Lynn Pankey Pankey itibaren 9335 Zuidvelde, Nederländerna
Highly recommend this one (I'm inclined towards manifestos and polemics anyway -- I like the genre and find the agon useful). Hirshman basically critiques what she calls "choice feminism" as illusory choice. That is, the line of reasoning among women that suggests, "whatever I choose is ok -- whether it's staying at home with the kids, trying to become elected President, or enslavement." She points out that the women's rights movement of the mid-20th Century was great for starting to dismantle the patriarchal institution of work, but that we've done nothing to change the patriarchal institution of family. And that's where the real challenges lie now, she suggests; only when we fundamentally change this patriarchal arrangement and challenge these assumptions within family arrangements (i.e. which sex is the primary money-maker, which is the primary caregiver, etc.) will women become consistent and useful participants in public life. In order to get women into powerful positions, in other words, we need to free them from the patriarchal arrangements in their family lives. Further, she calls for a moral critique of the so-called choices women are making -- particularly the choice to drop out of a career to be a stay-at-home mom. She suggests that this particular choice is highly mitigated (i.e. there are loads of institutional arrangements that lead women in this direction -- starting with the tax codes and ending with unquestioned assumptions about gender roles). She also asks: 1) are these choices good for the individual women, arguing that no, being a stay-at-home mom is not good for a flourishing life, and 2) are these choices good for society, arguing that no, keeping women out of powerful roles in society delimits us, and does not help anyone. Anyway, it’s an interesting and quick read.
This book was a great piece of non-fiction that I basically ate in one sitting. It goes into the story of murder and politics at the Chicago world's fair, and anyone who lives in Chicago should read it. Its so good you wont be able to put it down.
Some parts felt a bit hokey but, overall, it was beautifully drawn. I found myself pausing to just stare at certain images. I can definitely understand it's popularity among teens and finished it in one sitting (which was easy to do because it's a graphic novel.) This is the first graphic novel I've purchased completely of my own accord and I don't regret the decision.