rylan’s Reviews > The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution > Status Update

Building upon earlier remarks, the nuclear family as a tool of oppression is placed in its historical context. 'Childhood' is described as a modern myth, one used to reify class divisions. The institutions built around this myth (education, 'child psychology', the various 'children' consumer industries) are singled out for their enabling of this reification. Their dependence on and repression by adults is analyzed.

Freudianism and its relation to feminism is finally explored. Firestone first identifies their common roots, before diving into the similarities between the two movements. More specifically, she reframes the former within the context of patriarchal power afforded by the nuclear family structure. The chapter ends with an extensive critique of how the behavioural sciences serve as another anesthetic for the latter.

Firestone laments the subsequent 'fifty year ridicule' that befell the grander movement following the achievement of women's suffrage. Cultural concepts such as style, patriotism, and teenagedom are singled out as anesthetics. A breakdown of the major camps in the contemporary movement is provided, with particularly harsh critiques levied at the left-aligned camp, before extolling the superiority of radical feminism.

Getting a head-start on this now, since I am slated to lead another book club discussion in late January.

In the opening chapter, sharing the same name as the book, Firestone lays out her perspective on historical materialism as well as critiques of both sex class as an institution and Engels/Marx's myopic economism. However, her synthesis of radical feminism, socialism, and Freudianism remains to be seen in action.