BFF Co-Brands

Abstract

How can a girlfriend negotiate the apparent abundance of choice? How is she to choose the right food, the right diet, the right clothes, the right haircut? Which vitamins should she take? When is it OK to eat chocolate? And what type of chocolate? Sales of self-help books are evidence that women are willing to spend more than ever on postfeminist expertise. One niche in the self-help market is books written by girlfriends; authors who market themselves as BBFs and who speak to their female audience within this sphere of belonging. These texts, which include Backwards in High Heels: The Impossible Art of Being Female (2009) by Tania Kindersley and Sarah Vine, who define themselves as ‘[p]roud feminists’ (Kindersley and Vine, 2009, 53) and the New York Times bestseller I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women’s Lives (2001) by Ellen Goodman and Patricia O’Brien, celebrate and sanction female friendship. This chapter looks at two British conduct books written by ‘best friends’: Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine’s What Not to Wear spin-off books and Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby’s Best Friends’ Guide to Life (2010). It also focuses on the American Skinny Bitch brand that is written and promoted by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.

‘Together we are united. Two is more powerful than one.’ (Fearne Cotton)

‘We have some fat, gross body parts, too. We’re women.’ (Skinny Bitch)

‘BFF’ is a commonly used acronym that stands for ‘Best Friends Forever’.