Women Books - Page 15

Feminist Philosophies: Problems, Theories, and Applications (2nd Edition)

Janet A. Kourany, James P. Sterba, Rosemarie Tong

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Editorial Review:

This anthology of 40 readings combines both an extensive discussion of the major problems confronting women with an in-depth analysis of the alternative theoretical and practical means for resolving these issues. Covering a broad range of concerns, this book also proposes the means for addressing these concerns. It includes race-based critiques as a means of promoting a truly multicultural feminism. It also provides suggestions on further reading in each section. The second edition of Feminist Philosophy has been revised to include updated readings covering issues such as date rape , sexual harassment, and new reproductive technologies. Adds new sections on Cultural Feminism and Ecological Feminism as well as more accessible sections on Liberal Feminism and Marxist/Socialist Feminism. Incorporates a Cultural Invisibility section critiquing contemporary culture. Finally, addresses men's responses to feminism and related men's movements as a means of promoting gender-inclusive feminism. An essential resource for every reader interested in this perspective of the relationship between women and men.

Peace and Power: Building Communities for the Future

Peggy L. Chinn, Charlene Eldridge Wheeler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

a new and challenging way to think about group processes 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

My undergraduate advisor suggested that I read this book and it has really changed the way I think about group interactions, but also everyday interactions. It is from an explicitly feminist perspective, so if you favor an ordered, hierarchial approach to group interaction or leadership, this isn't the book for you. The intended audience for the book are people who are members of or leading a group (across a wide range -- for instance, a college classroom, owners of a quilt shop co-operative, a group that organizes to find homes for stray animals or a support group). The most ideal audience for the book is a group that is committed to feminist group processes (that way everyone in the group would commit to a particular set of princples, including the principles of feminist group processes in the book). However, I have never been a part of such a "committed" group and still benefited immensely from the book. Even if you aren't part of a formal group, one could put some of the ideas in the book into practice or use the ideas as a lens through which to think about group interaction and group process. The book has a lot of "how-to" in it, as well as the theory that undergirds the "how-to" and examples so that the reader can see what the "how-to" might look like in practice. A helpful way to think about the authors' conception of power is the difference between power-over power and peace powers. An examples is that "power-over" something type of power emphasizes "programs, goals, or policies which achieve desired results" (p. 9). Peace power "emphasizes a fresh perspective and freedom from rigid schedules. Goals, programs and timetables are used as tools, but are less important than the process itself" (p. 9). Peace power is, in my own words, the power that comes from working together toward not only the end "goal" but also the process of working to support each other in growing and to affirm the inherent worth of each person and his or her experiences.
The reason I only gave the book four stars is because, personally, I found it almost a too "how-to" and would have liked to see the focus of the book not only on how a group committed to a feminist group process could put such ideas into practice, but more focus on how an "average Jane" could think about such ideas and put them into practice in her daily life. There is some of this, but I thought even more would be helpful. The final chapter addresses how one might put some of these practices into use in a more traditional setting, like a classroom, but I believe that these ideas would serve a wider audience (do more good for more people) if they were throughout the book. Overall, though, a helpful book if you're intersted in a new or different way to work as a group or a team.

Editorial Review:

Univ. of Colorado, Denver. Handbook for moving beyond hierarchical and patriarchal processes in group interactions. Presents a revolutionary approach for democratic consensus-building through the feminist process. Previous edition is not cited. Softcover.

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color

Cherrie Moraga, Gloria Anzaldúa

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Very important collection 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Oh my goodness!! This is an incredible ground-breaking book of awareness and consciousness. It was a must-read for anyone coming of age in the 1980's and it is still relevant today. I came on line to purchase it for a friend who had never seen it, and I am in shock that it is out of print, or even just out of stock (it's unclear which). The paperback is selling on ZBooks for $45. I'm confounded.

Should be On Every Feminist Bookshelf, in Every Library. 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Count yourself lucky if you are able to find a copy of the 3rd Edition. It is extremely rare and very hard to find. If you can't find it though, buy the 1st or 2nd Editions.

This is undoubtedly one of the most influential, groundbreaking, and important books ever to come from "Second Wave" feminist thought. Although it has been over 20 years since it was originally published, it still retains its edginess and thought-provoking qualities.

The book, which features the writings of Asian, Latin, African, and Native American women was also groundbreaking in that many of the women are lesbians and/or from working class backgrounds. (Although lesbian and/or working class anthologies are unsual now, it was significant back in 1981.)

