Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer *****

Grandmothers: Tell your granddaughters about women liberation. Not feminism! Not gender studies! LIBERATION! If you're not a grandmother, read The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer. Published in 1970, by a recent PhD graduate of Cambridge University, this book lays the groundwork of a radical revolution and documents a society that, though just 40 years ago, will seem like ancient history to contemporary young women.

Warnings: First, the history, exhaustively documented by an academic researcher, is depressing. It is also exhilarating as it dramatizes how much progress has been made. Second, the narrative is often about sex, not gender, sex. If you squeamish about explicit discussions of the mechanics and emotions of sex, best to skip this book.

The book is divided into five sections: Body, Soul, Love, Hate, and Rebellion with chapters such as: The Wicked Womb, Woman Power, The Middle-class Myth of Love and Marriage, and Abuse. The language and sentiment is both academic and raw. I found it best to read just a few pages are a time. Different sections produced nightmares in the present and flashbacks to the turbulent and forgotten sixties.

If you ever found yourself wondering "What's the big fuss about?" this book has the answers. If you think those sixties bra burners were deranged crazies, this book might change your opinion. If you're comfortable with your role in society and like your self-satisfied complacency, don't read this book.

Postscript: Is this a genuine historical document? Yes! The copy on my bookshelf contained a 3x5 card with a handwritten recipe for granola. If there is enough interest, I can post the recipe.

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