29th out of 575 books
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742 voters
The Female Eunuch
The clarion call to change that galvanized a generation.
When Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch was first published it created a shock wave of recognition in women, one that could be felt around the world. It went on to become an international bestseller, translated into more than twelve languages, and a landmark in the history of the women's movement. Positing that sexua...more
When Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch was first published it created a shock wave of recognition in women, one that could be felt around the world. It went on to become an international bestseller, translated into more than twelve languages, and a landmark in the history of the women's movement. Positing that sexua...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
March 5th 2002
by Farrar Straus Giroux
(first published 1970)
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I adore men, I love my cigarettes and scotch, take pleasure in my womanly curves; simultaneously I greatly want women to obtain their freedom of rights.
Feminism may be an archaic phenomenon in the urban world yet it is still in the nascent form in numerous authoritarian patriarchal configurations and societies plagued with female foeticide. This manuscript does justice to such dwellings where women irrespective to their economical standing bear subjugation to various norms of religion and cultu...more
Feminism may be an archaic phenomenon in the urban world yet it is still in the nascent form in numerous authoritarian patriarchal configurations and societies plagued with female foeticide. This manuscript does justice to such dwellings where women irrespective to their economical standing bear subjugation to various norms of religion and cultu...more
The Female Eunuch turned 40 this year and in light of this I elected to pick it up. It actually disarmed me. It was clear, the chapters were concise and the arguments never delved into rant. It's really quite exceptional that Greer thought it would swiftly date and fall off the radar. The Romance chapter is biting and totally hilarious and Work is so well-voiced as to weaken the surrounding chapters by comparison. However, I can't go without saying I was nagged by several major criticisms throug...more
despite efforts to like this book, upon the third read i can honestly say i s'll never touch it again.
personally i do not believe feminism to be as much the rejection of male chauvinism and the transcendence of it. in this vein, women must master their true selves rather than attempt to master the men around them. in having spent years attempting mastery, as documented in the dissected power struggles that form the basis of chapters such as 'misery', women too have played a part in the 'nuclear...more
personally i do not believe feminism to be as much the rejection of male chauvinism and the transcendence of it. in this vein, women must master their true selves rather than attempt to master the men around them. in having spent years attempting mastery, as documented in the dissected power struggles that form the basis of chapters such as 'misery', women too have played a part in the 'nuclear...more
I picked up this book not only because of it's historical significance but because a friend mad a blog post about it while having not read it basically saying Greer was an self-important idiot and I really hate ignorance.
Reading this book as a feminist in 2010 there are things about it I don't agree with. I definetley have problems with the blatant transphobia which is a theme through Greer's writings, and she has a rather patchy idea about homosexuality. Some of the things she talks abuot are o...more
Reading this book as a feminist in 2010 there are things about it I don't agree with. I definetley have problems with the blatant transphobia which is a theme through Greer's writings, and she has a rather patchy idea about homosexuality. Some of the things she talks abuot are o...more
The publication of Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch in 1970 was a landmark event, raising eyebrows and ire while creating a shock wave of recognition in women around the world with its steadfast assertion that sexual liberation is the key to women's liberation. Today, Greer's searing examination of the oppression of women in contemporary society is both an important historical record of where we've been and a shockingly relevant treatise on what still remains to be achieved.
Like a woman, this...more
Like a woman, this...more
This book was hugely influential on me and my girlfriends when we read it as college girls in the 1970s. Greer was a scholarly and entertaining writer, and we were all excited to find out how much we were hated just for being females. Over the years I began to question some of her assertions that had seemed so convincing: e.g, it would be better for children to be raised by Italian peasants so their educated, ambitious, free-wheeling mothers could do important things, for instance, and go visit...more
I read this book at 14, and it was possibly the best thing to read for a vaguely angry but not entirely sure why girl who grew up in a strict religious environment with a serious problem with women being their own person. I still remember suddenly realizing just how screwed up my idea of my gender was, how out-dated the opinions of those around me even compared to a 70s book. I've not yet read it again, mostly because I expect it to let me down. Though it's been years, I still remember some very...more
I think this book has some really important observations and ideas. I also think that in some ways it is exceptionally dated in terms of the science it references, and attitudes towards transgendered individuals. Having spent most of my adult life involved with sex positivity, I find a lot of her sexual attitudes kind of quaint, even given that they were extremely progressive at the time.