Writers include Audre Lorde, Pat Parker, Barbara Smith, Anzaldua, Moraga, Barbara Cameron, and Aurora Levins Morales.

Essays, poems, short stories, creative and autobiographical pieces are the basis for this book. Although it is best known for confronting racism within and outside of the Women's Movement, the book also examines:

* the roots of the authors' radical politics
* theory vs. real life
* culture, class, and homophobia
* on being an ethic writer/artist
* visions for a better future

The 3rd Edition also contains pictures of art and sculpture by radical women of color artists circa late 1970s-early 1980s. These add more layers and depth to the book as the artists' works were chosen to compliment the writings. All 3 Editions (but especially the 3rd) contain an excellent bibliography for the reader who is further interested in reading more about women of color feminism.

Other books of interest (There are many, many good books by women of color feminists, these are just a few examples):

**** ~Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology~ edited by Barbara Smith
**** ~A Gathering of Spirit: Writing and Art by North American Indian Women~ edited by Beth Brant
**** ~Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings by and About Asian Amerian Women~ edited by Asian Women United of California
**** ~Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About~ edited by Carla Trujillo.

The late Anzaldua and AnaLouise Keatings also edited a sequel/daughter anthology to TBCMB It is called THIS BRIDGE CALLED MY HOME (2002). Lovers of the original -Bridge- book will be intrigued by how the follow-up anthology expands, critiques, and examines the issues found in TBCMB.

Editorial Review:

classic collection of feminist writings

The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, and Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient

Sheridan Prasso

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"[A] persuasive, timely book.... Prasso makes clear the destructive nature of stereotypes about Asia and the social, cultural, and political ramifications of allowing them to fester unchallenged." (Boston Globe)

Few Westerners escape the images, expectations and misperceptions that lead us to see Asia as exotic, sensual, decadent, dangerous, and mysterious-from the tea-pouring, sexually available geisha girl to the Dragon Lady dominatrix and the effeminate or asexual Asian male. The Asian Mystique lays out a provocative challenge to see Asia and Asians as they really are, with unclouded, de-eroticized eyes. It traces the origins of Western stereotypes in history and in Hollywood, examines the phenomenon of 'yellow fever,' then goes on a reality tour of Asia's go-go bars, middle-class homes, college campuses, and corridors of power. It is required reading for anyone with interest in Asia or Asian-origin people, as well as any serious student or practitioner of East-West relations.

Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women are Choosing Parenthood Without Marriage and Creating the New American Family

Rosanna Hertz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A remarkable number of women today are taking the daunting step of having children outside of marriage. In Single By Chance, Mothers By Choice, Rosanna Hertz offers the first full-scale account of this fast-growing phenomenon, revealing why these middle-class women took this unorthodox path and how they have managed to make single parenthood work for them. Hertz interviewed 65 women--ranging from physicians and financial analysts to social workers, teachers, and secretaries--women who speak candidly about how they manage their lives and families as single mothers. What Hertz discovers are not ideologues but reluctant revolutionaries, women who--whether straight or gay--struggle to conform to the conventional definitions of mother, child, and family. Having tossed out the rulebook in order to become mothers, they nonetheless adhere to time-honored rules about child-rearing. As they tell their stories, they shed light on their paths to motherhood. A unique window on the future of the family, this book offers a gold mine of insight and reassurance for any woman contemplating this rewarding if unconventional step.

Helen Keller: From tragedy to triumph (Childhood of famous Americans)

Katharine Elliott Wilkie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A GOOD INTERMEDIATE BIOGRAPHY 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book covers Helen Keller's life from her precocious babyhood wherein she greeted people with "how d'ye" and "tea, tea, tea" to her impressive adulthood as a crusader for persons who are blind.

Helen became blind and deaf after an extended, unidentified illness she suffered at 1 1/2. Unable to see, hear or speak, Helen communicated by a series of rudimentary signs and showed great precocity in learning to fold clothing and recognizing her own. She was also unruly and given to fits of temper, which was understandable considering her lack of access to ready communication.

When Helen was 3 months off 7, her now famous teacher, Annie Sullivan was hired to work with her. The redoubtable Ms. Sullivan taught Helen the manual alphabet and from her stellar progress at identifying familiar objects, taught her Braille as well. Helen's progress is nothing short of spectacular and she makes an impressive academic showing at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston.

