Joanne L. Bagshaw PhDRessenyes

I did not expect this to be a workbook, but it is a worthwhile read if you are willing to do the activities. A good learning experience for the 4th waver!

This book was not quite what I expected - it is very much a self-help workbook full of practical and thought exercises with accompanying background and theory. I ended up giving it to my teenage daughter and she worked through some of it with her friends. They found it worthwhile and a great conversation starter. Recommended, but only if you are interested in doing the activities.½

A workbook for 4th wavers, it introduces a brief history of each wave of feminism, the main focus and goals for each wave and whether they were met, and how each has failed to be "intersectional." As expected, it conflates sex with gender, claims biology is a spectrum, and uses terms such as "cis-gender" and "anti-transgender" to shame those who believe in biology and the safety/privacy of women and girls. Each chapter has several activities (thoughtful questions to answer) and there is a large list of organizations at the end which currently toe the line. References are also provided. Billed on the back cover as "self-help" rather than feminism, gender studies, sociology, or social justice despite being part of "The Social Justice Handbook Series."

I received my copy from the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for my honest review.

The cover says "handbook," but with its fill-in-the-blanks and free-writing sections, The Feminist Handbook is more of a workbook. This appears to be a primer, but as I read on I realized that’s wrong. Feminism and gender equality aren’t simple matters, and I’m impressed by the nuance in each chapter. I’m sure this book would be at home in a women’s studies, gender studies, or even sociology course.

The book is well balanced by informational text (very thoroughly cited), interactive sections (the writing and fill-in-the-blanks), and anecdotes (which I assume are fictional). I found the anecdotes helpful in clarifying various points, while also keeping this workbook from being dry. The Feminist Handbook is surprisingly engaging and really informative. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

“In a patriarchy, women, like men, are conditioned to be sexist and to maintain the patriarchal order.”

When it comes to sexism, not enough attention is paid to how women themselves perpetuate it, mostly unconsciously, and have internalized it (such as believing women are inferior to men, feeling too incompetent to try something new, and objectifying their own selves). I therefore urge women to read this.

Topics covered follow. For brevity, I’ve outlined the chapters very roughly and included quotes and my thoughts in certain parts. Still this is long.

1) “Patriarchy, Privilege, and Oppression”--What’s covered:

-Various kinds of privilege, such as racial (white), gender (cis male), and institutional (also cis male) (Stressed is the point that one can be privileged in one area but not in another. An example would be someone who is white but disabled in some way.)

-Media representations of women (media across the board, not just in ads and in the news but in movies, t.v., magazines, and books--and how these representations very often reinforce patriarchal values)

-Patriarchy is “a social system that we all participate in, which is male-identified and promotes male privilege.” The author asks the reader to think about who possesses authority and who’s expected to be in control. Women who possess authority (and who are then expected to act in ways that are stereotypically masculine) are more often viewed negatively (with descriptors such as “bossy” or “bitchy”).

My thought: Women are in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. If a female boss acts in the authoritative way she’s expected to, she gets negatively labeled, but if she doesn’t, she’s viewed as ineffective and weak and therefore can’t command respect.

Because women have been placed in a nurturer role for millennia, society is stuck in the perception that women should always play nice--be caring, gentle, sensitive to others’ feelings, and so on. This perception is a major obstacle that we must make a conscious and continual effort to overcome if we’re to ever fully embrace women in leadership roles. Additionally, when women believe their assertive, authoritative behavior will be accepted, they’ll be more likely to want to step into leadership roles.

2) “It’s Not Feminism If It’s Not Intersectional”--What’s covered:

-Intersectionality, defined and explained.

-The four waves of feminism, each of which moves the entire movement a little closer to its ultimate goal

My thought: Whites in particular have a hard time understanding intersectionality in general and why it’s important because they are automatically privileged (favored) in a majority-white society and don’t live a non-privileged existence.

3) “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like”--What’s covered:

-Feminism, defined

-Negative misperceptions of feminism, examined

-Ambivalent sexism, categorized as either “hostile” or “benevolent” (Concrete examples of each are included.)

My thoughts: Hostile is readily identifiable, but benevolent isn't, yet it’s just as harmful. It's in recognizing benevolent sexism that we become aware of how widespread and ingrained sexism is. The sexism women perpetuate is the benevolent variety, overwhelmingly.

-“Attribution Theory,” which excuses our own bad behavior:

“ . . . typically when looking at our own lives, we attribute our behavior to situational events, and when looking at others’ behavior, we attribute their behavior to something internal.”

Except when it comes to discrimination.

“When experiencing discrimination, women are more likely to be reluctant to identify a behavior as discriminatory, particularly if the source of the discrimination is another person, and especially if that person might experience a negative consequence from having their sexist behavior called out (Sechrist and Delmar 2009).”

4) “Sexism, Discrimination, and Mental Health”--What’s covered:

-Microaggressions (which are a subtle discrimination, often expressed in sexist statements such as being told you “throw like a girl.”)

-The stress of sexism on one’s physical and mental health

-“Rape culture,” defined

-Rape myths and gender-based violence, examined

5) “The Future Is a Spectrum”--What’s covered:

-Sex versus gender, explained.

“ . . . through advertising, music, books and magazines, stereotypical beliefs, and urban myths (such as boys are better at math), we’ve been conditioned to believe that we are vastly different--even from different planets--and that our differences are rooted in biology (APA 2005). Women are more likely to attribute gender differences to social expectations, whereas men generally believe that the differences are biological (Parker, Menasce Horowitz, and Stepler 2017). The belief in biological differences between men and women perpetuates myths about innate abilities, which justifies sexism.”

-Internalized gender roles, class, and structural oppression (Internalization of gender roles is especially sticky, as it continues to dictate who does what in a household to this day.)

-The gender wage gap (which is justified by myths that rely on gender roles)

6) “The Politics of Body Oppression”--What’s covered:

-Body oppression, defined and explained (In this category is marginalization of bodies--basically a lack of acceptance of certain kinds of bodies [such as fuller figures]. It’s worth noting that body marginalization is aimed more harshly and more constantly at women than it is at men.)

-How we assimilate to reduce stigma or fulfill cultural norms (Marginalized people face the most pressure.)

-Marginalized identities and violence

“Groups most at risk for experiencing violence are African-American, LGBTQIA, young, and poor. Marginalized groups are also burdened more heavily by violence because they have less access to resources and are often treated poorly when they do seek help (Hamby 2014).”

-The perfect body, by patriarchal definition (This would be the “hyperideal” body, which has changed through time [e.g., “heroin chic” in the ‘90s; Twiggy in the ‘60s], but what they have in common is that they are determined by the male gaze.)

-Weight stigma and diet culture (Diet culture values thinness over health. It’s “covert and insidious and perpetuates the myth of the perfect civilized body as white, thin, shapely, and cis-gender.” These messages are inescapable. We don’t live in a vacuum.)

7) “Sexual and Reproductive Justice”--What’s covered:

-Reproductive and sexual health (which is intersectional, meaning it’s not a black-and-white issue; circumstances must be considered. For many reasons, not all women have access to the same resources. Marginalized groups experience reproductive and sexual oppression [i.e., social, economic, and institutional strategies and policies] that limits their autonomy when it comes to reproductive and sexual health.)

-How sex education varies by state, with many states not requiring schools to teach anything beyond abstinence-only as birth control

“Most of the funding for abstinence-only programs has been provided to states to use in schools that are low income and have large minority populations, particularly African-American and Latino communities.” Is it any wonder, then, that “Latinas have high rates of teen pregnancies, and African-Americans have high rates of teen pregnancies, STIs, and HIV.”

“Abstinence-only programs are arguably a form of institutional racism.”

My thoughts: Understanding institutional racism toward blacks is where non-blacks fail miserably. There’s hyper-focus on individual racism and being a good, non-racist person at the same time that there’s ignorance or willful blindness to how racism is an all-encompassing, inescapable system.

8) “The Personal is Political”--What’s covered:

-The idea that, to effect change, we must get involved in activism (Chapter 8 enumerates the many ways to be an activist, from humble [such as tweeting] to grand [such as working for an activist organization].)

