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Autumn Whitefield-Madrano

examines concepts of beauty and personal appearance at The Beheld. Her essays have been published in Salon, Jezebel, Glamour, and Marie Claire, among other outlets.

Essays & Reviews

The Birth of a Beauty Criticism

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoMarch 23, 2016
Appearance is no longer just a topic for fashion ads and how-to guides
The Beheld

Labor and Looking "Professional"

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoFebruary 19, 2016
Looking "professional" means looking like you're not scrambling in the gig economy.
The Beheld

Men's Fashion, Eugenics, and Cultural Capital

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoFebruary 3, 2016
The suit led to "a remarkable repression of Narcissism among men." So this group of men wanted to get rid of it.
The Beheld

The Mile-Long Club: The Luxury of Eyelashes

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoJanuary 21, 2016
On eyelashes, physiognomy, and terrible beauty advice.
The Beheld

On Beauty Tips and Morality

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoJanuary 6, 2016
Beauty-as-goodness might seem like it's a relief of the beauty imperative, but what's more wrist-smacking than the idea that you'd be prettier if you were a better human?
The Beheld

On Pageantry, the Virgin Mary, and the Smart Girl

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoDecember 17, 2015
To be the smart one and the pretty one would violate the fairness that I believed ruled the cosmos. A Christmas Tale!
The Beheld

Catcalls, Compliments, and Weariness

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoDecember 10, 2015
Compliments can go to the heart of the real problem of street harassment: surveillance of women.
The Beheld

The Tightrope Walker

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoSeptember 16, 2015
Are you angry that you are dancing backward and in high heels and that it still comes down to how good you look in your ballgown?
The Beheld

Sex Appeal, Beauty, and Normalcy: Rachel Hills' "The Sex Myth"

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoAugust 4, 2015
Desirability is not the same as desire itself.
The Beheld

News Flash: Beauty Customers Aren't Suckers

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoJuly 29, 2015
Cosmetics ads' science claims don't hold up, and they don't need to. They just need to nudge us over the border of where hope and possibility meet.
The Beheld

Watching Women Want

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoJune 30, 2015
To watch elite female athletes is to watch women not give a shit when they look ugly
The Beheld

Beauty Didn't Birth the Beast

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoApril 19, 2015
Good looks as liability—and as a lens, one of many.
The Beheld

70 Years Ago Today

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoApril 15, 2015
"[Y]ou saw them wandering about with nothing but a blanket over their shoulders, but with scarlet red lips."
The Beheld

"Mad Men" Beauty Musings

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoApril 6, 2015
In Peggy and Joan's swipes at one another, we actually see how similar they are.
The Beheld

The "Man's Woman," the "Woman's Woman," and Other Apocryphal Creatures

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoOctober 22, 2014
We've spent 120 years trying to define the "man's woman" and the "woman's woman"—and we still don't know who she is.
The Beheld

Laurie Penny's "Unspeakable Things"

By Autumn Whitefield-MadranoOctober 1, 2014
Penny's electrifying polemic isn't for "the good girl." Then again, the good girl might not exist.

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