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REVIEWS - Sexism in America
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Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future Barbara J. Berg. Lawrence Hill (IPG, dist.), $24.95 (432p) ISBN 978-1-55652-776-0
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Sexism hasn't gone away, argues journalist/activist Berg, it has simply adapted to our changing culture. Berg offers a refresher course on the 20th-century women's rights movement and its unexpected devolution in recent years, drawing on aspects of culture like advertising and reality TV, scientific research and an online survey of 300 not-so-randomly selected women and interviews with 200 more. Contemporary women, Berg says, are encouraged to imitate vapid media darlings instead of breaking glass ceilings (or breaking even) in academia, business and government. Containing the requisite - and
accurate - feminist media criticism and movement history, updates to the 2008 presidential election and Obama's first few months, this is an excellent, easily decipherable text for history, sociology and women's studies students - and even older feminists looking for an update. Berg uses short chapters for flowing discussions on work, reproductive rights, health and activism. She focuses on working women's issues, and more discussion on women who choose to be full-time homemakers and their particular concerns would have added balance. But Berg still offers a wakeup call for young women entering the cultural and career trenches on what went wrong and how to fix it. (Sept.) |
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Berg, Barbara J. Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future. Lawrence Hill: Chicago Review. Sept. 2009. c.432p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-55652-776-0. $24.95. SOC SCI
This book is Berg's extremely persuasive dismissal of the claim that the United States is a "post-feminist, post-racial" society. Using testimonies from her survey of hundreds of American women, as well as extensively documented research, this self-admitted second-wave feminist gives a rapid-fire account of the advancement of women's rights and the continuing backlash on feminist progress from the 1950s to the present. Berg's feminist critique of seemingly gender-neutral events are a revelation. The attacks of 9/11, the war in Iraq, the current economic crisis, and the continuing health-care debate are examined with a keen eye toward their impact on women. Equally insightful is Berg's analysis of the setbacks facing the third wave of feminists in the United States. Limitations on contraception and abortion, the sexual harassment of women in the military, the fight for gay and lesbian equality, and the never-ending pay gap are but a few of the "new" issues tackled by Berg. VERDICT Each chapter of this book offers an impassioned plea: feminism is not dead, but there is still a great need for feminist women and men to fight for the rights of women in America. As Berg aptly states in her conclusion, "Everyone who believes in gender equality...must join together to push for progressive policies that will enhance all of our lives." Highly recommended. - Veronica Arellano, Univ. of Houston Libs., TX |
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