IRB Post #4: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women

When one looks at characters in television, books, and movies; at politicians around the world; at the heads of large companies; at the directors of Hollywood productions, one sees a distinct pattern: males fill the most of these roles.  It has been this way throughout history, as in nearly every major culture throughout the world, women have been subjugated and cast off as second-class citizens.  There have been great strides in the gender equality movement over the past century, but women are still not seen as completely equal to men, Few are willing to talk about or remedy this, but one exception is feminist author Susan Faludi. Her 1991 book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women examines the repercussions of the feminist movement; many women note that when they as a group try to change their situations, public opinion often fiercely turns against them. 

As a relatively realistic woman (or young lady or teenage girl or whatever feminine term you would like to use) myself, I am interested in feminist ideas and in the advancement of women, particularly in areas where we are underrepresented. When I found out about Backlash, the National Book Critics Circle Award that it won, and the fact that Faludi had won a Pulitzer Prize, I thought that Backlash did not sound like a book written by an uninformed, radical feminist who hates men and all of society (I am not one of the those people). Rather, I thought that, given the award it won and the clear skill of its author, it was probably a more even-handed book that appealed to a wider audience. It would also give me more specific information about the feminist movement over the past few decades, as my concrete knowledge about it ends after World War II and extends only to general shifts in opinion towards women. All in all, I am very much looking forward to reading Backlash and learning more about the history of feminism in the United States.