Abstract
In Modern Misogyny, Kristin Anderson refers to Jessica Valenti, who noted that, contrary to the stereotype, being a feminist is an optimistic enterprise. This truth is itself partially doublespeak, that is, although the feminist must believe her work will produce change in order to persist, it is hard to maintain one’s optimism in the face of the magnitude of the problem. The book’s subtitle, Anti-Feminism in a Post-Feminist Era is an apt synopsis of its motif, which is to thematically explore contemporary ideas about gender, revealing them as new expressions of old sexism.
Anderson tackles a series of themes. For example, she first examines how the language of feminism has been co-opted to make choice—previously about reproductive control of women’s bodies—about consumerism. Then, she uses terror management theory to explain how the conservative movement capitalized on the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States to undermine the relatively recent gains in women’s rights by emphasizing the comfort and safety of more traditional values. In subsequent chapters, Anderson frequently uses conservative or anti-feminist writers’ words to emphasize their points of view and then disassembles their ideas and refutes their underlying assumptions piece-by-piece. For example, she uses Kathleen Parker’s (2008) book, Save the Males, to deconstruct the myth that feminists hate men. Anderson writes persuasively about research showing that women who espouse traditional gender roles dislike men more than self-described feminists do, using Glick and Fiske’s (1999) theory about ambivalence toward men to explain these research findings.
In taking on the “end of men and the boy crisis” (p. 74), Anderson highlights the myths underpinning boys’ lack of achievement in academics and media treatment of men generally, which continues to denigrate women. Anderson repeatedly emphasizes that postfeminists focus on the figural individual woman, which dims the sexist ground in which she appears. Later, chapters expose research that shows that women are specifically disliked, despite the positive stereotype about womanhood, as well as research comparing the well-being of self-described feminists both with women who reject the feminist label but hold many feminist values and with women who hold more traditional values. Anderson accurately notes that most women are nontraditional in at least some ways and that feminism has much to offer them.
Anderson’s narrative weaves together a cogent argument about why feminism is just as necessary as it ever was—or maybe, because of the backlash against it, more necessary than it ever was. She also points out where feminism can and should be more inclusive, particularly at intersections of race and class. She shines light into what is for some of us dark corners of anti-feminism: for example, those decrying a hostile classroom environment for boys are not championing the rights of young African American men to academic success.
This book is a thought-provoking read in its own right. I was comfortably unaware of the several venomous anti-feminist authors, many of them female, and only vaguely aware of their arguments, which Anderson has ably addressed in this volume. In an academic setting, this book could be paired with other primary sources for an advanced undergraduate, capstone, or graduate course in social psychology or women’s studies for an in-depth examination of a number of different social psychological and feminist themes. It also lends itself to a pop culture or sociology course for related topics.