and How to Use It(1993) andPromiscuities: The Secret
Struggle for Womanhood(1997). No subsequent work,
however, had the impact ofThe Beauty Myth, which
The New York Timescalled one of the seventy most
significant books of the twentieth century; Harper-
Collins published a tenth anniversary commemora-
tive edition in 2002. The original was an interna-
tional best seller, and its impact may be best judged
by the backlash (defined in a book of that name by
Susan Faludi, published the same year) it produced.
Its title and theme have become synonymous with
continued work by feminists against the political sys-
tem and the culture that they claim uses women’s in-
securities to prevent them as individuals and as a
group from realizing their full potential.
Further Reading
Faludi, Susan.Backlash: The Undeclared War Against
Women.New York: Crown, 1991.
Wolf, Naomi.The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty
Are Used Against Women. New York: Harper-
Perennial, 2002.
___.Fire with Fire:The New Female Power and How
to Use It.New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1993.
Erika E. Pilver
See also Culture wars; Faludi, Susan; Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993; Health care; Hill, Anita;
Lewinsky scandal; Marriage and divorce;Murphy
Brown;Planned Parenthood v. Casey; Reno, Janet; Rob-
erts, Julia; Schlessinger, Dr. Laura;Sex and the City;
Sheehy, Gail; Sontag, Susan; Take Our Daughters to
Work Day; Thomas, Clarence;Vagina Monologues,
The; Victoria’s Secret; Women in the military;
Women in the workforce; Women’s rights;Xena:
Warrior Princess; Year of the Woman. Beavis and Butt-Head
Creator Mike Judge (1962- )
Identification Animated television comedy series
Date Aired from March 8, 1993, to November 28,
1997
A blunt look at American youth culture, this series at-
tempted social commentar y on the bleakness of American
life while poking fun at the cultural icons of the time period.
Beavis and Butt-Headdebuted on MTV as a film short
on the network’s programLiquid Television. MTV
contracted Mike Judge, the creator of the two char-
acters, to develop the concept into a regular pro-
gram. The show centers on its title characters, two
adolescent residents of fictional Highland, Texas,
who spend their time watching television (while
commenting on and mocking the programs they
watch), filling idle time while not in school, and en-
gaging in senseless and destructive behavior. The
characters interact with a variety of
town residents, all of whom demon-
strate some sort of personality flaw
that reinforces the empty existence
that Beavis and Butt-Head live.
Beavis and Butt-Head spend
their time without any adult super-
vision. Although not related, the
two live in the same house without
any reference to who or where their
parents are. When not watching
television and offering their own
unique critique of music videos
(heavy metal is their favorite; soft
rock “sucks”), Beavis and Butt-Head
attend school surrounded by so-
cially detached fellow students and
ineffective teachers. Their primary
educators include an overly sensi-
tive liberal and an overly aggressive
conservative, overseen by an incom-The Nineties in America Beavis and Butt-Head 97
Beavis, right, and Butt-Head from the movieBeavis and Butt-Head Do America
(1996).(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)