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The author shows that feminism in the 1990s is anti-men and obsessed with date rape, pornography, and goddess religions, and today's young women have rejected it by the thousands. The author, a working woman and an amateur boxer, pulls no punches about who's at fault and why. The author after dozens of interviews shows how the feminist leaders of the 90s - with their victim-mentality and anti-male stance - are the new Victorians, sexually repressive and self-righteous while insisting they are morally superior to men. The gauntlet has been thrown before the women's movement.
- Sales Rank: #3621003 in Books
- Color: White
- Published on: 1996-11-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.99" h x .79" w x 5.00" l, .71 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9780446672399
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
From Publishers Weekly
Arguing that contemporary feminism has bogged down in an often repressive extremism, Denfeld contends that her generation needs to reframe the movement along more tolerant lines.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Books in which young women bash the feminism of their mothers' generation have become something of a growth industry of late: Katie Roiphe's The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism on Campus (LJ 9/15/93) and Christina Hoff Summers's Who Stole Feminism: How Women Have Betrayed Women (LJ 6/15/94) come immediately to mind. This latest contribution to the genre, by a freelance writer and amateur boxer, argues that while many under-30s women believe in (and desperately need) feminist causes, they have been alienated by the radical goddess-worshipping wierdos who (she maintains) now dominate the women's movement. The thesis that feminism is in danger of dissipating its once-vital energies in a neosocial purity campaign has been much elaborated on elsewhere, but here it is undermined by a host of contradictions, a reliance on pop-culture sources such as Glamour magazine, and an unfortunate tendency to generalize from carefully selected tidbits of evidence. There is a place for this sort of thing, but it is only in large popular collections, where there is certain to be some demand.
--Beverly Miller, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Just how is feminism currently defined and what is its meaning to the women--especially younger women--of today? Denfeld challenges the often disturbing and generally extremist nature of contemporary feminism by examining many issues being batted about by leading theorists. Key themes are debated; these include the antipornography activists' attacks on feminists who are against censorship in any form, the relevance of goddess worship, the trend in current dogma to condemn women's strides toward sexual liberation, and the tendency to inflate statistics that perpetrate a view of nearly all women as being victimized by men. Denfeld is neither conservative nor reactionary. Her observations are clear-sighted appraisals of how the movement alienates the great majority of women. She concludes with a treatise on reclaiming feminism, setting forth ideas on working toward meaningful change in such areas as child care, abortion rights, and sexual violence. Alice Joyce
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
DOES THE MAINSTREAM WOMEN’S MOVEMENT POSE A “DANGER TO WOMEN’S RIGHTS”?
By Steven H Propp
Rene Denfeld is a journalist and death penalty investigator, who has also written Kill the Body, the Head Will Fall: A Closer Look at Women, Violence, and Aggression, All God's Children, and The Enchanted: A Novel.
She wrote in the Introduction to this 1995 book, “For women of my generation, feminism is our birthright… We are the first generation to grow up expecting equal opportunity and equal education, as well as the freedom to express our sexuality. We are the first to assume what feminists had to force society to accept against its deeply ingrained prejudice: that we are the equals of any man. This belief may translate into the pursuit of a career or it may mean demanding respect for raising children—women of my generation believe in the right to choose. Given, then, this huge debt we owe feminism, who do so many women my age refuse to join the women’s movement? Why do we adamantly reject the feminist label?” (Pg. 2) She continues, “The fact is that feminism has changed---dramatically… the movement for the most past has taken a radical change in direction. It has become bogged down in an extremist moral and spiritual crusade that has little to do with women’s lives… It has lost contact with the ideas that sparked the second wave---individual empowerment and political activism---and has substituted a worldview that speaks to the very few, while alienating the many. For women of my generation, feminism has become as confining as what it pretends to combat.” (Pg. 5)
She adds, “There are, in essence, two different women’s movements alive today. One is a cultural movement… expressed in the independent actions of thousands of feminist-thinking women who fight for equality in their lives… But this movement… isn’t organized, and most of its members do not call themselves feminists. That’s because that word refers to the OTHER women’s movement---the organized, ideological form of feminism represented by groups such as NOW, women’s studies courses, and feminist leaders. It is this organized women’s movement---which defines the feminist label---that is the focus of this book.” (Pg. 6)
She goes on, “It is said that Victorians placed women on a pedestal… As the moral saviors of humanity, women were held to a much higher standard than men---and punished when they could not achieve it. In pushing their varied causes, today’s feminists promote a similar vision of womanhood… Today’s feminists are remarkably similar to Victorians in significant ways, and not only in their vision of sexuality. This is clear through an examination of several different causes and trends in today’s movement that, if anything, are a complete reversal of the movement’s progress during the seventies. This is the New Victorianism. And this is why women of my generation are abandoning the women’s movement.” (Pg. 10-11)
She asserts, “If the New Victorianism continues to flourish… [it] will mirror the sad history of … the suffragist movement… [that] not only represented social policies that served conservatives… [and] had alienated an entire generation of young women… Unless we can reclaim feminism, this women’s movement will die too… We must toss New Victorianism in the rubbish can and return to a movement that addresses women’s concerns while respecting their personal lives and empowering their choices; a movement that prioritizes issues as women themselves prioritize them: child care, political parity, economic opportunity, abortion rights, and birth control; a movement that espouses the feminist ideal… that women can and should be equal in full partnership with men, working together, both free from restraining sex roles… We must return to a movement that, quite simply, represents the majority of women.” (Pg. 20-21)
