This is quite obviously written by a college professor. It’s well written but extremely intellectual and I feel like I should get some sort of credit for reading it all. An important work, but not necessarily an enjoyable one.

While I will almost always stop what I'm doing to read a new interpretation of how the female narrative is shaped, the attempt to pair this with a specifically Christian outlook felt very awkward. There were also several instances of misrepresentation, wholly unnecessary to the overall subject, that caused me to question the overall integrity of the writing. But that's the crux of theory and interpretation, there will always be sufficient examples for any and every narrative, and a lack of agenda is difficult to come by.

Images tell powerful stories about how women should look and act. We may think girl power and body positivity have replaced tales of helpless, beautiful princesses, but contemporary images in popular culture continue to perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
In Look like a Lady, art historian Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt uses personal narrative and art history to uncover five limiting visual stories that have shaped us.

This is a highly reflective look at the relationship between art and our self-perception and expectation as a woman. It is not an easy read as it is deeply reflective, but it is great for women who are trying to make sense of their lifelong struggle with self-image.