Reddit reviews Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
We found 13 Reddit comments about Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
The feminist writer Susan Faludi wrote a book in 1991 about the 80s backlash against women's liberation movements.
> What the hell is wrong with people on reddit trying to turn feminist into a dirty word?
It isn't just reddit. The book Backlash described how the backlash against feminism was cultured during the Reagan administration. So it isn't new.
You can see the idea feminism-is-a-bad-word whenever someone says "I'm not a feminist but..." and then expresses a feminist argument/statement.
Second wave feminism (from the 1960s to the early 1980s) was about getting women into the workplace (even blue collar jobs) and creating legislation to prevent discrimination in the work place. Susan Faludi's Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women has examples in her chapter on work. Here if you look at the excerpt offered on page 398 and 405 she looks at the struggles blue collar women faced and how they fought to succeed.
Feminism is a really vast field, with so many different stances within it. People who deride feminism when they actually disagree with a single theory or theorist are equivalent to people saying physics is terrible because they disagree with Newton.
To be frank, the anti-feminist backlash has existed since feminism existed and a single theorist/activist is not the cause of it.
The point bell hooks is making is that people should embrace their natural beauty without feeling the need to conform to what the mainstream thinks deems beautiful. She is saying that black is beautiful, and she is saying this to a world that has an extreme and well-documented history of derogating blackness. This is a powerful and valuable perspective, whether or not you agree with her take on blonde wigs.
welp, it depends on what facet of feminism you'd like to learn about. at it's core, it's just, women and men are equal, yeah? that's not hateful. the feminist concepts of gender equality and patriarchy are things that effect everyone, of whatever gender. the 'patriarchy' is the theory that, in this culture, men generally hold more power than women, institutionally and socially. [a lot of us prefer the word kyriarchy.] you, personally, may not feel like you hold any power in your day to day life, and you prolly don't. you're probably not rich, maybe you're not even white. so you probably don't feel super powerful. and no one's saying you are. but statistically, you have a higher chance of holding a position of power in your life. be it a cop, a ceo, or a president. you are also less statistically likely to be raped, to have your intellect doubted, etc etc. and feminism is just about breaking down the reasons our society works that way, recognizing them, and trying to get people to change those bad ways.
men aren't exempt from these issues! men are afraid of acting in ways that culture has 'feminized'. being afraid, being weak, asking for help from others are 'unmanly' practices. so when a man is abused or mentally suffering, culture tells you to suck it up or shut up. your only outlet is anger and violence, but you'll also be punished if you act too angry and violent, cause then you're being 'hysterical' and men also keep their cool.
feminists work to end pressures and violence against men and boys as well. so, i'm curious what you've read that would make you think otherwise. there are some writer who were respected in the 70s, who wrote some 'hateful' things. andrea dworkin and janice raymond come to mind. but most 'third wave feminists' [that's the current 'wave'] disagree with those things now. feminism, like science and psychology, is not a religion. it is a sphere of people working towards a common goal. many of those people are going to disagree on things, and some ideas will be left behind and moved on from. so, when you say feminism is hateful, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. because some people who called themselves feminists were hateful, the idea of women's equality is hateful? that's sorta like saying 'science is worthless because it's not always right'. philosophical and social research and theory doesn't really work that way.
if you'd like to read whole books about the subject, i'd try these:
backlash by susan faludi
women, race, and class by angela davis
the sexual contract by carole pateman
[note, some of these are kinda old, but that's because this is fairly basic, intro stuff. newest stuff is usually about queer theory, the prison industrial complex, etc, because most of the 'women should be equal to men' stuff is kinda a given. :p]
I am cutting and pasting from a HelloGiggles interview i did because this is not a short list:
EG: I love Gail Collins. She’s a New York Times journalist. She wrote a book called America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines. It’s the feminist history book you never had. It’s a book you cannot put down. It’s so jam packed with information, and you just can’t believe you don’t know this stuff. She has a whole thing about how pioneer women basically built San Francisco. Because when the gold rush happened, there was no one to cook for the men. So women would come out, set up shop, and make tons of money. They were business owners and had autonomy and control of their finances for the first time. Stuff like that. I mean, Bear Grylls would look like Tom Brokaw compared to these pioneer women. That’s not even a good analogy. But these women would like, crawl up mountains while giving birth. Their skirts would catch on fire all the time. The shit that they went through was insane. So you’re reading this, and [Collins is] just giving you all of it. It’s the most fascinating book I’ve ever read.
