Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in Contemporary America (Fast Track Books)

Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in Contemporary America (Fast Track Books)
by Mary Stange, Carol Oyster

Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in Contemporary America (Fast Track Books)
List Price: $45.00
Our Price: $31.95
You Save: $13.05 (29%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $17.86 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Carol Oyster, Mary Stange
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09-01
ISBN: 0814797601
Number of pages: 278
Publisher: NYU Press

Book Reviews of Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in Contemporary America (Fast Track Books)

Book Review: A welcome affirmation for female gun owners
Summary: 5 Stars

This very readable book is both informative and interesting. Brief presentations of a more scholarly nature (e.g. examinations of statistics on crime and gun ownership, debates over the advertising techniques of gun manufacturers, law enforcement policies) are interwoven with the personal accounts of a variety of gun women, including police officers, hunters and competitive shooters.

The authors of this book state they hope to "open up the conversation about women and guns in America." From my perspective as a female gun owner and avid participant in the shooting sports, such conversation is desperately needed. I found this book a valuable source of information and support on several fronts. First, it provided insight to the thoughts and beliefs of those people who react with shock and dismay to the discovery that I actually own a gun. Second, it provided some hard facts with which intelligent responses can be made to the disparaging comments of those same people. Third, and perhaps most importantly, I discovered that many more women than I expected share my love for the shooting sports.

I highly recommend this book to any woman who owns a gun and participates in any of the shooting sports. It is also an excellent source of information for anyone who is interested in learning about what motivates females to become "Gun Women."

Summary of Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in Contemporary America (Fast Track Books)

"A lively mix of memoir, cultural and historical analysis, statistics, and cross-generational profiles of women who shoot
-blasting the notion that feminism and firearms are incompatible."
-Peace News

Women, we are told, should not own guns. Women, we are told, are more likely to be injured by their own guns than to fend off an attack themselves. This "fact" is rooted in a fundamental assumption of female weakness and vulnerability. Why should a woman not be every bit as capable as a man of using a firearm in self-defense?

And yet the reality is that millions of American women--somewhere between 11,000,000 and 17,000,000--use guns confidently and competently every day. Women are hunting, using firearms in their work as policewomen and in the military, shooting for sport, and arming themselves for personal security in ever-increasing numbers. What motivates women to possess firearms? What is their relationship to their guns? And who exactly are these women? Crucially, can a woman be a gun-owner and a feminist too?

Women's growing tendency to arm themselves has in recent years been political fodder for both the right and the left. Female gun owners are frequently painted as "trying to be like men" (the conservative perspective) or "capitulating to patriarchal ideas about power" (the liberal critique). Eschewing the polar extremes in the heated debate over gun ownership and gun control, and linking firearms and feminism in novel fashion, Mary Zeiss Stange and Carol K. Oyster here cut through the rhetoric to paint a precise and unflinching account of America's gun women.

Self Defense Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Self Defense Books
Seventeen Real Girls, Real-Life Stories: True Crime ImageSeventeen Real Girls, Real-Life Stories: True Crime
by Seventeen Magazine
Hearst; Published: 2007-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.80
Price in other shops: $4.95
The Safety of Secrets ImageThe Safety of Secrets
by Delaune Michel
Avon A; Published: 2008-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.79
Price in other shops: $13.95
Stayin' Alive: Armed and Female in an Unsafe World ImageStayin' Alive: Armed and Female in an Unsafe World
by Paxton Quigley
Merril Press; Published: 2005-08-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.80
Price in other shops: $15.00
Earth Qi Gong for Women: Awaken Your Inner Healing Power ImageEarth Qi Gong for Women: Awaken Your Inner Healing Power
by Tina Chunna Zhang
Blue Snake Books; Published: 2008-01-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.24
Price in other shops: $18.95
The SAS Self-Defense Handbook: A Complete Guide to Unarmed Combat Techniques ImageThe SAS Self-Defense Handbook: A Complete Guide to Unarmed Combat Techniques
by John "Lofty" Wiseman
The Lyons Press; Published: 2000-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.11
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence ImageThe Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
Phoenix Audio; Published: 2006-04-18; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $11.88
Price in other shops: $21.95
The Secret of Overcoming Verbal Abuse:  Getting Off the Emotional Roller Coaster and Regaining Control of Your Life ImageThe Secret of Overcoming Verbal Abuse: Getting Off the Emotional Roller Coaster and Regaining Control of Your Life
by Albert Ellis, Marcia Grad Powers
Wilshire Book Co; Published: 2000-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.94
Price in other shops: $15.00
7 Weeks to Safe Social Drinking: How to Effectively Moderate Your Alcohol Intake Image7 Weeks to Safe Social Drinking: How to Effectively Moderate Your Alcohol Intake
by Donna J. Cornett
People Friendly Books; Published: 2005-03-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.05
Price in other shops: $18.95
GirlWise: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and in Control ImageGirlWise: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and in Control
by Julia Devillers
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2002-08-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.40
Price in other shops: $12.95
The Gift of Fear ImageThe Gift of Fear
by Gavin De Becker
Dell; Published: 1999-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops: $15.00
Similar Books and other products
Heart Shots: Women Write About Hunting ImageHeart Shots: Women Write About Hunting
Stackpole Books; Published: 2003-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.42
Price in other shops: $24.95
Stayin' Alive: Armed and Female in an Unsafe World ImageStayin' Alive: Armed and Female in an Unsafe World
by Paxton Quigley
Merril Press; Published: 2005-08-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.75
Price in other shops: $15.00
Woman the Hunter ImageWoman the Hunter
by Mary Zeiss Stange
Beacon Press; Published: 1998-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops: $16.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories