Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression (Thinking Gender)
by Sandra L Bartky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sandra L BartkyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1990-11-20
ISBN: 0415901863
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Routledge
Book Reviews of Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression (Thinking Gender)
Book Review: Women are NOT robots
Summary: 1 Stars
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 Femininity and Domination 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.
Summary of Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression (Thinking Gender)
Bartky draws on the experience of daily life to unmask the many disguises by which intimations of inferiority are visited upon women. She critiques both the male bias of current theory and the debilitating dominion held by notions of "proper femininity" over women and their bodies in patriarchal culture.Philosophy Books
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