9) “Self-Care Is an Act of Resistance”--What’s covered:

-Self-care examples, discussed (Setting boundaries is an important one, and the author talks about the importance of setting boundaries with social media chatting. This includes choosing to ignore commenters who cause stress by arguing, and blocking them if necessary. She also mentions that even if one feels passionate about the topic, one isn’t obligated to be an activist constantly on social media, that it’s ok to bow out.).

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in a LibraryThing giveaway in exchange for a review.

A book that lives up to its promises. This book strikes the perfect balance between informing the reader of history and current events and giving practical advice. Often intro books like this end up too dense, so the practical bits get lost in the fray, or they're too light on the facts. Happily, that's not a problem here. You get enough of the facts for a solid foundation, and the author provides a wealth of resources in the appendix so you can dig deeper if you like.

I quite like the exercises and practical tips. They're insightful tasks but also quite concrete, if that makes sense, so it's not just vague thought exercises. I can imagine returning to this book for ideas over and over again.

Though I sometimes had a hard time with this book (often because I was choking with rage), this is still a worthwhile read, especially if you're new to feminism. In short chapters of clear and concise prose, Bagshaw covers an impressive amount of ground, outlining the major movements of U.S. feminist history and touching on workplace sexism, body image, reproductive justice, suffrage, and a host of other issues. I do wish that the book was longer so each subject could've been explained in more depth, even if it would be tougher to get through (see above re: rage), and I would've liked to have seen more space devoted to tools, especially more outwardly directed ones. In this climate, we need all the patriarchy-busting techniques we can get.

Despite the strides that have been made, feminism is too often misunderstood and vilified. Fortunately, Dr. Joanne L. Bagshaw’s “The Feminist Handbook: Practical Tools to Resist Sexism and Dismantle the Patriarchy” offers clear, straightforward information on a complicated and often contentious term and movement. In part one, “Learning the Language,” Bagshaw provides background information on feminism, including an overview of privilege, a brief history of the different waves of feminism, and explanations of what feminism is and is not. This provides a solid foundation for part two, “Getting Woke and Staying Woke,” where the author explores different facets of the feminist movement, such as reproductive justice and issues related to body oppression and image. Throughout these sections, Bagshaw uses numerous facts, figures, and research to further support her ideas. The book also includes example scenarios to help readers get a better sense of the issues at stake as well as numerous exercises to help them think through problems and situations and apply what they have learned.

I found this book to be a truly helpful, perceptive, and realistic examination of feminism. Bagshaw does not shy away from describing feminism’s shortcomings, such as the racism that was found in the early days of the movement and the criticisms that the 2017 Women’s March was not truly inclusive. To prevent these deficiencies in this work, she is careful to center the book’s view on feminism as being intersectional, with the scenarios shows just how gender, race, and other forms of identity can shape societal views and treatment of people. The book also provides practical advice on how to respond to discrimination in the moment and how to reflect on such treatment. Finally, the book contains a list of resources related to feminist activism and issues so that readers can get involved.

All in all, this is an excellent book for anyone who wants or needs to learn more about feminism and what can be done to help promote equality for all people, and I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to include this in my office library and share ideas with my students.½

This is an excellent book! I've read several feminist books and this is probably the best. It has some history but what's really impressive is all the exercises. This is the first one I've seen that has these. Exercises on gender, inclusivity, body image, LOTs of self discovery. Many of the exercises are much like ones in a Disability class I participated in. If you want more than just the history of the feminist movement(s) and want to really dig in to your own personal feelings and things you can work on - THIS is the book for you!
I HIGHLY recommend this book!

This is an invaluable resource, both for believers and non-believers (in feminism, the existence of patriarchy and inequality, etc.). Unfortunately, I realize that the non-believers are very unlikely to read this book, but that's unfortunate. It is written in a very straight-forward and non-combative way, and it explains seemingly complicated or "controversial" issues in a a clear and non-judgmental way, and it includes examples and anecdotes to illustrate these concepts. It also includes questions for the reader and simple exercises, like a workbook. The book is very well organized and builds to more and more complicated issues, and it helps readers understand the concepts, and then move on to thinking about how to actively make a difference. I consider myself a feminist with a fair amount of knowledge of the issues, and I learned a lot from this book. In particular, I think the clear and straight-forward, non-judgmental tone of this book makes it great for teaching people new to the issues, but also for people who would like to help others understand the issues and why they are so important. This is an important book.