She will speak about her newest book: Here She is: The Complicated reign of the Beauty Pageant

Prof. Hilary Levey Friedman is a sociologist and expert on beauty pageants, childhood and parenting, competitive afterschool activities, and popular culture who teaches courses in the Department of Education at Brown University. She holds degrees from Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of Cambridge.

In August 2020 Beacon Press released her new book, Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America, which uses beauty pageants to trace the arc of American feminism from the 1840s to the present. Click to find out more— including how to purchase a signed copy!

Her first book, Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture followed families with elementary school-age children involved in chess, dance, and soccer covering the history of the activities, what they mean to parents and children, and implications for inequality and gender in the educational system. She often speaks to parent groups on this topic.

Prof. Levey Friedman is the President of the Rhode Island chapter of the National Organization for Women (RI NOW). She also is a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).