Wendy Steiner's The Beauty of Choice offers a refreshing perspective on aesthetics that centers women's taste and advocates for female agency. From the courting behavior of bowerbirds to the interpretation of The Nude in painting, Steiner takes readers on a winding exploration of how women's sexual choices inform evolution, art, and politics.

I'm new to the study of aesthetics, and I appreciate Steiner's ability to examine her topic from all sides in order to come to a comprehensive conclusion. For example, in the chapter on the nude in classic art, Steiner considers at the nude from the perspectives of the (male) artist, the (female) model, and the modern-day feminists who object to the model's objectification. I especially appreciate Steiner's willingness early on in the book to call out the misogyny of both right-wing Republicans and left-wing liberals--an uncommon honesty. While I don't agree with every conclusion Steiner comes to (particularly the idea that if one does not waste, they don't truly want), she allows plenty of room for readers to interpret for themselves.

My only criticism concerns the book's format; each chapter reads like a unique lecture, and though there are occasional references to earlier lectures, differences in topic between them make discerning Steiner's unifying theory difficult. This difficulty is compounded by the sheer number of references Steiner makes, whether they're references to art, literature, music, film, or philosophy. Oftentimes I wished Steiner had made fewer references that were more thoroughly worked through; instead, they were overwhelming, and their relevance not always apparent.

Overall, The Beauty of Choice is packed with ambitious, engaging ideas, though the book's narrative thread gets lost along the way. Still, I've been inspired to learn more about the intersection of aesthetics and female desire, and found this book to be an excellent jumping-off point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for the advanced copy!

Since I first bumped into this book I wanted to read it because of the "choice" part of its title.

Little did I knew for big and impactul the "beauty" part of it was.

It's a journey through art, philosophy, literature, politics, taking the road that arises with the question: "what women most want?". It turns out, as the journey progresses, it's destination is not only an individual gain, but a societal, an evolutionary gain.

A book that made me think again, made me look closer, understand better, deeper, what beauty, choice, and, truly, the humanities mean for us as a society, women, and myself. A book I wholeheartedly recommend.

I received a copy of this in order to express my view on it.

The Beauty of Choice is well-written, well-organised and well-structured non-fiction book about aesthetics, its practices and women.
The tone of the essays are meditative and philosophical and the frameworks consulted belong to several social sciences, arts, and humanities fields. In that sense, this is a multidisciplinary cultural text.

Despite being a culturally and academically situated text, I recommend this book to everyone who wishes to learn more about female agency, desires, and aesthetic.

Heroines was a particularly sad but important topic.

The inclusion of it is one of the few reasons why this book deserves to be read.

My least favourite chapter/essay was the one on liberalism, but the writer offers interesting and informative perspectives across the board.

The Beauty of Choice by Wendy Steiner is an immersive journey through literature and art, focussed on the female aesthetic, as the creator and the subject and how it has directed progression through liberal values

I don't agree with all of Steiner's perspectives, but what I respect is the observation, analyses and meditation on the subject matter and the cerebral development of concepts that we are all able to reflect upon. This being more and more essential in the current direction of contemporary soceity

Steiner travels through a wide array of examples and Heroinat was perhaps the most poignant piece for me. Probably because that was the intention, to memorialise the atrocities against women in the Kosovo war. It was a piece with a defined intention and not a matter of perception as to the mindset of the creator

The writing style has a definitive flow. It tackles difficult subject matter with strength and aplomb that is capptivating and empowering

Steiner is an incredibly relevant voice in literature and art today and there are a significant number of reflections within The Beauty of Choice that can be explored further in respect of a woman's right to autonomy and agency in respect of her own body and life

Thank you very much to Netgalley, Comlumbia University Press and Wendy Steiner for this outstanding ARC/ My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own