The book is written with exceptionally academic language, which I can see being offputting to anyone who is...more
The book is written with exceptionally academic language, which I can see being offputting to anyone who is...more
The Female Eunuch may seem a little dated by now, but back in the early 1970s when it first appeared, Australian feminist Germaine Greer really raised social consciousness with her ideas that women in various societies throughout history have been figuratively castrated (hence, the title), and forced to be much less in society than they should be. There are some really interesting facts and figures in Greer's study. I remember shortly after this book was published, Greer was a guest on William...more
When I picked this up out of the Women's Studies section this past January, I was really adrift in life. Greer's book caught me and refocused me, entire paragraphs eliciting a 'fuck yes' aloud.
Germaine underlines that uncomfortable feeling of what it means to be female in modern society, something I'd never noticed until falling into a heterosexual relationship. What does it mean to be expected to play traditional gender roles, to cater or ignore expectations?
A milestone.
Germaine underlines that uncomfortable feeling of what it means to be female in modern society, something I'd never noticed until falling into a heterosexual relationship. What does it mean to be expected to play traditional gender roles, to cater or ignore expectations?
A milestone.
This was a hugely challenging, provoking and problematic read.
Rarely do I pick up a book so prepared to embrace a philosophy, yet I found myself continually pulling back--I actually succumbed to the urge to scribble notes in the margins, many of which expressed doubt, concern and rejection.
I think this is largely due to the fact that it is dated. It represents a key position (roughly between Simone de Beauvoir and Naomi Wolf) in the development of feminist theory but it seems--to me--that it is...more
Rarely do I pick up a book so prepared to embrace a philosophy, yet I found myself continually pulling back--I actually succumbed to the urge to scribble notes in the margins, many of which expressed doubt, concern and rejection.
I think this is largely due to the fact that it is dated. It represents a key position (roughly between Simone de Beauvoir and Naomi Wolf) in the development of feminist theory but it seems--to me--that it is...more
Female Eunuch is an eye opening book, for sure. It feels a little dated in some parts and I’d love to see a revised version which includes data from 30 years later (I am aware that Greer wrote a ‘sequel’ but it is more concerned with more mature women instead of young women). Greer’s arguments struck deep in me and the stories she told or behaviours she described mirrored so many patterns of behaviour and thinking in my life and my family that it was rather uncomfortable to acknowledge just how...more
It's a classic, which is why it should still be required reading for any feminist trying to educate themselves. But it's very, very much of its time, very much the work of a second waver with all the problematic attitudes towards sexuality, homosexuality and race that that implies. Worth reading as an historical record, but not something that I base my own thought on, really.
I was fifteen when I picked up this book. I was a voracious reader at that age and I knew what a "eunuch" was, so was intrigued by the title alone. The book was first published before I was even born and so there were a lot of cultural touchstones that had shifted, not to mention the fact that I imagine I was quite a bit younger than the original target audience.
But even so, I'd credit this book with changing my life and opening my eyes. It came along at just the right time in my life and I thin...more
But even so, I'd credit this book with changing my life and opening my eyes. It came along at just the right time in my life and I thin...more
VANGUARDIST LITERATURE FROM THE 1960's and 1970's tend to prove batty, antiquated, and quixotic with the march of time. Greer's seminal vaunting of second-wave feminism veritably suits the milieu. But unlike some of her peers she hoped the book would become antiquated as soon as possible, something it does quite well.
Pertinent points of ingrained sexism in developed Western societies are raised in the book. But the focus of Greer's jab is, somewhat misguidedly, at the 'feminine'. The book has ma...more
Pertinent points of ingrained sexism in developed Western societies are raised in the book. But the focus of Greer's jab is, somewhat misguidedly, at the 'feminine'. The book has ma...more
When I started reading this book I was hoping that it would be an irrelevant, but interesting account of 70s feminism and that most of its messages could now be seen as history. Unfortunately, there's far too much about the concepts and obervations that Greer discusses in this book that are all too relevant to our current society.
While many of the statistics are outdated and even perhaps the intensity of the need for change, there is still a very strong message to be found within. I personally c...more
While many of the statistics are outdated and even perhaps the intensity of the need for change, there is still a very strong message to be found within. I personally c...more
My first impression of this book upon reading the summary was an out of date, bigoted account of the female plight of male "oppression". I found humour in the insinuation that the entity of masculinity see's a women not as an individual but as an object to be mentally undressed and desecrated and the presentation of women that causes this sexualisation is, of course a man's fault. Its probably evident I'm a male.
I was however pleasantly surprised by the clear and concise insight the "Body" chap...more
I was however pleasantly surprised by the clear and concise insight the "Body" chap...more
Greer can be brilliant, can be infuriating. She can shine and she can let herself down horribly. This is a book of its time and I read it when it was first published. Back then, it blasted the cobwebs off a totally patriarchal society but did it in a witty and winning way. This is Greer at her best.