Of course, all of Roxane Gay’s books. She’s necessary reading. I just read In Her Words, the Eleanor Roosevelt book. That was uplifting, and also so sad to see this woman with this knowledge and access to power whom, if she had been given the chance…god, the things she could have done. You should read Susan Faludi’s Backlash. That’s super necessary feminist reading. I also like this book called White Trash. It’s about America’s history of poverty and how it explains a lot of what’s happening today. But because it’s written by a woman — it’s written by Nancy Isenberg — it has a feminist slant to it. It’s fantastic.
Oh, and Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu. It’s a graphic novel of incredible women. It’s gorgeous and informative and great. And it’s a great book for a teen, or an adult who likes graphic novels like me. Also Bitch Planet. It’s a graphic novel that’s The Handmaid’s Tale of space. That’s great. And of course, The Handmaid’s Tale. Read Margaret Atwood. And not just The Handmaid’s Tale. She’s written tons of other books that are thematically similar and just as depressing.
Also, Samantha Irby. Her books…I don’t know what to say about her books. I have a really loud laugh, and when something tickles me and gets me really hard, I laugh really loudly. And I do it like, every other page with her.
I'm not familiar with that book, could you link me to it? I'm assuming it's this one: Amazon Link
These cows have been trying to be the first to declare THE BACKLASH for 20 years.
For the most part no one really gives a shit about them.
http://www.amazon.com/Backlash-Undeclared-Against-American-Women/dp/0307345424/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375367253&sr=1-1
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women [Paperback]
Susan Faludi (Author)
There are many more that exist, of course, but here are some of my favourites:
Bitchfest - A collection of essays from Bitch magazine
Female Chauvanist Pigs: Women and the rise of raunch culture by Ariel Levy
Men explain things to me - Rebecca Solnit
Backlash - Susan Faludi
Bad feminist by Roxane Gay - I'm just in the middle of reasing this now, really enjoying it.
Two that I think are great without going back too far are Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth, and Female Chauvinist Pigs.
I'm looking at amazon.com and thinking of ordering a new one from bell hooks, who I've always liked. As an African-American woman, hooks has always had a broader perspective.
I'd also recommend Susan Faludi's Backlash.
Amanda Marcotte's recent It's a Jungle Out There was a quick read and good.
I'm currently looking at Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism and by Siegel and Baumgardner's Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild, but they're about 4th and 5th on my current reading list and I can't yet say how I'd rate them.
Also on my reading list is Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men?: A Debate (Point/Counterpoint) by Warren Farrell, Steven Svoboda, and James P. Sterba on my list. Looking forward to that one. Warren Farrell is a former feminist and the father of the men's liberation movement. The movement had progressive roots, but I think Farrell's moved more center, and certainly the men's movement has some very conservative branches. I think it will be interesting splitting apart any anti-feminism from the pro-men's liberation stuff.
I personally don't think there's any conflict between men and women's liberation, but I want to be more informed as to the current arguments.
Thanks so much!
As for what to read, it really depends on what you're interested in but I always recommend the classics when it comes to anything to do with the left first.
However, if you'd like something more modern and lighter here are some of my recent favorites:
Enlightened Sexism and Where the Girls Are by Susan Douglas.
[Both focus on feminism as portrayed in the media, the first book is more current. Her writing style is funny and easy to read]
The World Split Open by Ruth Rosen
[A good readable history of the women's movement in the 1960s-70s]
Backlash by Susan Faludi
[really clear explanation about the antifeminist messages, esp. in the media; first published in 1991 but most of those messages are still around]
These are my picks— Susan Douglas is a special favorite among students in the US women's history classes I've been a TA for. (History and the role of the media go a long way towards explaining the state of women's rights issues today).
Read this book.