george's review
Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters
by Jessica Valenti
I have pretty much the same opinion...and it did seem weird there was as much cursing in this book as probably all the other feminist nonfiction books I've read put together! The language didn't bother me, exactly, but I did think that's the kind of thing that could keep a book out of a high school library. (Well, of course the content is controversial too, but language really seems to set people off.)
It's hard to explain--I think I felt like the language was trying too hard to appeal to young women. Since I read feministing all the time and am pretty familiar with how Valenti writes her blogs, I don't think it was intentional, but it came off that way. It just seemed overdone and a little insulting--like that is the only way to reach young women.
I never really thought about this book being an issue in high school libraries, but I completely agree. It's way easier to use the language as an excuse rather than the content (which I agree would be controversial as well).
george's review
Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters by Jessica Valenti
george's review
rating:
bookshelves:
feminist-women-issues,
read-in-2008
This was pretty good. I didn't really learn anything from it, but then again, I didn't really expect to. Valenti does a good job of explaining why feminism needs to matter to young women (and men). I read feministing pretty much every day and this book is very much like the blog, so much of it was quite familiar. She has included a good resource guide at the end to find more information and get involved. She covers body issues, pop culture, politics, working vs. stay-at-home moms, issues of masculinity, and reproductive rights.
The only thing that kind of bugged me was the overabundance of cursing throughout the book. Now, I'm no prude: f__k is my favorite word, but it just seemed to be way too much--maybe it was seeing it in print over and over, but the book would have been better off without so much foul language (God, I sound like my mother). The casual language was comforting for the most part, but after the fourth "hells no," I got a little irritated.
Nevertheles...more
The only thing that kind of bugged me was the overabundance of cursing throughout the book. Now, I'm no prude: f__k is my favorite word, but it just seemed to be way too much--maybe it was seeing it in print over and over, but the book would have been better off without so much foul language (God, I sound like my mother). The casual language was comforting for the most part, but after the fourth "hells no," I got a little irritated.
Nevertheles...more
I have pretty much the same opinion...and it did seem weird there was as much cursing in this book as probably all the other feminist nonfiction books I've read put together! The language didn't bother me, exactly, but I did think that's the kind of thing that could keep a book out of a high school library. (Well, of course the content is controversial too, but language really seems to set people off.)
It's hard to explain--I think I felt like the language was trying too hard to appeal to young women. Since I read feministing all the time and am pretty familiar with how Valenti writes her blogs, I don't think it was intentional, but it came off that way. It just seemed overdone and a little insulting--like that is the only way to reach young women. I never really thought about this book being an issue in high school libraries, but I completely agree. It's way easier to use the language as an excuse rather than the content (which I agree would be controversial as well).