thebacklistborrower's Reviews (570)

This is an excellent book for those interested in learning more about historical and contemporary feminism. The writings that are selected clearly show the growth of the women's movement from post-world war, when The Second Sex was published, up to the mid-1990s, when Ruth Bader-Ginsberg was nominated to the supreme court.

After reading, one can expect to have a strong foundation on which to build their feminist thinking and actions, as the book covers many topics, from reproductive freedoms to the challenges faced by feminists of colour, and the issue of how the women's movement was predominantly white, middle-class women. Anybody should be able to take these readings, and use them to inform issues we currently face, as many of them are still very relevant: the Roe V Wade decision, and Anita Hill testimony, both recently coming back into public discourse, are both excerpted.

I don't know if the book was intended to be what I would call "feminist horror", but it fits the script: Marian's slow decline as her body stops eating fits the trope of the protagonist in any horror film who slowly goes crazy, leaving the audience to wonder if it is real or imagined. Combine that with a cast of characters who could fit the many tropes of a capital-M Man's view of women (as found in the office virgins, the helpless maiden (Clara), the succubus (Ainsely))-- and other men (a pervasive fear of "queers", the femnized father (Joe), the asexual/inept intellectuals), and you've got a very unsettling novel. However, it is well-written and engaging, and kept me engaged (and a little disturbed) throughout, and the delightfully unsettling climax & denoument made me laugh out loud. Would highly recommend to anybody interested in dark fiction.

I devoured this book. There is a broad cast of characters so there is somebody for everybody to love, but if you're like me, you'll love (or love-to-hate) them all. The first comic in this book is from 1987, and the last is in 2008, just before the American election. Reading this book, therefore, is an inside view on LGBT lives & issues as those lifestyles became more mainstream (in some cases, to the despair of the characters themselves), although the challenges of those in the LGBT community are, of course, still discussed.

Bechdel provides a whole cast of characters for whom their sexuality and gender are integral to their being, but do not define it, and for whom the exploration of their gender and sexuality is not played for a laugh or reaction. These characters explore polyamory, are lesbians who end up dating men, include drag kings and transitioning youth, lesbian parenthood, and just plain-old-normal relationship challenges that everybody face, whether poly, gay, or hetero.

These characters absorbed into my brain, and I couldn't stop inserting myself into their lives. I'm eager to find another anthology now!