Book-It '10! Book #20
The Fifty Books Challenge, year two! This was a library request.
Title: Bitches, Bimbos, and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes by The Guerrilla Girls
Details: Copyright 2003, Penguin Books
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Whatever life a woman leads, from biker chick to society girl, there's a stereotype she'll have to live down. The Guerrilla Girls, notorious for their outrageous take on culture and politics, now take on the maze of stereotypes that follow women from cradle to grave. With subversive use of information-and great visuals-they explore the history and significance of stereotypes like Old Maid, Trophy Wife, and Prostitute with a Heart of Gold. They tag the Top Types, introduce their own collection of ethnic dolls, examine sexual slurs, explain the evolution of Butches and Femmes, and delve into the lives of real and fictional women who have become stereotypes, from Aunt Jemima to Tokyo Rose to June Cleaver. The Guerrilla Girls' latest assault on injustice towards women will make you laugh, make you mad, and maybe even make you change your minds."
Why I Wanted to Read It: One of my first "activism" books was by the Guerrilla Girls and as such I have a fondness for them still.
How I Liked It: The book is flat-out too glib and the subject too broad such a teeny book, even as a "beginner feminist" tome. Wide sweeps are made that seem to hurt more than they help and a fleshed out history of the broader stereotypes would benefit the book greatly. Although some important points are raised (some history regarding Mother Theresa has been put through a powerful whitewash, it seems) and it's possible that giving this book to a young feminist would encourage an awareness of lookism, if nothing else, the book remains a skim-read, not a must. It could be said this would be a great "gateway" book to better books on the subject(s), but it's just as likely said reader would get overwhelmed by the authors' approach. And unlike the work of Jessica Valenti, the new darling of the Third Wave, the book doesn't offer any counteraction to bigotry encountered other than a postcard, t-shirt, and button transfer at the back of the book, all with the Guerrilla Girl logo and not terribly catchy nor to the point slogans.
Notable: Under the chapter "Sex Objects: Girls Who Do, Girls Who Don't, Girls Who Do Girls", a paragraph at the end of the chapter, almost as an afterthought appears.
Girls Who Do Girls and Boys
Okay, we admit it, we haven't found many stereotypes for bisexuals. In fact, about the only one we could think of is LUG (Lesbian Until Graduation). That's the college girl who experiments with women while in school, then goes hetero when she gets her diploma. Maybe there are so few stereotypes for bisexuals because there are still so many arguments over whether bisexuality is a legit sexual orientation or just fence-sitting. The Guerrilla Girls' opinion on the dispute: Human sexuality is fluid and ever changing. History is filled with great hetero, homo, and bi women whose lives and lifestyles all need to be acknowledged. (pg 54).
Wow. There is a lot wrong with that paragraph.
Firstly, I'm going to assume that none of the authors of this book are bisexual and also that they were too lazy to actually go and talk to some bisexual women about their experiences. Otherwise they'd know the most basic stereotype of all of bisexuals (and especially bisexual women): we're "confused". And then there's the second most basic stereotype: we'll do it with "anything that moves". Not only do the Guerrilla Girls plead ignorance to these two, they also perpetuate the first by allowing the idea of bisexuality to be reduced to something that's "argued over" whether or not it's a real orientation. Argued by bigots, most monosexist and heterosexist, I'm sure. But that would be akin to claiming that some people find the Aunt Jemima corporate logo not founded in racism.
Also, it's incredibly offensive to describe an "LUG" as bisexual. An "LUG" is a heterosexual woman who, by the Guerrilla Girls' very own description "experiments with women",specifically in this case, while in college. It's just another perpetuation of the "confused" stereotype of bisexuals: we don't know what we really want.
I bet the authors didn't think this book would draw attention to social and sexual stereotyping unintentionally.
Title: Bitches, Bimbos, and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes by The Guerrilla Girls
Details: Copyright 2003, Penguin Books
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Whatever life a woman leads, from biker chick to society girl, there's a stereotype she'll have to live down. The Guerrilla Girls, notorious for their outrageous take on culture and politics, now take on the maze of stereotypes that follow women from cradle to grave. With subversive use of information-and great visuals-they explore the history and significance of stereotypes like Old Maid, Trophy Wife, and Prostitute with a Heart of Gold. They tag the Top Types, introduce their own collection of ethnic dolls, examine sexual slurs, explain the evolution of Butches and Femmes, and delve into the lives of real and fictional women who have become stereotypes, from Aunt Jemima to Tokyo Rose to June Cleaver. The Guerrilla Girls' latest assault on injustice towards women will make you laugh, make you mad, and maybe even make you change your minds."
Why I Wanted to Read It: One of my first "activism" books was by the Guerrilla Girls and as such I have a fondness for them still.
How I Liked It: The book is flat-out too glib and the subject too broad such a teeny book, even as a "beginner feminist" tome. Wide sweeps are made that seem to hurt more than they help and a fleshed out history of the broader stereotypes would benefit the book greatly. Although some important points are raised (some history regarding Mother Theresa has been put through a powerful whitewash, it seems) and it's possible that giving this book to a young feminist would encourage an awareness of lookism, if nothing else, the book remains a skim-read, not a must. It could be said this would be a great "gateway" book to better books on the subject(s), but it's just as likely said reader would get overwhelmed by the authors' approach. And unlike the work of Jessica Valenti, the new darling of the Third Wave, the book doesn't offer any counteraction to bigotry encountered other than a postcard, t-shirt, and button transfer at the back of the book, all with the Guerrilla Girl logo and not terribly catchy nor to the point slogans.
Notable: Under the chapter "Sex Objects: Girls Who Do, Girls Who Don't, Girls Who Do Girls", a paragraph at the end of the chapter, almost as an afterthought appears.
Girls Who Do Girls and Boys
Okay, we admit it, we haven't found many stereotypes for bisexuals. In fact, about the only one we could think of is LUG (Lesbian Until Graduation). That's the college girl who experiments with women while in school, then goes hetero when she gets her diploma. Maybe there are so few stereotypes for bisexuals because there are still so many arguments over whether bisexuality is a legit sexual orientation or just fence-sitting. The Guerrilla Girls' opinion on the dispute: Human sexuality is fluid and ever changing. History is filled with great hetero, homo, and bi women whose lives and lifestyles all need to be acknowledged. (pg 54).
Wow. There is a lot wrong with that paragraph.
Firstly, I'm going to assume that none of the authors of this book are bisexual and also that they were too lazy to actually go and talk to some bisexual women about their experiences. Otherwise they'd know the most basic stereotype of all of bisexuals (and especially bisexual women): we're "confused". And then there's the second most basic stereotype: we'll do it with "anything that moves". Not only do the Guerrilla Girls plead ignorance to these two, they also perpetuate the first by allowing the idea of bisexuality to be reduced to something that's "argued over" whether or not it's a real orientation. Argued by bigots, most monosexist and heterosexist, I'm sure. But that would be akin to claiming that some people find the Aunt Jemima corporate logo not founded in racism.
Also, it's incredibly offensive to describe an "LUG" as bisexual. An "LUG" is a heterosexual woman who, by the Guerrilla Girls' very own description "experiments with women",specifically in this case, while in college. It's just another perpetuation of the "confused" stereotype of bisexuals: we don't know what we really want.
I bet the authors didn't think this book would draw attention to social and sexual stereotyping unintentionally.