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maximum_moxie's review
4.0
Would rate four and a half stars. There's a reason this book coined a new phrase: well-written, hard-hitting and deeply researched, I couldn't put it down.
It may be a bit dated now (all the data comes from the time period, largely the 80's), but the book fully addresses the myths of femininity which any woman would recognize; that fulfillment is found in relationships and child-rearing; that the "biological clock" can't be denied; that working women are always miserable and we "can't have it all". Faludi reveals these myths as what they are: projections of a fearful male culture onto women it can't control just as they are beginning to assert themselves.
As with any book with an ideological axe to grind, I did doubt the full validity of some points. Certainly men aren't entirely to blame for low female self-esteem or the lack of fully rounded female characters in movies. Yet even so, Faludi does an excellent job of balancing male responsibility with the ways men (and backlash-supporting women) suffer from backlash thinking and sometimes subvert it.
A ripping good read for anyone who wants to understand modern gender relations--though I would like to find another companion book which addresses the same issues in a more modern context.
It may be a bit dated now (all the data comes from the time period, largely the 80's), but the book fully addresses the myths of femininity which any woman would recognize; that fulfillment is found in relationships and child-rearing; that the "biological clock" can't be denied; that working women are always miserable and we "can't have it all". Faludi reveals these myths as what they are: projections of a fearful male culture onto women it can't control just as they are beginning to assert themselves.
As with any book with an ideological axe to grind, I did doubt the full validity of some points. Certainly men aren't entirely to blame for low female self-esteem or the lack of fully rounded female characters in movies. Yet even so, Faludi does an excellent job of balancing male responsibility with the ways men (and backlash-supporting women) suffer from backlash thinking and sometimes subvert it.
A ripping good read for anyone who wants to understand modern gender relations--though I would like to find another companion book which addresses the same issues in a more modern context.
katielaine_w's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
If reading has taught me anything it's that there's nothing new in history and the world would be a better place if John Hinkley had better aim.
lizzderr's review
4.0
This is a powerful and worthwhile read. It gives a name to so many of the issues I've felt but not necessarily been intellectually aware of. Backlash provides a necessary history lesson, and most of the people, events, and situations discussed in the book have parallels in the United States today. My main concern with this book is the fact that it centers on middle class, white, straight women, particularly in the sections on entertainment and pop culture -- for example, in the Epilogue Faludi states that men need women just as much as women need men, and the statement is part of a generally well-made point about men's reactions to women's struggles for equal rights, but it dismisses the Queer experience entirely, which I found troubling. That said, I would nevertheless recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
jsisco's review
5.0
There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been written about this truly ground-breaking text. Faludi skewers the anti-feminist culture and hegemony that dominates American society in every facet, from films to fashion to blue collar discrimination. I devoured the book over the course of a week or two, truly enjoying every single chapter, contorting my face at the horrors experienced by women during the Reagan years. My only complaint? In a few of the chapters, Faludi tends to skew more toward the anecdotal than hard facts, but overall, her argument certainly leans more toward data and statistics. She also a keen eye for studies, and knows exactly how to dismantle those that were so misleading, and so damaging, to American women in the 80s.
My only wish? She would make an updated version that encompasses the 90s and 2000s. One can only imagine what she would come up with for the Bush years...
My only wish? She would make an updated version that encompasses the 90s and 2000s. One can only imagine what she would come up with for the Bush years...
gotobedmouse's review
3.0
I read this book my Senior year of college when I was SINGLE, Proud, and Feminist...I remember it was a difficult read. But one of those books that changed how I looked at the world. I need to read the updated version.
shadowrocks8's review
5.0
Still relevant today for what can be seen as another backlash happening today
skbarks's review
4.0
I mentioned to a friend that I was reading a book subtitled "The Undeclared War Against American Women," and she was surprised that someone had "already" published a book about it. Oh no, honey, this is 20 years old. It is dismaying to see how far we haven't come in some arenas. I thought the real meat was in the last section about workplace equality and reproductive rights, but all the stuff about pop culture was interesting too. We desperately need an updated version to address the current anti-woman crap going on in the US. Susan Faludi, get on that, please.