Naomi Wolf uses “myth” both as a fictional idea and as an age-old story so often repeated that it seems true. In contemporary society (as of its 1990 publication), other myths about women were being dispelled, and so the notion of physical perfection bound up in “beauty” took on increasing importance. Although a woman might achieve her career goals, if she was deficient in beauty, her self-worth would suffer. This ideal, which depends primarily on thinness and youth, is tied to heterosexuality, as it is presumed that male desire for females drives the operations that sustain the myth. Wolf delves into the role of corporate greed through advertising campaigns, as male-dominated business enforces the patriarchy, in which male superiority depends on female belief in their own inferiority. She cautions consumers about the traps of believing the hype and the dangers of inflicting this propaganda on girls.
I would say that the central point of this work is to illustrate and highlight the idea that, as women have gained power and acceptance across multiple societal areas, women are still being held to an unrealistic and unfair beauty standard. Along with that idea, Wolf posits that the objective beauty "ideal" has been put forth mainly by men in a way to keep women powerless. It works like the following: If women are constantly trying to mold themselves into and achieve a beauty standard that isn't achievable, they are being subjected to the will of somebody else. By constantly trying to be a beauty object, women are never the subject and in control of their lives/destinies/etc. Additionally, Wolf says that because the beauty standard is not a target that can be hit, it is ultimately damaging to women in a psychological way. Women eventually adopt an "I'm never good enough" attitude.
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