranged into broad chapters tackling a certain topic. I really liked the chapters titled "a culture of ugly", "white and ugly" and "old and ugly", which dug into the role of advertising in amplifying non-issues and the scarcity mindset, the role of colonisation in perpetuating 'white is right', algorithms of bias and 'Columbusing' and the role of myths/ folklore in demonising aging women. The author should be commended for such a well researched and detailed book, plus an excellent narration.

I think that this should be required reading for all women and would highly recommend it to everybody.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for providing me with an ARC audiobook for this title.

"Penny 1: Ugly must serve somebody's agenda because its definition changes so often and so drastically."

I thoroughly enjoyed this; Anita Bhagwandas is a delight to listen to, and it's always exciting when an author narrates their own audiobook! I felt the passion and experience come through as Bhagwandas spoke about her life, especially as this audiobook covered (more often than not) not so glamorous events in Bhagwandas's life. In that way, this audiobook was brutally honest, and I am very grateful that Bhagwandas shared her experiences with us. Bhagwandas speaks out about the beauty industry not only as someone who has struggled with 'beauty' norms and expectations herself, but also as someone who has actually worked in the beauty industry - the anecdotal nature of this book is fascinating as Bhagwandas has so many stories from first-hand exposure to the inner workings of the industry.

One excerpt that really touched me was Bhagwandas's retelling of a phase in her life in which she suffered with bulimia; she had been invited on a family holiday but swiftly declined as she knew that visiting said family would mean putting on weight - only for that family trip to have been the last opportunity that she would have had to see her grandmother before her death. I think this story will always stick with me, and my heart aches for Bhagwandas, as she speaks about all of the experiences and opportunities that she missed out on through fear of putting on weight.

I think this is a story that a lot of girls and women will be able to relate to, as I know I certainly found myself tearing up and shaking my head in acknowledgement & solidarity at multiple points throughout the audiobook.

If you’re interested in learning about where our beauty standards came from and how they impact different individuals in different ways, you should pick up this book. 

Anita Bhagwandas is a journalist and beauty editor. Part autobiographical and part essay collection, this book is packed full of facts, studies and stats. From Victorian fashion to the heroin chic of the 90s, from the first face lift in 1916(!) to the routine tweakments of reality stars today that we now rarely bat an eyelid to. Bhagwandas explores where we are with beauty standards today and how we got here. Bhagwandas also touches upon many subjects within this huge topic that I personally had not put much thought to.

I was unsure how much I would get out of this book initially. This is a topic that I am both drawn to and purposely avoid depending on my current mental state at the time. I feel like it’s inherently forced upon all young women, regardless of if we actually care about our looks or not, to at least be aware of the ideal beauty standards of the day.

As a white woman I’ve rarely thought about the impact the western caucasian beauty ideals has had on people of colour. I had known that the body positivity movement had started with women of colour, but I didn’t fully realise the consequences of white media adopting this movement and how this has led to WOC being pushed out of the conversation. Another point explored was the codeswitching that is often required of POC for work. She cites that 61% of WOC changed either their behaviour, appearance or their name to fit in at work, as opposed to 44% of white women feeling they needed to do the same. 

She also explores the idea of pretty privilege, the perks of being perceived as attractive and also the way this has been turned on its head in recent years as people are being bullied for being too beautiful. Along with this she also brings up the financial impact being ‘ugly’ can have, for example, people who are more conventionally attractive are more likely to progress in their chosen career and can end up being paid more than their ‘ugly’ coworkers. 
She also covers how people who are plus sized, lgbtq+, disabled and neurodivergent are affected by society’s expectations of what is perceived as beauty. 

These are just a few examples of the many topics that Bhagwandas explores in this book. Some of which I thought were obvious (plastic surgery, ageism) and others that are new to me and I feel I want to delve into further. The examples she uses are both vintage and contemporary making this book feel like a complete introduction to the beauty standards of western society today. 

**I recieved a copy of this audiobook from Netgalley**

Very thought provoking book, superbly narrated by the author..
Like Anita, I recall the historic very narrow definition of beauty standards.
For those of us who grew up in 1990s/2000s who didn’t live up to the media’s expectations of beauty, this book is for you - especially those women from marginalised communities.

In the first chapter, I felt like this would be another book about beauty standards, the likes of which I have read before. But UGLY was so much more than that and I learnt about historical bias, just how far back some of our beauty standards go and also ways to confront and rebel against beauty norms and society standards. I was very pleasantly surprised and also thought Anita read it beautifully. Will be recommending to everyone I know.

Ugly is an era defining book that provides a thorough intersectional feminist account on what it means to exist as a woman in society. Bhagwandas provides exceptional detail, recounting a number of known feminist theories accompanied by historical context. We learn of the origin on makeup, cosmetic surgery, even going as far back as antiquity. This is truly a feast in regard to knowledge, and such an important intersectional take.

The audio itself was great, given Bhagwadas accounts it herself, it allows it to be read in the way it’s intended. A very engaging audio that has inspired me to get the book!

A really interesting book and concept asking who defines beauty? Why are we made to feel ugly, and where does it come from?

**Listened to the audio book**

I really enjoyed this book. There was so many interesting points in here - this would make a great book club read as there is so many things to discuss.
The target audience is most likely to be women, but I think it would be a real eye opener for men!
It looks at how the idea of beauty has changed over the years as well as in-depth looks into racial beauty standards.
The audiobook is narrated by the author - something I love as it just gives it more of a conversational style and just makes it feel more personal.

I would have loved for this book to have been longer, as I felt that sometimes it only just scratched the surface on some of the topics.

I read this book when it first came out, and feel like it needs much more hype as I didn't see many people talking about it, many bookshop promos etc.

Would love for this 2nd release to hit bigger as it really deserves it!