Book-It 'o9! Book #41
More of the Fifty Books Challenge! This was a library request.
Title: Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters by Jessica Valenti
Details: Copyright 2007, Seal Press
Synopsis (By Way of Author's Site Description): "Feminism isn’t dead. It just isn’t very cool anymore. Enter Full Frontal Feminism, a book that embodies the forward-looking messages that author Jessica Valenti propagates on her popular website, Feministing.com.
Covering a range of topics, including pop culture, health, reproductive rights, violence, education, and relationships, Valenti provides young women a primer on why feminism matters.
Valenti knows better than anyone that young women need a smart-ass book that deals with real-life issues in a style they can relate to. No rehashing the same old issues. No belaboring where today’s young women have gone wrong. Feminism should be something young women feel comfortable with, something they can own. Full Frontal Feminism is sending out a message to readers: Yeah, you’re feminists, and that’s actually pretty frigging cool.
'Jessica Valenti gets right to the point: if you’re a smart, modern woman, feminism must be a part of your life. Full Frontal Feminism will leave readers wondering not what I can do, but what should I do first.' -Amy Richards & Jennifer Baumgardner, co-authors of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future
'Full Frontal Feminism should be required reading for all the young women out there whose ideas about feminism are more informed by backlash culture than by the actual feminist movement. Valenti has producer a lively, witty primer on feminism that will inspire its audience.' -Lisa Jervis, co-founder of bitch: a feminist response to pop culture
'Finally, a book on feminism that’s filled with the sassiness to keep us reading, and the statistics to make us give a damn. Whether she’s covering porn or reproductive rights, Valenti delivers a solid intro to feminism for young women and a much-needed refresher course for the rest of us.' - Daisy Hernández, coeditor of Colonize This! Women of Color on Today’s Feminism
'Valenti breathes new life into feminism with her tell-it-like-it-is primer on why it’s not only cool but also vital to heed the call to make your world a better, more equal place - for yourself, your friends, your sisters and your brothers.' -Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of Best Sex Writing 2008 and the sex blog Lusty Lady."
Why I Wanted to Read It: I was fishing for Valenti's books after seeing The Purity Myth on Atomic Books's catalog and came up with this and He's a Stud, She's a Slut.
How I Liked It: Much fanfare around this book, so I was excited to read it. Valenti does have a way of letting her personality as well as her informality get in the way of the writing (which she confesses) such as
"You want future kids to have the same name as you and your hubby? Hyphenate, bitch!" (pg 147)
She also needs to back up more of the statistics she quotes with references and sources (something she does more of in her second book, which leads me to believe that she got complaints and/or improved her writing) which are what really add impact. Particularly (and I realize it isn't fair to hold up an author's earlier work for scrutiny to her later works) given the fact she complains in He's a Stud about the gross lack of sources for "statistics" quoted by anti-feminist groups.
All that aside, she does an excellent job of tackling both feminism's history and presents one of the best books of Third Wave I've read yet. She also delves deep into classicism, racism, heterosexism and even the flaws of the first two Waves in those regards (as well as the omission and ageism frequently made by the Second Wave, behavior that continues and that Valenti references by name and organization). She provides counteractions (as in her second book) and suggestions and calls to action in every chapter, naming names of politicians, pundits, publications, and more that are both pro-feminist and anti-feminist. The final chapter "Get to It", has a list of topics (reproductive rights, work and money, violence) with a list of suggestions for each.
And of the Third Wave... she defends us and our place in history, as well as the position we deserve in the movement that members of the Second Wave are often guilty of denying us. She explores the Third Wave's generally unapologetic enjoyment of make-up, heels, and commentary on pop culture, all shunned (generally) by the Second Wave.
I'd recommend this as a primer for every young woman (and young man, for that matter) as Valenti's style, though informal (and at times gratingly so), is still highly accessible.
Notable: For her acknowledgment of the all-too-frequent heteronormativity of the movement, Valenti commits a rather large omission. While lesbians are mentioned with a decent amount of frequency (as well as the the discrimination faced on just about every level for couples of the same gender), bisexuals do not rate a mention. Why is this important? Well, aside from the fact that we exist and some are feminists, a sub section in the chapter "Pop Culture Gone Wild" is titled "Be a Lesbian... Who Likes Men". While there is certainly an abundance of "girl-on-girl" in heterosexual male fantasy that needs to be discussed, the title is a term often used by the very ignorant about bisexual women: "lesbians who like men". She discusses in the section on fetishised "lesbianism" the reality of, well, fetishised lesbianism. But she leaves out a group who suffer just as much if not more than lesbians for this fetish: bisexual women. While some flat-out deny our existence, others include in that fallacy the fact we're "only bi" to attract men. And then there's there's the discrimination we face from the gay community, an unsettling number of which think us simply "indecisive" and/or "going through a phase"/"experimenting" (you would think such terms would sound familiar). So a bisexual woman has to face not only heterosexism, but monosexism, and a sad number of individuals that think you're only defining yourself that way to attract men. Funny how none of this would come up in a section about the fetishization of lesbianism. But anyway.