I liked the fact that this book did not dwell on that now tired scene at the water pump when Helen learns after having "water" spelled onto her fingers that "all things have a name." Instead of gasping and losing speed after the now overworked water pump scene, this biography picks up speed and the reader is treated to following Helen's academic progress at Perkins and later as a Radcliffe alumna.

This book glosses over Helen's radical socialism during her adulthood and also glosses over the challenges she and Annie faced as they matured together. It's a nice biography, but you do end up wanting more.

Editorial Review:

A biography, focusing on the childhood years, of the blind and deaf woman who overcame her handicaps with the help of her teacher, Annie Sullivan.

Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World

Marie C. Wilson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Insightful and inspiring, Closing the Leadership Gap is a call to action for the increased presence of women in powerful leadership positions in our country. A leading women’s advocate and cofounder of the White House Project, Marie C. Wilson argues that while our nation sits on a world spinning with crises from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction to a fragile economy and corporate greed, half of its natural resources—women—have not been tapped for their uniquely valuable contribution to solving these problems that only they can provide.

Rich with historical context and supported by a wealth of current data and innovative research, this book explains chapter by chapter the leadership gap between women and men and the deeply ingrained cultural factors that continue to create resistance to women at the top. It also explores the new insights and strategies women are using to leverage their power of authority, ambition, ability, and authenticity—have been denied women and how they are claiming these vital qualities for themselves. Written with passion and documented with lively behind-the-scenes stories from the trenches, Closing the Leadership Gap argues for women’s leadership in all spheres and offers steps to get us there.

God's Leading Lady

T. D. Jakes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Platitude on Every Page 2 out of 5 stars.
12 of 16 people found this review helpful.

I have loved listening to Bishop Jakes preach since he was still in his little church in West Virginia. I've watched his programs and listened to his tapes. I bought this book on his name alone. What a disappointment. God's Leading Lady is like one continuous pep rally. Rah! Rah! Rah! Sister, you can do it. Go! Go! Go! "Step out of the shadows and into the light". "Don't believe that you are alone no matter how desolate and bare your life's theater feels". "You must move beyond the Potter's shelf into the fire of greatness". "It is time you soar". "All the world is your stage--step up and allow yourself to shine".

I agree wholeheartedly with the message of this book. As women, we do put shackles on ourselves or allow others to do so. I don't think the author did enough to explain how to soar, just to have faith and do it. I couldn't get into the message or the point of the book because I was exhausted from wading through paragraph after paragraph of rhetoric and tedium. The book did get better as it went along, but not enough to warrant the money spent.

Editorial Review:

Bishop T.D. Jakes, the #1 bestselling author of The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord, offers women a plan for taking charge of their lives--and starring in the unique role God has chosen them to play in the world. Providing the inspiration and the tools women need to face life's challenges, he teaches them how to:

€ Triumph in the face of adversity
€ Recognize the Lord's calling
€ Create a godly and successful legacy--that will inspire and influence generations to come

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women

Susan Faludi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 81 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Not what it's cracked up to be 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Susan Faludi's "Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women" clearly doesn't live up to its title. Despite its reputation, it is rife with obvious instances of cherry picking and the omission of well-known facts that would undermine the case she is trying to make. For example, she paints Republican administrations as being totally antithetical to the ambitions of women but omits any mention of Reagan's appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court or the fact that the first Bush administration had twice as many women in it as Carter's. She also fails to mention numerous examples of feminist misinformation that were ballyhooed by the mainstream media during the supposed era of backlash such as the Super Bowl Sunday domestic violence hoax or the clearly false claim that one in four women are destined to be rape victims (73% of the supposed victims in the Koss study not only denied that they had been raped, half went on to have further sex with their supposed assailants). And she clearly practices many of the faults she so vigorously chides in others. For example, Faludi bitterly complains that an article about a Shere Hite study mentions her having punched a cab driver on the grounds that such personal attacks are irrelevant to her work. This does not prevent Faludi, when criticizing some of Betty Freidan's ideas from telling a completely gratuitous story about her having been appallingly rude to a fan.

But, more to the point, Faludi so-called "war against women" overwhelmingly consists of people who simply don't toe the feminist line. Faludi is right that there was no mass movement of women abandoning careers in order to "cocoon" in the safety of their homes. But she fails to demonstrate evil intent or effect. It's simply a case of lazy reporting and a few self-important twits confusing their own preconceived notions with factual reality--the latter being a crime of which feminists can hardly claim innocence. Some of her examples are laughable as when she gets put out over the fact that Victoria's Secret, a company in the business of selling fancy underwear, mounts a PR campaign trying to convince reporters that women are "choosing" to spend their hard earned dollars wearing expensive and uncomfortable undies that most people will never get to see. Oh, the horror.