She states, “the truth is that man hating and antiheterosexuality are firmly entrenched and loudly espoused in in today’s movement. Young women encountering feminism are confronted with male bashing and made to feel they have to justify their sexual choices. This can even apply to lesbians if they don’t toe the line by restricting themselves to proper feminist ‘egalitarian’ sex. The women’s movement seems preoccupied with what women do in the bedroom and with whom they do it.” (Pg. 26)
She notes, “Women of my generation, thanks to earlier feminists, have choices… But do current feminists really think that it’s feasible for poor and working-class women to ‘avoid close relationships and working relationships’ with men (in other words, divorce their husbands and quit their jobs) in order to chase after some separatist ideal? Where will they find jobs without male coworkers? How will they put food on the table without work? What if they like their husbands and have male friends? Maybe some well-off feminists can afford to practice separatism, but for the majority of women, the suggestion is not only a joke but an insult to the economic and personal realities of their lives.” (Pg. 36-37)
She argues, “If feminism is the struggle for ALL women’s rights, then lesbian issues would have to come after efforts for such things as political parity, child care, and an end to job discrimination. In a movement for gender equality, whatever affects the most women MUST come first… Headway on these issues will improve life for nearly everyone, including lesbians. But today’s women’s movement seems to ignore this reality. And the reason is simple. Many current leaders have moved… into… the promotion of lesbianism as a political stand. In a nutshell, they believe that what women do in bed is of major concern to the movement---and… only lesbian sex is considered acceptable. Young women hear this time and time again, from women’s studies classes to women’s organizations, and it is a major reason behind their alienation from feminism.” (Pg. 46-44)
She contends, “We have been told that feminism … stands for things that once were considered the antithesis of feminism: helplessness, hysteria, paralyzing fear, sexual repression, and finally, retreat.” (Pg. 88) She adds, “It doesn’t seem to disturb or surprise feminist activists to find themselves agreeing with the same ultraconservatives who have tried to censor feminist literature. And it shouldn’t. They’ve been working together.” (Pg. 94) She continues, “Today’s feminists are friendly with groups that worked against the ERA, fight hard to outlaw abortion, want to restrict birth control, and try to censor feminist literature. Yet leading activists---under the banner of women’s rights---are giving these antifeminists the most explicit kind of approval: political alliance.” (Pg. 99) She summarizes, “current feminists… want to make sex a secret again. They want us to believe that exposure of our bodies degrades us, defiles us, and incites male lust… They want us to… ‘veil’ ourselves once more---in silence and shame.” (Pg. 123)
She observes, “The question of whether a Stone Age goddess religion existed is not easily resolved… But for many in the women’s movement, the subject is closed. Not only are feminist spiritual leaders quite certain that for thousands of years Europe worshipped a goddess, they are adamant that their cultures were virtual paradises, nurturing, nonviolent, nature-loving, and reverent toward ALL women… This vision of a golden age is crucial to the promotion of goddess worship by feminists: Put women in charge and the world will exist in peaceful harmony. But credible archaeologists beg to differ with this idealized past…” (Pg. 139-140)
She suggests, “Many young women encountering feminism today can’t be blamed if they feel they’ve encountered a den of conspiracy nuts. Attend women’s organization meetings or pass by a rally, take a women’s studies course, or pick up a feminist book and it is nearly impossible to avoid the ‘patriarchy.’ … this all-encompassing system is blamed for all of the world’s troubles; it is the amorphous force that works behind the scenes to oppress women and to undermine feminism… Our language, government, entertainment, education, you name it---everything is patriarchal; and for that reason, the enemy of women… By claiming that nearly every aspect of culture is controlled exclusively by men, current feminists implicitly portray our world as one great spiderweb of interconnected plots, all threads held by a faceless enemy whose sole goal is to oppress women.” (Pg. 155-156)
She says, “in The Beauty Myth… Yale graduate Naomi Wolf likens the beauty methods of upper-middle-class women to the medieval torture instrument known as the iron maiden… When women who exemplify the American dream and the fruits of feminism---educated in the finest universities, getting paid for the careers of their choice… write books comparing their lives to medieval torture, it’s not surprising that many lower-income women don’t find much in common with the movement.” (Pg. 161)
She summarizes, “We still need a women’s movement: a movement to achieve complete equality between the sexes… What we don’t need is what feminism stands for today.” (Pg. 211) She concludes, “these feminist trends form New Victorianism. They have changed the feminist agenda from fighting for equality and choice to promoting socially, sexually, and politically repressive ideals. They have created… another version of ‘true womanhood,’ a static, confining, sexist ideal of femininity… And like the descent into repression by the first wave of feminism, this New Victorianism poses a profound danger to women’s rights.” (Pg. 239)
She continues, “It seems that the chasm between the movement and young women… strikes a feminist sore spot… Feminist leaders would say that the problem is us: our supposed apathy, ingratitude, and some lurking antifeminist beliefs yet to be uncovered. Young women might say it’s the movement itself.” (Pg. 248) She states, “None of the issues expounded by the New Victorians… promise to improve society concretely for future generations. They are diversions. And younger people… understand this. We don’t have the time or energy to waste or moral crusades or flights of fancy. We don’t have time for New Victorianism.” (Pg. 252-253)
Obviously a book intended to be controversial, Denfeld’s book is obviously rejected by the “traditional” women’s movement. And it is at least questionable whether Denfeld is qualified to speak on behalf of her entire generation. Nevertheless, this is a stimulating and thought-provoking book, that will be of great interest to anyone interested in feminist theory---particularly those of Denfeld’s “my generation.”
