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beautifullybookishbethany's review
4.0
In light of the #MeToo movement, Reckoning is a fascinating exploration of the history of combatting sexual harassment and assault in the United States. Beginning in the 1960's, we follow key court cases and touchstone moments in society, including overviews of the different waves of feminist thought and how they intersected with these issues. It is wild to see how far we have come and how different the thinking on these issues was not so very long ago. There is discussion of sex in the workplace, at home, and in political scandals. It is interesting and thought-provoking, following a through-line up to #MeToo and the way that was informed by things that came before. It is also intersectional to a point (more on that below) and emphasizes the way these issues disproportionately affect women of color and women from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Additionally, there are portions that highlight the critical role played by several black women in fighting back against workplace harassment and assault.
While I think this book is well worth reading, I will note a couple of shortcomings. First, this book is almost entirely focused on sexual harassment and assault as it applies to heterosexual cis-women, and this definitely feels like a blind spot. There is a notable absence of considering the ways that these issues affect members of the LGBTQIAP+ community (particularly trans-women) or the ways that they affect gay men or even straight men. I think that makes this feel overly narrow in scope and is disappointing. Additionally, it is clear that the author has very particular perspectives on sex and pornography and, while she discusses the controversy on these issues, it is pretty obvious how she feels about them and not everyone will share her perspective. For this author, sex is always political and therefore if power and dominance are a part of it, that becomes a problem linked to gendered oppression in society. While I see some of the points the author is making, it does come across as a bit condescending toward anyone who feels differently.
Still, I think this book does important work in documenting the progression of legal and cultural change on these issues and would recommend it. I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
While I think this book is well worth reading, I will note a couple of shortcomings. First, this book is almost entirely focused on sexual harassment and assault as it applies to heterosexual cis-women, and this definitely feels like a blind spot. There is a notable absence of considering the ways that these issues affect members of the LGBTQIAP+ community (particularly trans-women) or the ways that they affect gay men or even straight men. I think that makes this feel overly narrow in scope and is disappointing. Additionally, it is clear that the author has very particular perspectives on sex and pornography and, while she discusses the controversy on these issues, it is pretty obvious how she feels about them and not everyone will share her perspective. For this author, sex is always political and therefore if power and dominance are a part of it, that becomes a problem linked to gendered oppression in society. While I see some of the points the author is making, it does come across as a bit condescending toward anyone who feels differently.
Still, I think this book does important work in documenting the progression of legal and cultural change on these issues and would recommend it. I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
vlad's review
3.0
Solid account of the history of anti-harassment law and culture trends leading up to #metoo. Ultimately surface-level and unstructured. Lots of detail about Weinstein, almost none about Cosby or other powerful predators. Lots of detail about Anita Hill vs Clarence Thomas, and Clinton-Lewinsky, but the detail is confusing and reduced my ability to see the forest through the tangle of underbrush.
lizardreads's review
2.0
This wasn't great! As much as Hirshman seemed to be skewering popular feminist movements for lack of focus and organization - I think she tried to do too much with this, and things got lost. In the introduction and maybe also first chapter, she does go hard against white women who have sold out gender equity and justice for comfort and I was here for that, but then doesn't have much to offer as the book goes on about it. There's definitely some very good research in here, I think as another reviewer said, she thinks of Catharine MacKinnon as being more of a central figure to the idea of sexual harassment than she is (again - she's important, but not the only person ever to figure this out)... I don't know. The strongest bits did seem to be legal history/more historical subjects, and then the later chapters on more recent high-profile sexual abuse and harassment cases did not seem as strong. The tone really vacillated wildly between deathly serious and kind of glib about the complexity of trauma and how entrenched rape culture is. There were parts of this I really appreciated but overall, especially with there being so much great coverage of these same issues in the media... I don't think this book is worth it.
miguelf's review
4.0
This book has a great first half in giving background on the fight against sexual harassment starting in the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s. Several little known (to me) court cases are highlighted and showcase just how abysmal work conditions were for women in these times and how incremental and steady progress was made to combat these wrongs. The second part of the book loses a bit of steam as we enter the modern era – perhaps because everything is so fresh? Some detail is given to the Kavanaugh debacle (much more depth which can be found in the recently published ‘Supreme Ambition’), and yes we have to relive the sordidness of the Clinton affair. Still, worthwhile as a whole; educational and well written.
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