Some of her complaints are downright bizarre. She cites the film "The Accused," about the horrific public rape of a woman in a bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts, that dozens of people watched without intervening, as being part of the backlash on the grounds that the film made the woman being raped look like a victim (!). Faludi's logic is that there were already too many movies that year in which women were portrayed as victims but, really, if you can't make an anti-rape movie without being accused of warring against women then perhaps it's time to take another look at this whole barefoot and pregnant stuff. As Superintendent Chalmers on "The Simpsons" so sagely put it: In for a dime. In for a dollar.

Another problem with the concept of there being a "war against women" is that fully half of the enemies cited by Faludi are themselves women. That's sort of like calling our own Civil War the "War Against America."

And despite all her cherry picking, Faludi doesn't seem to recognize when her own facts subvert the case she is trying to make.

Her section on George Gilder is one of the minority of places where Faludi gets her hands on someone who is unambiguously trying to put women back in the kitchen (though she typically fails to mention that Time magazine, one of the organs she lumps among the baddies, named him the "Male Chauvinist Pig of the Year"). As far as Guilder is concerned, the whole point of being a woman is to help men achieve their potential, even when their potential isn't anything to write home about and may even be nonexistent.

In another part of the book she describes the work of Robin Norwood a therapists who came up with the idea that women in bad relationships are addicted to them and it's basically their own fault if their lives suck never mind the brutes they're living with. These women go to twelve-step like meetings run by women therapists where they blame themselves about how rotten their lives are without any sort of useful feedback--and pay good money to ensure that they remain stuck in the same sink hole.

But there are a couple of problems here. The first is that, again, there isn't anything in the book to indicate that Norwood or her fellow therapists are anything but sincerely deluded. Yes, what they are doing is harmful but that doesn't change the fact that they're honestly trying to help. It's just desperate people being stupid.

But here's the capper: The most books Gilder ever sold according to Faludi was 30,000. Norwood's book, also according to Faludi, has sold over twenty million copies. It isn't like Norwood had some evil marketing scheme to get legions of women into bad, self-defeating therapy. She sincerely decided she was on to something that managed to strike a nerve with millions of women who seized onto this nefarious malarkey. What Faludi has actually demonstrated is that an appallingly large number of women are willing to voluntarily hurt themselves and that no patriarchal backlash is required.

Faludi's book, like Ann Coulter's "Slander," was lavishly praised by the very institutions she was attacking. Obviously, then, they're both right.

BTW, I notice that my highly detailed, fact-based review is so far being rated as unhelpful by a 3-to-1 margin. Who says that feminists are bad about taking criticism?

Editorial Review:

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle award  for nonfiction, this controversial,  thought-provoking, and timely book is "as groundbreaking as  Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex  and Betty Friedan's The Feminine  Mystique." -- Newsweek.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory

Carol J. Adams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A MUST READ for women who don't want to be treated like meat 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 36 people found this review helpful.

Many feminists do not like to be treated like meat or like animals. I think this is because we all know, consciously or not, the extent and nature of animal oppression. Why have feminists for so long co-opted these animal metaphors to explain their own oppression, yet failed to see that these metaphors only work BECAUSE animals themselves are so oppressed?

Carol Adams is among the first to step forward and call for feminist attention to animal rights and meat eating. She makes points in this book which are revolutionary and, I believe, will be the future of feminism. The questions she raises about species are no less reasonable than questions other feminists have raised about race, class, gender, and any other facet of identity. Yet most feminists have refused to analyze human identity, and look at animals with the same eyes that many men look at women.

Though at times Adams writes very academically and heavily, this book should be required reading for all feminists-- and for all people who believe that both women and animals in this culture are literally and figuratively fragmented, consumed, and turned into meat, the ultimate objectification. A book whose importance I cannot stress enough.

Editorial Review:

An examination of the historical, gender, race and class implications of meat culture, making the links between the practice of butchering/eating animals and the maintenance of male dominance. This tenth anniversary edition includes a new preface by Carol Adams that answers the question she is most often asked: why did you write this book? Adams also discusses new developments in feminist thought and animal rights, and updates the statistics and information provided.