Femininity

By Susan Brownmiller

Book Overview

Brownmiller addresses the set of societal strictures, esthetic ideals, and assigned "characteristics" which governs the lives of half of America, and which goes by the name of Femininity. Biological femaleness, writes Brownmiller, is the smallest part of the elusive quality we know as femininity, which "always demands more. It must constantly reassure its audience by a willing demonstration of difference, even when one does not exist in nature." Body and gesture, skin and hair, conversation and clothing; the way a woman speaks, the way she sits, the way she smells: all are ruled by a code that requires enhancement, containment, exaggeration, or even denial of woman's nature. Whether an individual woman finds in femininity the luxuriant pursuit of a positive identity or an implacable standard she can never hope to meet, femininity remains, at bottom, "a powerful esthetic based upon a recognition of powerlessness."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671246925
• ISBN13: 9780671246921
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Misleading, but Okay

I found the title of this book a bit misleading. Webster's defines femininity as, "the quality or nature of the female sex." Ms. Brownmiller's book is not really about innate femaleness; it's about cultural expectations of women, which are sometimes NOT natural qualities. In fact, that is the very point of the book, which I did find interesting despite its purpose having been different than I expected. Conservative shoppers will want to be aware that Ms. Brownmiller is firmly and blatantly evolutionist, and that coarse language is used throughout the book. I am, myself, a conservative evangelical Christian and, while I did not always agree with the author's reasoning or her conclusions, I found her observations fascinating and quite accurate. (Much to my surprise, she clearly pointed out that some differences between men and women are, indeed, innate.) _Femininity_ is, essentially, an essay on the subject of cultural expectations of women down through the ages, and the effects of these expectations on women in general and the author in particular. While at times these expectations have had logical ties to biological fact, many times they have had entirely external origins. Some are downright ridiculous. Unfortunately, the text is a bit dated and I believe that some of the author's comments are somewhat inaccurate, in consequence. (As a stay-at-home-mom, I am quite confident that society's expectation is NOT that a woman should "profess as an article of faith that her husband and children come first"; my decision is far too frequently persecuted for that to be the case.) All in all, I found _Femininity_ to be a fascinating book.

The most illuminating book on the topic I've ever read.

Simply put, this is the most illuminating book on the topic I've ever read. And her prose and observations flow wonderfully, leaving one with a substantially different and deeper understanding of genderization.

It's About Time

I felt so relieved reading this. Finally there's a book that expresses my feelings about this "femininity" box I stuffed myself into in years past. It's a shame that women have to be so narrowly defined by shallow attributes. Personally I know for example that my feet won't fit into those pointy high-heeled girlie shoes and that I have much more important things to do with my time than examining myself all over for fashion sense. Femininity is dangerous to your health! The devil with it! Thank you Ms Brownmiller!!!

About social expectations on women throughout the ages.

Profound in the revolutionary idea of disecting the womans existance...exposing her social expectations, struggles, and unreachable goals. For me, this book helped me see why I am the way I am. How come women are so focused on fashion? Why do we tweeze our eyebrows? It is all because society through the ages has placed this unattainable idea that women must sit this way, look this way, dress that way. When will we stop this insanity of being this thin, or increasingly obsessed with the latest fashions? Femininity holds the answers.