Are modern women totally obsessed with chocolate, shoes and bikini waxes? Can one be a complete woman without a paid full-time job, a boyfriend, a mortgage and a designer handbag? If your respective answers are "Not all of us" and "Heck, yes!", then read this book! Unless, of course, you've already read it, in which case, please let me know what you thought of it. If you haven't read it, you could borrow it, but you might consider buying it, since all proceeds are going to The Fistula Foundation.
Normally, I would be wary of anything that mentions Foucault. I associate his name with essays that came back with remarks to the effect that I seemed to have failed to grasp something rather subtle but important. But "fouce" that, this book is too good to ignore. And it mentions Facebook, which does a lot to counteract the mild feeling of academic dryness.
I will start with what I didn't like about the book. I felt irritation at the misspelling of the name of journalist Katharine Viner. Someone should have noticed that two separate spellings of the name are used. I gather Shakespeare used to spell his name in different ways, but things are not so flexible now.
I also thought Nine Powar (do you see what I did there?) was a little harsh on the business woman who paid to go into space and hoped to find chocolate on the menu. "All humanity's technological and mathematical capabilities stretched to breaking-point in the name of the abstract, pointless beauty of extra-terrestrial exploration, and yet a Flake in front of the telly might have done?
That's a wonderful line, but I suspect that if Ms Power went into space, she would appreciate a few familiar flavours, not necessarily chocolate, to help her cope with the strangeness.
I also suspect that she has watched very few episodes of "Sex and the City". She appears to believe it was just about four women eating and drinking whilst they chatted about men, relationships, sex, babies, clothes, shoes and handbags. Which is a pretty startling take on a series where two major characters developed cancer, and another suffered from fertility problems and then miscarried!
Other storylines involved mothers-in-law, senility, abortion, deaths and funerals, work problems, Charlotte's conversion to Judaism, Miranda taking up running, Carrie swinging on a trapeze, Miranda playing baseball, Carrie's attempts to get out of jury duty (pathetic), Carrie's attempt to avoid being arrested for marijuana possession (more successful), friendship and gifts, property ownership, art, theatre, the town versus the countryside, a motorcycle, cosmetic procedures gone (mildly) wrong, dogs and faeces.
That said, Ms Power has interesting opinions on feminism and the "war on terror"; teenage single mothers; the separation between work and recreation; consumerism; and porn. I liked that she took the time to endorse "the intangible female right ... to only have to get undressed in front of the person of her choosing" (a quote from Alain Badiou).
She also mentions a couple of women whom I have mentioned in this blog. I wish I had known when I mentioned Fay Weldon that she had advised women who were after a man not to give him "one iota of emotional, intellectual or physical discomfort". Then again, having seen the article for myself, I wonder if Weldon is just being satirical about women who feel incomplete without a man.
Power also explains the appeal of Sarah Palin.
Power is particularly good on what she calls Feminism™.
According to Jessica Valenti, feminism is "something you define for yourself". And feminists can be pretty! Her attempt to say that it is okay for feminists to be "ugly, fat, or hairy" is unconvincing: "Nobody wants to be associated with anything that is seen and uncool and unattractive. But the thing is, feminists are pretty cool (and attractive!) women". No pressure there!
Although it would probably be wise for me to read Valenti's actual book ("Full Frontal Feminism") before laughing at her.
Elsewhere, however, Ms Valenti completely contradicts herself, thereby revealing her true feelings. Ah, that's more like it! For all her inviting facade, she absolutely believes in her right to police who is, or is not, allowed to be a feminist.
Some words have fixed meanings.
Should feminism be one of them.
Can feminism be one of them?
No comments:
Post a Comment