Full Frontal Feminism : : a Young Woman's Guide to why Feminism Matters

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You're a hardcore feminist I swear -- Feminists do it better (and other sex tips) -- Pop culture gone wild -- The blame (and shame) game -- If these uterine walls could talk -- Material world -- My big fat unnecessary wedding and other dating diseases -- ""Real" women have babies -- I promise I won't say "herstory" -- Boys do cry -- Beauty cult -- Sex and the city voters, my ass -- A quick academic aside -- Get to it -- Resources -- Notes.

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Full Frontal Fallacies submitted by Quoniam on January 1, 2009, 7:25pm Jessica Valenti, founder of the Feministing blog, writes a book encouraging young women to become feminists. She makes use of falsified, questionable statistics, and never even bothers to consider a man's point of view. When talking about female promiscuity, she attributes the condemnation of it (like every other one of her claims) as well as the celebration of male promiscuity to a collective male attempt to "Keep women in their place." The real reason for this double standard is the fact that if a man wants to sleep with a woman, he needs to work extremely hard and know exactly what she's thinking, but if a woman wants to sleep with a man, she just needs to be good-looking.

Aside from fueling the gender war by not considering a man's point of view, Valenti makes claims that are downright false. One that I found particularly glaring was her criticism of men's rights activists lobbying against the VAWA for discrimination against men. She said they should stop because "it provides protection for men, too". I myself have read the text of the VAWA, and I can say firmly that NO SUCH PROVISION EXISTS. The only funding for men is funding to re-educate men about their attitudes toward women.

This book is used in Women's Studies classes at Colleges across the country, which tells a lot about just how biased the field of Women's Studies is. Why is there no field called Men's Studies? I've heard the argument before: "History is Men's Studies". No, it isn't. Not in the same sense. There are no studies examining a man's traditional role in society and offering him the more desirable aspects of the female role.

To her credit, in "I Promise I won't Say 'Herstory'", Valenti grudgingly points out the darker side of feminism, mainly its racist origins. But she does nothing to call to attention the way in which feminism has harmed our country the most--the devaluing of men.

This book should never be used for any college class, other than Media Studies, where it can serve as a textbook example of skewed, uninformed propaganda.

Brutal Honesty submitted by lebkin on July 28, 2009, 8:47am Jessica Valenti's book does a great job of laying out the various arguments and positions of feminism. It is well written and well thought out. The tone is relaxed and casual, with a bit of snarky commenting here and there. The book is easy to read and flows well from one topic to another. The book is well researched, with all of citations and quotes to support its points.

Understanding the book does require you to think outside your cultural expectations. It is very easy to read the book and immediately dismiss what she is saying without thinking. As illustrated in an earlier review for this book:

"When talking about female promiscuity, she attributes the condemnation of it (like every other one of her claims) as well as the celebration of male promiscuity to a collective male attempt to "Keep women in their place." The real reason for this double standard is the fact that if a man wants to sleep with a woman, he needs to work extremely hard and know exactly what she's thinking, but if a woman wants to sleep with a man, she just needs to be good-looking."

This is a perfect example of the very mindset that Valenti is writing about. It illustrates the ideas that women are the gatekeepers of sex, that men are not responsible for their sexual activity, and that a woman's value is inherently tied to her looks. These are all part of the worldview Valenti is fighting against. The book supports instead the view that a woman has the right to an independent existence, the power to direct her own destiny, and the authority to control her own body. All things I think are worth supporting.

A great book, recommended to anyone. Five stars.