Description

'An essential cultural critic' Lauren Elkin, author of Scaffolding

How does an icon become an icon? How did Anna Nicole Smith model herself on Marilyn Monroe? What connects Lindsay Lohan with Elizabeth Taylor? How is self-made beauty Pamela Anderson like trans bond girl Caroline 'Tula' Cossey? In a series of interconnected essays about pairs of famous women, award-nominated essayist and art critic Philippa Snow explores the echoes and connections between a constellation of female stars and lays bare the artful and gruelling demands of femininity - from the golden age of Hollywood to the Instagram era. Full of the fascinating, entertaining and lurid details you might expect from the lives of mega-famous celebrities, dissected with icicle-sharp intelligence and rendered in stylish, flamboyant prose, Philippa Snow's first full-length non-fiction work is a radically insightful book about the complex meanings and layers of femininity in a male-dominated world.

Hardback
Publication: 3 Jul 2025, Virago
ISBN: 9780349017716

Extent: 320 pages

Product form
  • David's Bookshop

It's Terrible The Things I Have to Do To Be Me: On Femininity and Fame by Philippa Snow

    'An essential cultural critic' Lauren Elkin, author of Scaffolding How does an icon become an icon? How did Anna Nicole... Read more

    £20.00

    • Shipped today? Order within: Oct 30, 2025 16:00:00 +0000

      • Guaranteed secure & safe checkout.

        shop pay

      Description

      'An essential cultural critic' Lauren Elkin, author of Scaffolding

      How does an icon become an icon? How did Anna Nicole Smith model herself on Marilyn Monroe? What connects Lindsay Lohan with Elizabeth Taylor? How is self-made beauty Pamela Anderson like trans bond girl Caroline 'Tula' Cossey? In a series of interconnected essays about pairs of famous women, award-nominated essayist and art critic Philippa Snow explores the echoes and connections between a constellation of female stars and lays bare the artful and gruelling demands of femininity - from the golden age of Hollywood to the Instagram era. Full of the fascinating, entertaining and lurid details you might expect from the lives of mega-famous celebrities, dissected with icicle-sharp intelligence and rendered in stylish, flamboyant prose, Philippa Snow's first full-length non-fiction work is a radically insightful book about the complex meanings and layers of femininity in a male-dominated world.

      Hardback
      Publication: 3 Jul 2025, Virago
      ISBN: 9780349017716

      Extent: 320 pages

      Login

      Forgot your password?

      Don't have an account yet?
      Create account