Virginity or Death!: And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time

by Katha Pollitt

"As this book, which is greater than the sum of its brilliant parts makes clear, Katha Pollitt, who is famously a feminist, is also a humorist, a moralist and a most hilarious, wise, and incisive... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081297638X
• ISBN13: 9780812976380
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Katha is definitely correct Pollittically

Since I subscribe to The Nation, I'd read almost all of these before. But they are especially good in book format where one gets her consistent voice as she isn't merged - and sometimes lost - in the mental jumble of all the reports and comments in a given Nation issue. For potential purchasers/readers, let me offer a couple of wonderful samples to tempt you. Some states, California among them, have "conscience laws" permnitting anti-choice healthworkers to refuse to be involved in abortions. And some pharmacists refuse to provide the morning-after pill. But imagine if a Jehovah's Witness nurse refused to assist with a blood transusion or a Muslim bank loan officer refused to charge interest or a Southern Baptist psychotherapist told Jewish patients they were going to hell. "The Family Research Council says that every frozen embryo should 'have an opportunity to be born'.... So, concerned Women of America, give a frozen embryo the gift of gestation. Mona Charen, Ann Coulter, it isn't enough to write columns comparing stem-cell research to tearing transplantable organs out of freshly killed prisoners - you could be leading the way.... Frozen embryo rescue would [also] be an interesting project for the Sisters of Life, the anti-choice order founded by the late John Cardinal O'Connor. Sort of a virgin birth kind of thing."

Seeing the Big Picture in Our Lives

The collection of 86 essays in "Virginity of Death!" is breathtaking in its scope. No one can match Katha Pollitt's incisive cut-to-the-core ability to see through the rhetoric of both right-wingers and hypocrites of all stripes. What really impresses me is the way that Pollitt captures the country in the George W. Bush years, combining a catalog of calamities on a social and political level. Pollitt is able to connect the big picture with the average person, the personal story with the propaganda-driven policy. She articulates clear, and unmuddled perceptions that pop truth in every turn of phrase. I have two favorites. In one, Pollitt takes on the sudden use of "framing" by Democrats. "Perhaps I'm naïve," she writes, "but I keep thinking that reframing misses the point, which is to speak clearly from a moral center - precisely not to mince words and change the subject and turn the tables." Every essay by Pollitt mirrors that demand. Another personal "best" -- and it's hard to choose - is when Pollitt takes on opinionator William Saleton, who considers himself pro-choice, but wags his finger at pro-choice women for abortion and not practicing "contraceptive diligence." Pollitt points out that it is the anti-abortion movement that opposes contraception. And she notes, "Nobody's proposing the walk of shame for men who don't or won't use condoms." Pollitt writes in her intro that we need to think about our world in a bigger way. Her special ability is to help break down that world and find its touch points in our lives. After all, she writes, "The requirements of real life count for something, no matter what ideology says." "Virginity or Death!" is exciting and invigorating. It should be a coursework staple in sociology, anthropology, political science -- and logic. And it is wonderful reading for all who care about the direction of our country. Highly recommended!

Pollitt Clarifies Everything!

Ever confused about how to articulate what you feel about being a female person in America today? Ever confused about how to clarify your politics, construct an argument, assemble a retort? Read this book. There is absolutely no one like Katha Pollitt for combining wit, sharp analysis, and the voice of a good person.

Pollitt, Politics, and Panache

When I read Katha Pollitt, I never know what I envy more--the vibrant style or the pithy argument. "Gay marriage--it's not about sex, it's about separation of church and state." Feminists for Life (FFL) aren't feminists but "fetalists." Why couldn't I have come up with that? This is a collection to reread, savor and recommend. I think I'll take it to Alabama later this summer to help in my arguments with my brother-in-law, a Republican who wants me to believe that Bush is the good news.

Both Trenchant And Easy to Read

There is a reason Katha Pollitt has a regular column in the Nation--she's insightful, and incisive, fierce minded, and fearless. She is, in short precisely the sort of person whose collected essays you might want to read. Her interests are wide-ranging (though women and feminism are regular players) and her analysis is almost always spot-on. There's a real pleasure in the short essay form--like warm milk it lends itself to serial bedtime encounters. But beware, a chapter or two may leave your mind churning rather than stuporous, and what more, after all, could one want from a book?