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readmeanything_'s review against another edition
i remember wanting to fling this book at the door because of how much i disliked it and just how much it reeks of privilege (and a very superficial understanding of feminism, imo)
robinlm's review against another edition
2.0
Blah. I had high hopes for this book and I was disappointed. The authors took about 280 pages to "get to the point" and start writing their manifesta. They spent most of the book talking about feminist magazines and feminist authors, etc. I kept thinking, why are they talking about media soooo much? Aren't there bigger issues than Ms. magazine's continued lack of commercial success? About 15-20 pages of the book were real content of what to do, how to do it, and why.
The other thing that really grinds me up about this book is the continuous waffling. Oh, group a is feminist, and so is group b, and so is group c! We're all feminists! I'm not saying that feminists shouldn't be an inclusive group, but constantly going back and forth to qualify every statement for every possible person/group was tiring to read and weakened the point. Rather than focusing on all the differences between feminist groups, shouldn't we point out how we all want the same basic things?
Overall, disappointing, boring, tedious. I wouldn't even call it feminism 101, I would call it feminist magazines and media 101. There are much better books out there.
The other thing that really grinds me up about this book is the continuous waffling. Oh, group a is feminist, and so is group b, and so is group c! We're all feminists! I'm not saying that feminists shouldn't be an inclusive group, but constantly going back and forth to qualify every statement for every possible person/group was tiring to read and weakened the point. Rather than focusing on all the differences between feminist groups, shouldn't we point out how we all want the same basic things?
Overall, disappointing, boring, tedious. I wouldn't even call it feminism 101, I would call it feminist magazines and media 101. There are much better books out there.
kpeninger's review against another edition
3.0
Quite enjoyable. Some nice points made, good for thinking over your own views.
somechelsea's review against another edition
2.0
It had it's moments, but nothing special. I knew it was outdated going in, but it showed, mainly through pop culture references - specifically discussions of zines rather than websites - and the glaring lack of any commentary on Hillary Clinton. (She doesn't even make the index, though I could have sworn she was at least mentioned.)
The prologue (A Day Without Feminism) was a pointed, exaggerated look at what life was like in 1970, the year both authors were born, and their message is very clear - forget a debate over parental consent for abortions, back then a single woman would have trouble finding a landlord who would rent her an apartment. They certainly highlight all the low points, but they're not making anything up.
Unfortunately, the prologue got me all good and fired up and then rest of the book meandered around, petered off, and finally got plain old boring. There's good information here, but there's not much fun in the reading of it.
The prologue (A Day Without Feminism) was a pointed, exaggerated look at what life was like in 1970, the year both authors were born, and their message is very clear - forget a debate over parental consent for abortions, back then a single woman would have trouble finding a landlord who would rent her an apartment. They certainly highlight all the low points, but they're not making anything up.
Unfortunately, the prologue got me all good and fired up and then rest of the book meandered around, petered off, and finally got plain old boring. There's good information here, but there's not much fun in the reading of it.
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