Review

Growing up in Melbourne, Lucinda Price wanted to be famous. She was an attention-seeking kid who loved to make people laugh. And she wanted to be hot because that would help her to become famous… growing up in the infamously fatphobic and appearance-obsessed early 2000s, there was plenty of cultural pressure on her to alter her appearance.

Price achieved her aim, becoming a famous online comedian and commentator. Along the way, she also underwent two nose surgeries, breast surgery and suffered from anorexia. Now recovered from eating disorders, and determined not to go back, she’s written this memoir of her experiences with beauty standards, diet culture, feminism and why it is that so many women feel like their faces and bodies aren’t good enough.

*

As a woman, this was a fascinating read. I’m older than her, so I had the advantage of not growing up during a social media age, but I think we all feel the pressure. She seems very open and honest about her experiences and is often quite funny as well, even though the material is sometimes dark. Price includes lots of pop culture references (e.g. Victoria’s Secret lingerie shows, the Pussycat Dolls & Shallow Hal) as well as research and other people’s observations. She does a fairly good job of exploring the complex gender politics entwined with women’s bodies, and touches on intersectional issues like race.

I think this could potentially be a good addition for a school library (year 10 and up), as girls are facing body image pressures right now and would probably be interested in reading about it. As a millennial, Price is a bit older than the students, but they seem to be fascinated by the early 2000s (retro!), so that shouldn’t be too much of a barrier. However, it does cover a lot of sensitive ground — see content info below.

Year 10 & up. 320 pp.

> Click here for content info — spoilers, enter at own risk.

(Experiences and critiques of) Negative body image; diet culture; student teasing; popularity based on appearance; patriarchal beauty standards; social media; cosmetic surgery: rhinoplasty (twice), breast surgery, and brief discussion of other procedures; eating disorders, including anorexia, bingeing and purging. Mental health issues, including OCD symptoms, depressive symptoms, brief mention of suicidal ideation and past family history of suicide (not a major part of the book). Occasional swears, e.g. f-words, s-words. A couple of very blink-and-you’d-miss-it references to recreational drugs.

*

Price, L. (2024). All I ever wanted was to be hot. Pantera Press.

Images are used on this blog post under the “Fair dealing for criticism or review” provision of the Commonwealth Copyright Act, 1968.