Manmade Breast Cancers [Women's Studies Wednesday]

Manmade Breast Cancers by Zillah Eisenstein

I first read Manmade Breast Cancer for Intro to Women's Studies, but it was so good that I have read it again since then. This book is all about how the environment, politics, race, and culture intersect on women's bodies in the form of breast health.

From the back cover:

A new understanding of humanity and feminism from the starting point of breast health is the ultimate goal of Zillah Eisenstein's political memoir of her family's experience with breast cancer. The well-known feminist author brings together a critique of environmental damage and the health of women's bodies, gains perspective on the role race plays as a factor in breast cancers and in political agenda, links prevention and treatment, and connects individual support and political change.

I was not expecting to be reading a book about breast cancer in my intro to women's studies, I was thinking that would be more of something that would be covered in a women's health class. But after reading the book and seeing the intertwining of personal/family stories with the intersectionality of breast cancer, I realized why our professor had us read this book. This book shows the many ways in which sexism (and other forms of oppression) work their way into the very personal -- the body -- and how different forms of oppressions are intertwined.

This is not just a read for people interested in breast cancer, but for people interested in seeing how women's lives are affected by all of these intersections. It's a great book that is well written by incorporating different kinds of writing -- from personal stories to political investigations.

Taking on the Big Boys [Women's Studies Wednesday]

Taking on the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation by Ellen Bravo

As many of us are all too aware, women are no where near equality in the workplace. Women are still paid statistically less than men, sexual harassment is still prevalent, there is a lack of child and family care options, and there are still stereotypically "women's jobs."

Women in the workplace is an issue that Ellen Bravo is all too familiar with. She founded the Milwaukee chapter of 9to5, National Association for Working Women in 1982. She also served as the national director of 9to5 until 2004. She is currently a Women's Studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

I read Bravo's book Taking on the Big Boys for Intro to Women's Studies. It is a great book about how women are oppressed in the workforce and what to do about it. From the back cover:

Enough about breaking the glass ceiling. Here are blueprints for a redesign of the entire building, ground up, to benefit women and men - and even the bottom line. Ellen Bravo reports what's really happening in today's workplace with stories from offices, assembly lines, and schools. She unmasks that patronizing, trivializing, and minimizing tactics employed by "the big boys" (the powerful people who maintain the status quo) and their surrogates.

Bravo argues for feminism as a system of beliefs, law, and practices that fully values women and the work associated with women. She spells out activist strategies to achieve fair pay, flexibility for family care, and a real voice at work.

One of the things that I really liked about this book was that it wasn't just exposing the truth about women's oppression in the workplace, but it also showed ways to go about changing it. It provides activist tools as well as knowledge about the situation.

Women's equality in the workplace is something that was fought for by feminists in the 70s. Many people have claimed that equality has been achieved. But all you have to do is look around to see that women are still less than men in the workplace. Bravo does a great job of exposing the lie of equality and ways to actually achieve this equality that has been fought for for a long time.

We Don't Need Another Wave [Women's Studies Wednesday]

Every Wednesday I will be discussing a book that relates to Women's Studies. This could be a book that I read for a Women's Studies class (which a lot of them at the beginning of this feature will be) or a book that I found on my own that I've enjoyed as well.


We Don't Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists Edited by Melody Berger

We Don't Need Another Wave is a compilation of essays about the status of feminism today. As Melody Berger says in the introduction, it's time to stop talking about a "new wave" or the "next wave" and actually get down to work on women's rights. "We don't need another wave. We need a movement," (22).

I first read this book for Introduction to Women's Studies. It's a great compilation of essays from a wide range of feminists discussing as many issues as you can think of that feminists would address. This book really stuck out to me in that class because it addressed so many of the issues that I care about in an approachable way.

One of my favorite essays in the book is one of the first ones: "You're a Feminist. Deal." by Jessica Valenti. I really liked this because it spoke to one of my problems: people who are feminist but qualify every statement as "I'm not a feminist, but..." As Valenti says in this essay:

Analyzing the word feminist and being thoughtful about your politics and identity is understandable and should be respected. Shying away from a term because you're afraid and responding to bullshit stereotypes is just tired (24).

I couldn't agree more. I'm all about questioning what feminism means, especially on a personal level. But if you refuse to identify as a feminist when your views are clearly feminist just because you are afraid of the stereotypes that come with the word, that's not ok.

So what do we do now? If we accept that it's fine and dandy that not all women are feminists, it still doesn't mean that we can allow ambivalence on the word for those who actually are feminists. We have to figure out a way to negotiate debunking feminist myths while making sure that we're not watering down the mission of the movement. It's not an easy task in front of us, but it is a necessary one (26).

Right on.

This book is a great introduction to feminism, but it's also good for people who are very familiar with feminism and expressing their feminist views. It is definitely marketed towards the younger demographic, but that doesn't mean that everyone can't enjoy it.