SEX AND THE SINGLE POST-FEMINIST | PUNCH DRUNK Rene Denfeld, the 27-year-old author of "The New Victorians," presents a
similarly contorted image, literally, on the cover of her new book, "Kill
the Body, the Head Will Fall: A Closer Look at Women, Violence and
Aggression." An inelegant mongrel of memoir and commentary, the book
alternates descriptions of Denfeld's experiences as an amateur boxer with
long passages arguing that women are more violent than is ordinarily
thought. Paeans to sweat segue woodenly into sections in which every
paragraph seems to begin with the phrase "Studies show ..." But the cheesy
cover photo of Denfeld striking a boxing pose is even more schizophrenic.
Denfeld's blank, dewy expression and mane of tousled hair make her look
like a Victoria's Secret model playing at toughness. Yes, I'm violent, she
seems to be asserting, but I'm still cute.
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