Femininity and Domination (Thinking Gender)

it the kindle version, not very user friendly for my taste.

Book is a must read for anyone interested in feminism!

The overly defensive review that was written by a male does a complete disservice to the brilliance of Bartky's work. Not only has Bartky covered important new territory in understanding gender dynamics, she has done so in a style that is extremely readable. This accessibility is particularly apparent when comparing Bartky's work to Judith Butler's work. Both transformed the way that people understand gender dynamics, but Bartky articulates her insights in a far more accessible way. In closing, I would say that if one wants a useful evaluation of Bartky's work, one should ask a woman about how Bartky's work captures or fails to capture her experience of the world, not a male who's reactionary when confronted with the realities of gender privilege.

I will start by saying that this review is not intended to be academic. It is not prose, nor is it a probing look into the psyche of Americans. It is merely why I didn't like reading this book for my humanities class.Sandra Lee Bartky presents a collection of essays which are designed to prove that a culture of chauvanism and capitalism not only exists, but is the most powerful influence in a woman's life. In these essays, Bartky presents that the "fashion-beauty complex" essentially dictates every decision the 'average' (read: unenlightened) woman makes. Bartky's paranoia regarding the "fashion-beauty complex" takes it's description almost to a level of a grand capitalist conspiracy, saying that it is a "vast system of corporations - some of which manufacture products, others services and still others information, images, and ideologies - of emblematic public personages and sets of techniques and procedures" (p.39) - essentially, a grand scheme by Corporate America to dictate the 'average' woman's purchases. However, she doesn't see the truth of the matter - corporations only want to make money, and they will target whoever will give it to them.For every woman who buys expensive makeup to "impress" men, there is a man who buys special aftershave to "impress" women. For every woman who feels that she must be thin to "appeal" to men, there is a man who feels that he must have scupted abs to "appeal" to women. There may well be a "fashion-beauty" complex. However, there must be a corresponding "automobile-athleticism" complex. And Bartky seems to be unwilling to acknowledge this.A previous reviewer said that feminists like Bartky need to stop seeing themselves as victims, but rather as heroes. This is indeed the case. Feminists like Bartky cannot simply claim that there is a "manifest male supremacy," (p.25) as she says, that controls everything. It is not what one says, but rather how one says it - and Bartky seems to fail to realize that her writing style will offput virtually everyone who doesn't simply follow her worldview.Men such as myself who do believe that there is a gender disparity in not only our nation, but of course in the world as a whole, are basically simply lumped in with those who are 'part of the problem', and at one point, I realized that if I ever felt particularly self-loathing, all I had to do was pick up <u>Femininity and Domination</u> and that feeling would be satiated. At the times where Bartky essentially devolves into 'male-hating' in her works, I found myself skipping entire paragraphs for a return to fairness, as it often seemed that she was all too willing to engage in reverse sexism to 'support' her arguments.

There's nothing worse than forced femininity and how it limits a woman's life.This book gets you beyond all the gender bias non-sense and leads you to understand how we got in this mess in the first place and how to change,because humans ARE capable of change and do not have to stay in boundaries which bind their talents,aspirations and individual make up.Within all humans,there are different degrees of femininity and masculinity and the masculine based way that men are raised,has allowed them not only greater freedom in the world but also greater freedom within,to think strong and be strong,whilst women have been given a limited recipe for life which binds them to a femininity which may not be part of a particular woman's physical or emotional make up..I get the message that women are taught to play a role of false femininity which suffocates their true natures as individuals.