She quotes author Jennifer Baumgardner as saying
"If pressed, I'd venture that at least half of my sexual experiences make me cringe when I think about them today. Taking top honors is the many times I made out with female friends in bars when I was in my early twenties, a rite of passage [author Ariel] Levy much disdains throughout the book [Female Chauvenist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture]. I'm embarrassed about the kiss-around-the-circles, but if I didn't have those moments, I'm not sure I ever would have found my way to the real long-term relationship I have today. If all my sexual behavior had to be evolved and reciprocal and totally revolutionary before I had it, I'd never have had sex." (pgs 47 and 48)
She goes on to talk more about "the trend of straight girls making out with each other for male attention" (pg 48) without the acknowledgment that, um, Baumgardner isn't straight. She's identified by Valenti as a "third-wave feminist icon and coauthor of Manifesta" (pg 47) but not as the author of the brilliant Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics. In aforementioned book, she discusses the first kiss she shares with her first girlfriend which does take place at a bar where they're both fairly drunk (their kiss is interrupted by a female employee who points out the number of male patrons watching them and advises them that "This isn't a safe place for you."), but it isn't a kiss out of a desire for male attention, nor is it a kiss between "straight girls". Of course, Baumgardner isn't talking about that particular kiss in that quote, but there still is a difference given that she, again, isn't straight. Whether she was making out with female friends in bars for male attention or just making out with female friends in bars, it flat-out doesn't have the same context it does for a straight woman.
Bisexuality is very real and, as Baumgardner makes a convincing case for, very relevant part of feminism. Let's hope Valenti realizes and acknowledges that sometime soon, particularly given her growing influence in the movement.
Title: Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters by Jessica Valenti
Details: Copyright 2007, Seal Press
Synopsis (By Way of Author's Site Description): "Feminism isn’t dead. It just isn’t very cool anymore. Enter Full Frontal Feminism, a book that embodies the forward-looking messages that author Jessica Valenti propagates on her popular website, Feministing.com.
Covering a range of topics, including pop culture, health, reproductive rights, violence, education, and relationships, Valenti provides young women a primer on why feminism matters.
Valenti knows better than anyone that young women need a smart-ass book that deals with real-life issues in a style they can relate to. No rehashing the same old issues. No belaboring where today’s young women have gone wrong. Feminism should be something young women feel comfortable with, something they can own. Full Frontal Feminism is sending out a message to readers: Yeah, you’re feminists, and that’s actually pretty frigging cool.
'Jessica Valenti gets right to the point: if you’re a smart, modern woman, feminism must be a part of your life. Full Frontal Feminism will leave readers wondering not what I can do, but what should I do first.' -Amy Richards & Jennifer Baumgardner, co-authors of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future
'Full Frontal Feminism should be required reading for all the young women out there whose ideas about feminism are more informed by backlash culture than by the actual feminist movement. Valenti has producer a lively, witty primer on feminism that will inspire its audience.' -Lisa Jervis, co-founder of bitch: a feminist response to pop culture
'Finally, a book on feminism that’s filled with the sassiness to keep us reading, and the statistics to make us give a damn. Whether she’s covering porn or reproductive rights, Valenti delivers a solid intro to feminism for young women and a much-needed refresher course for the rest of us.' - Daisy Hernández, coeditor of Colonize This! Women of Color on Today’s Feminism
'Valenti breathes new life into feminism with her tell-it-like-it-is primer on why it’s not only cool but also vital to heed the call to make your world a better, more equal place - for yourself, your friends, your sisters and your brothers.' -Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of Best Sex Writing 2008 and the sex blog Lusty Lady."
Why I Wanted to Read It: I was fishing for Valenti's books after seeing The Purity Myth on Atomic Books's catalog and came up with this and He's a Stud, She's a Slut.