It is sad that whilst this book is now somewhat dated, the battle it engaged with has still not been won. Today's young women in the main think feminism is passé and are complaisant about the superfic...more
It is sad that whilst this book is now somewhat dated, the battle it engaged with has still not been won. Today's young women in the main think feminism is passé and are complaisant about the superfic...more
Aug 05, 2008
John
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone should read it, i doubt everyone will like it though
Brilliant. This book should be required reading for everyone, not just women.
She's the badass radical feminist Paglia needs up her ass.
It took me over a year to get through this book, and in the year intervening I have become way more disillusioned with conventional feminism, of which this is a fundamental text. So my attitude at the moment is rather dismissive to the white lady problems of Germaine Greer and the mid-20th-century feminism of which she was a pillar.
This book felt so alien to me, in style and substance. Stylistically, it's hard to follow -- Greer chains together one anecdote and unsubstantiated essentialist stat...more
This book felt so alien to me, in style and substance. Stylistically, it's hard to follow -- Greer chains together one anecdote and unsubstantiated essentialist stat...more
Germaine Greer is a delicious read simply because she is not afraid to say anything- I went to see a documentary about Lillian Roxon (who Germaine Greer and oddly enough Deryn Hinch knew) and she came to the premier. At question time, she was invited up by the filmmakers and didn't hesitate to call Deryn Hinch a fucking wanker in front of everyone, it was hilarious (so you can imagine some of the controversial content in this book)- BUT this book is not pure exhibitionism. Another life changer.
This is the book that made me understand where I was within feminism, and how shit fucks both women AND men up. It is probably the most important non-fictional book I've ever read outside of analytical philosophy, and if one were to take the fun out of it, it would probably be a work of that school. This would be a loss to human culture. It doesn't hurt that Greer is assaultive and inarguable and entertaining to the senses throughout. Read this book or eat shit.
This book is written for the sole purpose of criticizing everything, while rarely offering viable alternatives. It's a scholarly type of book, full of jargon that might be discouraging for some people. However, there is some excellent analysis of women's issues which are still relevant in 21st century, even though the book was written 40 years ago. Greer doesn't just blame everything on patriarchy, she is much more critical of the average women, lambasting their feminine virtues, exhorting them...more
Back in the day, this was a very influential book. Back when I flinched at the term "feminist," equating it with strident, angry women who hated men and burned bras. As I matured, I realized nothing was ever that simple in the equal rights movement for women, and now, in my sixties, I realize that I was a closet feminist all along, afraid to embrace the label. So, this book influenced me even when I thought it did not. It was valuable.
When I picked this book up in Darwin I did so because I thought it had an interesting title and I thought it was some sort of fiction. I did recognise the name Germaine Greer, but I couldn't remember where I had it from. The book is a very feminist non-fiction book.
I struggled getting through this book. It was just so boring. The way it was written was boring and the subject was outdated. I'm sure it was a big hit and kind of helpful to the women liberation in the 70's, and parts of it was inter...more
I struggled getting through this book. It was just so boring. The way it was written was boring and the subject was outdated. I'm sure it was a big hit and kind of helpful to the women liberation in the 70's, and parts of it was inter...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| The Female Eunuch (Paperback) by Germaine Greer | 2 | 23 | Mar 08, 2008 08:16pm |
Germaine Greer is an Australian born writer, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century.
Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since her ground-breaking The Female Eunuch became an international best-seller in 1970, turning her overnight into a household name and bringing her both adulatio...more
More about Germaine Greer...
Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since her ground-breaking The Female Eunuch became an international best-seller in 1970, turning her overnight into a household name and bringing her both adulatio...more
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“Maybe I couldn’t make it. Maybe I don’t have a pretty smile, good teeth, nice tits, long legs, a cheeky arse, a sexy voice. Maybe I don’t know how to handle men and increase my market value, so that the rewards due to the feminine will accrue to me. Then again, maybe I’m sick of the masquerade. I’m sick of pretending eternal youth. I’m sick of belying my own intelligence, my own will, my own sex. I’m sick of peering at the world through false eyelashes, so everything I see is mixed with a shadow of bought hairs; I’m sick of weighting my head with a dead mane, unable to move my neck freely, terrified of rain, of wind, of dancing too vigorously in case I sweat into my lacquered curls. I’m sick of the Powder Room. I’m sick of pretending that some fatuous male’s self-important pronouncements are the objects of my undivided attention, I’m sick of going to films and plays when someone else wants to, and sick of having no opinions of my own about either. I’m sick of being a transvestite. I refuse to be a female impersonator. I am a woman, not a castrate.”
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