Yeah, that post below about me bringing xanga back...not me. Not to say that I haven't considered it. However, the encouragement is much appreciated. I also didn't put this elephant on my profile.  I don't even know who I am (as a xanga-ite) anymore. Did any of this happen to anyone else?

        Let me think about this "blog" thing a little bit. I'll get back to you.

        Ghostwriter out.

 

Flipping through Women's Health at work today and I spot this little gem. And I quote *ahem*:

"Research shows that blue is a natural appetite suppressant, so using blue plates, napkins, or placemats may make you eat more slowly..."

...or make you not eat at all. I hate blue dinnerware. I'm not crazy and there is research to prove it.

Do not read this book in any attempt to garner important information regarding feminism.

Jessica Valenti's "Full Frontal Feminism" is an attempt to reach out to young women and invite them into the Feminist fold with a raw and in-your-face style which, unfortunately, comes off as bratty and pithy. It's a shallow commentary on what I think are merely left overs from second wave feminism.

She doesn't sound like someone who blogs in the post-modern age. In a post-modern age these sort of -isms just don't work. She attempt's to rally young woman around a highly politically charged word by making it look glamorous and when that doesn't seem to work she resorts to fear (Anti-abortionists don't want anybody enjoying sex).

Her introduction sounds like a pitch for Am-Way or a cult. Feminism according to Valenti is a better way of life and only the coolest of women are doing it. Feminism is supposed to be liberating for women and yet this book feel more like a rule book: don't date Republicans, don't have sex with pro-lifers, don't wear an engagement ring. She completely dismisses those who are sexually abstinent for religious reasons and makes fun of girls that make some sort of pledge to remain virgins until they are married because "I never really understood what the big deal was about virginity." I understand that in many situations/communities/cultures a woman doesn't make the choice rather the decisions surrounding her sexuality are made for her. What bothers me about Valenti's approach is that she doesn't engage the arguments and feminism is, once again, exclusive and inaccessible, ultimately defeating her own purpose.

She greatly underestimates her audience. I can assume that I may fall into the "young woman" category to whom she is writing and I am insulted. She adds trite commentary, makes sweeping generalizations ("When you're a feminist, day to day life is better. You make better decisions. You have better sex.") and calls her opponents juvenile names. Instead of responding to the opposition with thoughtful criticisms she chooses to make her case with the short, "Yeah, I know," as if you can read her mind and agree with her that what you have just read is ridiculous, or the deliberate ironic, "Lovely" and, "Sweet huh?". There is a place or two in the book when she actually takes the time to retort with a bit of factual information but loses me when she follows it up with a "So there!" There is something very Anne Coulter-ish in her style.

Where is the thinking? Analyzing? Not in this book. "Full Frontal Feminism" is passe. It may appeal to young women going through the anger stage of the mourning process after their first realization that the world is full of injustices and that much of the injustice is directed toward women. However, this is hardly the tool to encourage us to progress into a more woman friendly society. If this is the forecast for the future of feminism count me out.