I think this book is one of my favourites of all time. It's so eye-opening. The book is really recent too (it was only published this year), so it has lots of recent events in it. The book is divided in to two parts; The New Sexism and The New Determinism. The first half discusses the rise of the 'glamour' model, the porn industry, sexual partners, expectations and choices. The second half discusses the rise of the princess (oh Disney...), gender myths and the stereotypes that our society accepts and promotes.
"in order to challenge this culture in which feminine stereotypes remain so restrictive for women, there is no need to deny the pleasures of femininity, no need to retreat into a caricatured feminism of drab clothes, sexless pursuits and dour political correctness. All women can enjoy the positive aspects of our femininity, whether those pleasures are physical or emotional, but we do need much greater vigilance and much greater solidarity to ensure these pleasures do not become a trap for us. [...] If we move away from biological determinism we enter a world with more freedom, not less, because then those behaviours traditionally associated with masculinity and femininity could become real choices for each individual." (Walter, 230: 2010)
That sounds so interesting! Touches on a lot of topics that I get quite worked up about so I'm sure I'll love it. I must add it to my Amazon wishlist.
ReplyDeleteOh definitely! It's one of those books that highlights so many things you know are wrong, but you can never really explain why to people, it helps with that. I really recommend it :)
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