I had actually pre-ordered Jessica’s book so that I could be quick to read it and get a review up - but living in Canada the shipping is taking 2 weeks, and I already moved away from the house that it is going to be arriving to. So knowing that I wouldn’t actually get the book for like a month I went to a friend and read it. My thoughts about it are pretty much summarized here at Feminist Reviews.
Having read Valenti’s writing on the blog – which tends to be oversimplified and, quite frankly, bratty – I was hoping her analysis in book form would show at least a tad more depth. Unfortunately for Valenti, there’s a downside to fame; it opens you up for public criticism.
If Full Frontal Feminism is supposed to be the spark that ignites young women to identify as feminists and hop on the movement train, then women are in deep trouble. Valenti writes like a feminist version of Ann Coulter, and let’s face it, Ann Coulter is hardly known for her intelligence. Flamboyant and egotistical, much of Valenti’s commentary is trite, at best.
I couldn’t agree more. What bothers me almost more than her inability to back up assertions with citations is that she just dumbs everything down and tries to play the “cool” card so that all the 13 year old girls reading it will start to admire her and become a feminist. Sadly - their new idol isn’t exactly what feminism should be about.
Jessica is reasserting the scary screaming feminist symbol that a lot of women try to get rid of. The type of argument she uses, and her language sets course for a completely non-academic paper that wouldn’t help anyone in an actual debate. Instead it is flamatory and like a shitty blog post, at best. It’s sad that she uses the opportunity to go straight for the throats of people she’s had petty online disputes with instead of creating a book that had the potential to be a really great resource for young women who wanted to become intelligently informed about feminism.
My actual comment there was:
Love this review. …I ordered the book, but haven’t actually got it yet - So I went to the book store, had a sit down with a coffee and read it there.
I couldn’t agree more with what you’re saying. THere is definitely an over tone of “Fuck you, I don’t need to back myself up because you’re all just idiots” which will never help anyone win any sort of real debate.
I had the same feelings as when I read Dr.Phil’s son’s book - he just tried so hard to “reach” a younger audience … so he ended up using profanity and more or less - dumbing it down. Just as Jessica has done.
Her lack of real arguments is what really bothers me the most. After reading her book, and then Chris Mooney’s book on the rights war on science you can see a huge intelligence and talent difference - They’re about the same age, but Mooney’s book has pages upon pages of citations and sources for people to look further. He backs himself up with proofs and out smarts the other side instead of attempting to out cool them.
Honestly now, Mooney successfully wrote a book that was intelligent, passionate and spoke to a younger (and older) crowd. This type of writing with pages upon pages of references and interviews and proof are what make an effective book. Jessica wrote pages of opinion that are just as relevant and well thought out and produced as Ann Coulter arguments. (I’m stealing Feminist Reviews’ comparison with that, because it just fits so well.)
This book is yet another thing that I can add to my list of “why feminism is failing”. Instead of using her power over so many young women with feminism in their viens and creating campaigns that could make a difference, Jessica has spent her time writing a book that will be good for nothing on the fore front of feminist debates.
Perhaps Valenti believes that young women won’t be moved unless they’re completely scared to death. Fear is a powerful motivator, but it belittles the audience in the process.
I’m not sure this is the case. I’m pretty sure it’s an attempt to reach out to young women - not by scaring them - but by talking to them on a “hip” and “cool” level. Personally, it didn’t work out too well for me. I’d rather read some respectable arguements with more than one page on year long debates opposed to page upon page of slanderous, pointless and “trying to be cool” material.
A point my mom just brought up - if it was made to sell fast, then sure, she wrote a good book. It’ll sell fast… to people who initially want to read it, and women who think they’re going to get a good read out of it - and then it will never sell again.
It is in no way, shape, or form… a book that anyone should mock or look to when attempting to get an intelligent, politically correct or stable argument or open minded view toward feminism. I doubt it will be overly appealing to anyone who doesn’t comment on feministing every day already. I wouldn’t tell my best friend’s kid sister to read it - I’d direct her to more intelligent sources so that she would end up with real arguments and sources rather than an irrational outlook on how we should handle the feminist movement and debates.
(cross posted at appletree)