How I Liked It: Much fanfare around this book, so I was excited to read it. Valenti does have a way of letting her personality as well as her informality get in the way of the writing (which she confesses) such as
"You want future kids to have the same name as you and your hubby? Hyphenate, bitch!" (pg 147)
She also needs to back up more of the statistics she quotes with references and sources (something she does more of in her second book, which leads me to believe that she got complaints and/or improved her writing) which are what really add impact. Particularly (and I realize it isn't fair to hold up an author's earlier work for scrutiny to her later works) given the fact she complains in He's a Stud about the gross lack of sources for "statistics" quoted by anti-feminist groups.
All that aside, she does an excellent job of tackling both feminism's history and presents one of the best books of Third Wave I've read yet. She also delves deep into classicism, racism, heterosexism and even the flaws of the first two Waves in those regards (as well as the omission and ageism frequently made by the Second Wave, behavior that continues and that Valenti references by name and organization). She provides counteractions (as in her second book) and suggestions and calls to action in every chapter, naming names of politicians, pundits, publications, and more that are both pro-feminist and anti-feminist. The final chapter "Get to It", has a list of topics (reproductive rights, work and money, violence) with a list of suggestions for each.
And of the Third Wave... she defends us and our place in history, as well as the position we deserve in the movement that members of the Second Wave are often guilty of denying us. She explores the Third Wave's generally unapologetic enjoyment of make-up, heels, and commentary on pop culture, all shunned (generally) by the Second Wave.
I'd recommend this as a primer for every young woman (and young man, for that matter) as Valenti's style, though informal (and at times gratingly so), is still highly accessible.
Notable: For her acknowledgment of the all-too-frequent heteronormativity of the movement, Valenti commits a rather large omission. While lesbians are mentioned with a decent amount of frequency (as well as the the discrimination faced on just about every level for couples of the same gender), bisexuals do not rate a mention. Why is this important? Well, aside from the fact that we exist and some are feminists, a sub section in the chapter "Pop Culture Gone Wild" is titled "Be a Lesbian... Who Likes Men". While there is certainly an abundance of "girl-on-girl" in heterosexual male fantasy that needs to be discussed, the title is a term often used by the very ignorant about bisexual women: "lesbians who like men". She discusses in the section on fetishised "lesbianism" the reality of, well, fetishised lesbianism. But she leaves out a group who suffer just as much if not more than lesbians for this fetish: bisexual women. While some flat-out deny our existence, others include in that fallacy the fact we're "only bi" to attract men. And then there's there's the discrimination we face from the gay community, an unsettling number of which think us simply "indecisive" and/or "going through a phase"/"experimenting" (you would think such terms would sound familiar). So a bisexual woman has to face not only heterosexism, but monosexism, and a sad number of individuals that think you're only defining yourself that way to attract men. Funny how none of this would come up in a section about the fetishization of lesbianism. But anyway.
She quotes author Jennifer Baumgardner as saying
"If pressed, I'd venture that at least half of my sexual experiences make me cringe when I think about them today. Taking top honors is the many times I made out with female friends in bars when I was in my early twenties, a rite of passage [author Ariel] Levy much disdains throughout the book [Female Chauvenist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture]. I'm embarrassed about the kiss-around-the-circles, but if I didn't have those moments, I'm not sure I ever would have found my way to the real long-term relationship I have today. If all my sexual behavior had to be evolved and reciprocal and totally revolutionary before I had it, I'd never have had sex." (pgs 47 and 48)
She goes on to talk more about "the trend of straight girls making out with each other for male attention" (pg 48) without the acknowledgment that, um, Baumgardner isn't straight. She's identified by Valenti as a "third-wave feminist icon and coauthor of Manifesta" (pg 47) but not as the author of the brilliant Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics. In aforementioned book, she discusses the first kiss she shares with her first girlfriend which does take place at a bar where they're both fairly drunk (their kiss is interrupted by a female employee who points out the number of male patrons watching them and advises them that "This isn't a safe place for you."), but it isn't a kiss out of a desire for male attention, nor is it a kiss between "straight girls". Of course, Baumgardner isn't talking about that particular kiss in that quote, but there still is a difference given that she, again, isn't straight. Whether she was making out with female friends in bars for male attention or just making out with female friends in bars, it flat-out doesn't have the same context it does for a straight woman.
Bisexuality is very real and, as Baumgardner makes a convincing case for, very relevant part of feminism. Let's hope Valenti realizes and acknowledges that sometime soon, particularly given her growing influence in the movement.