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
A Credible Challenge to What Has Become an Orthodoxy
By Brian Curtis
Rene Denfeld's is one of those books that make you say, "I knew it! It's not just me! I've been waiting for someone to say this!" She presents an excellent post-boomer perspective (rare enough these days, outside of computers and technology) on what has happened to the once-proud and purposeful feminist movement, and an insightful and well-documented description of how it has changed over the past two decades.
As Denfeld illustrates with quotes from today's generation of young women, the official "feminist" movement has, in their eyes, lost its way. It is no longer about fighting for equal treatment under the law, equal pay in the workplace, or equal respect as individual human beings--all worthy goals which some Gen X and Y'ers have admittedly almost taken for granted in these more enlightened times. Instead, it has come to stand for Woman as Victim. The current focus of the core feminist movement in the past few years has been on protecting women, portraying them as helpless (yet noble and virtuous!) little hothouse flowers who need shielding and special treatment to survive against the onslaught of the big bad world and mean ol' men (all of whom are cast as violent, misogynistic predators, of course). Is it any wonder that so many young women who believe in equality nevertheless are reluctant to call themselves "feminists?"
The movement has been hijacked, as Denfeld amply demonstrates with an array of studies, statistics, and--most tellingly--quotes from the most prominent current leaders of the feminist movement today. What was once considered extremist has become mainstream as the cause has rigidified and polarized itself.
In addition, the book's writing style was a pleasant surprise. Too many books on political issues, particularly gender and family themes, are awkwardly and poorly written, mainly consisting of half-formed thoughts strung together with no regard for logic, organization, or thoughtful presentation. Denfeld is no ranter; she has methodically presented a number of well-researched and carefully organized points and concepts, and followed them up with discussion that is clear and thought-provoking. I found myself engrossed with every chapter.
Two minor quibbles:
1. As another reviewer has commented, I'm not sure that the Victorian analogy is consistent throughout the book. I recognize that in our society, "Victorian" represents backward and repressive thinking, and certainly this is an accurate description of what mainstream feminism has become. However, some elements of the current state of the movement are too new to fit the mold, and the analogy (but not the validity of the critique itself) becomes strained at points.
2. In addition to what feminism currently stands for, I would have liked to see some discussion of exactly how and why the feminist movement was transformed--although that could well have doubled the length of the book. The results of the change are clear, and clearly deplorable--but some more attention to the nature and origin of the change might provide some added insights into how to get feminism "back on track" for the future.
But all told, this is an excellent book that cogently presents and discusses some important ideas for modern equality-minded women who don't want the baggage and restrictions (Restrictions! In a movement purportedly concerned with women's freedom to choose!) that accompany modern mainstream feminism. The fact that many mainstream "old movement" feminists would probably hate it, despite its firm stance in favor of independence and equality for all women, illustrates just how far astray the movement has gone.
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Reminding Us All of the Real Feminism
By Rick
Denfeld is dead on target in her scathing but articulate attack on the new feminism. Contrary to what some reviewers have claimed, her writing is lucid and direct--so much so that my EFL graduate students here in Beijing have found it easy to digest and highly compelling reading. Now they have begun to understand what prompted the patronizing antics of so many so-called feminist leaders who spoke at the women's conference here five years ago.
I applaud Denfeld's daring, although as an amateur boxer, she'd probably shrug her shoulders and say, "aw, it was no big deal to write this stuff." Still, it is bold to put your publishing career on the PC chopping block.
As for the book's arguments, she documents her sources well and manages to deftly demystify the often jargon- laden writings of many of the new feminists she so roundly criticizes. I was especially glad to see the even-handed manner with which she treated Gloria Watkins, aka bell hooks. Earlier in the book she credits this feminist critic but takes the latter to task in subsequent references. In contrast, Denfeld's regard for Friedan is sensitive, even poignant.
The book maintains a motif: that a kind of neo-Victorian disposition dominates the new feminists. Although the motif is indeed at times strained, it holds up well overall.
This book should be required reading in womens studies courses which purport to offer divergent feminist points of view but, in fact, assign mostly the radical fringe while conveniently and hypocritically ignoring the emerging mainstream thought (or was it always there beneath the turgid surface?) The sad irony, communicated well in this work, is that the new feminists have marginalized the very women they claim to defend.
I look forward to reading her new, co-authored work on related issues.
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