First off, we're starting a new feature and are looking for feminist bloggers to be a part of it. Check out the project here:
http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/opportunity-to-mend-and-heal-feminist.html

Quick Look: Anarchism and Homosexuality in the US; Fine Dead Girls; Greatest Female Guitarist of All Time; Using Web Technologies to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth; Accidental Housewife; and How Neoliberalism Appropriated the Feminist Movement Against Sexual Violence

Start here for a sneak peek and then click through for more. Also, take a moment to tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Your voice is important, too!

M - 7/7
The Ultimate Accidental Housewife: Your Guide to a Clean-Enough House
By Julie Edelman

How many women have taken the "lets live together" plunge just to realize that you have just given yourself a whole other person's dirty laundry to take care of? With laundry comes more dishes, more cleaning, and more effort to get it all done. Add a child to the photo and weekends are no longer days off of work, they are simply two extra days to clean the house. Today the housewives across America, although often taught to attempt for superwoman, are not bred for breadwinning, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of a child or two, as well as a husband; however, we force ourselves through it because we know it needs to be done and because, well, those dishes are not going to wash themselves. The Ultimate Accidental Housewife is the follow up book to The Accidental Housewife, also by Julie Edelman, that welcomes all of us accidental domestic divas with pink rubber gloves and a duster in hand! It teaches you tricks to keeping your house clean or, at least, keeping a "clean enough house." The humorous yet thoughtful book gives amusing housewifely quotes, stresses manicure-friendly cleaning ideas, and constantly fills you with the urge to vacuum your house with a smile while wearing a sundress. It offers fun, simple solutions to everyday household chores and problems while keeping in mind that not everyone enjoys scrubbing toilets.

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/ultimate-accidental-housewife-your.html

T - 7/8
Antietam – Opus Mixtum

Originally from the Louisville scene that brought us Slint and Will Oldham, meet Antietam, a NYC rock trio made up of three under-the-radar musicians who have been making music (with a different line-up) under the name Antietam since 1984. The current line-up has been working together since 1991: Tara Key on guitar, Tim Harris on bass, and Josh Madell on drums. In addition to solo releases and several Antietam albums, each member of the band has a pretty sweet indie rock resume playing back-up for bands such as Yo La Tengo, Retsin, and Eleventh Dream Day. These folks have been making music for a long time, and they've been doing it pretty well. In 1980, the Village Voice called Tara Key "the best female guitarist this side of the Atlantic." (Twenty-five years later a writer in that same paper, unconcerned with gender or geography, asked, "Did I mention that Tara Key is the best guitarist in the world?") And in March 2008, hip VenusZine included Tara Key in their top 46 "Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time."

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/antietam-opus-mixtum.html

W - 7/9
Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth
By Ben Rigby (with Rock the Vote)

After a first glance at Ben Rigby's book, Mobilizing Generation 2.0, I thought it was completely useless. The book's premise is to educate youth on all the ways new technology can be utilized to mobilize their peers, and it seemed like it was preaching to the choir. After all, do young people really need to be told how to use blogs, social networking sites, photo sharing, and cell phones to stay connected? The answer is yes. I am unlike most 23–year-olds. I didn't grow up with cable TV or video games. I didn't have the internet until 2006, which was also around the time I got my first cell phone. That being said, I was under the impression that I'd caught on to new technology rather quickly. Reading Rigby's book has left me feeling like the internet is this new and amazing thing that can change the world. It could be argued that my peers have already caught on to this idea, but have they really?

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/mobilizing-generation-20-practical.html

T - 7/10
Free Comrades: Anarchism and Homosexuality in the United States, 1895-1917
By Terence Kissack

In Free Comrades, Terence Kissack outlines and details how anarchists at the turn of the century were at the forefront of public discussions on homosexuality. This is not a book about queer anarchists. Instead, Kissack reconstructs the politics and history of the time period to show how and why anarchists were the leading advocates of homosexuality, and more generally, the idea of free love. Before Kissack gets to these points, however, he takes precaution in actually detailing what anarchism is. Say the word "anarchist" today, and most people immediately think of disorganization, violence, and chaos. Anarchism, however, is the belief that we do not need a hierarchal, governing body to control us. Anarchism is letting go of social constructions and expectation to allow oneself a space of freedom. And freedom, here, can mean different things for different people.

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/free-comrades-anarchism-and.html

F - 7/11
Fine Dead Girls
Directed by Dalibor Matanić

I found Fine Dead Girls to be worthy of the critical acclaim it has received; this film was not only selected as Croatia's nomination to the Academy Awards, but it has also won awards at a multitude of festivals for its dynamic, thrilling portrayal of the challenges faced by a young lesbian couple living in Zagreb. The two protagonists, Iva and Marija, begin anew by moving into a new neighborhood, but face a housewarming that is anything but. Instead, problems arise from a virulently homophobic landlord and her adult son, who crosses the line of comfort and safety. This beautiful and quiet cinematic piece merges with to a poignant plot make a fascinating connection between the violence of nationalism and gendered violence. This movie is told in retrospect; the beginning presents a conflict with roots and complications unfolded as characters' stories are uncovered. It is rich in messages regarding gender performance, gender presentation, and sexual preference, which ultimately come full circle to make a controversial and startling national allegory.

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/fine-dead-girls_11.html

S - 7/12
Herizons (Spring 2008)
 
I am not a mainstream media fan, and I haven't been one for a long time. I like to think that, as I have gotten older, my dynamic and sometimes contradictory critical feminist analysis (can you tell I was a sociology major?) has deepened from the angry polemics of a surly teenager to something a little bit more complex. But, I have to admit, politically speaking, I have been really lazy lately. As I withdrew my attention from celebrity news and headlines that held no interest for me, I wasn't so conscientious about cultivating a batch of new, alternative news sources. As the office mate most likely to answer "No" to the question "Did you hear?" Herizons is a welcome addition to my reading list.

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/herizons-spring-2008.html

S - 7/13
In an Abusive State: How Neoliberalism Appropriated the Feminist Movement Against Sexual Violence
By Kristin Bumiller

Never before have I received more inquiries about the book my face hid behind than I did while reading In an Abusive State. I guess it had to do with the visibly striking cover, but while I sat at the gate in the Cleveland airport, the people sitting nearby craned their necks to read the title and subtitle; once they did, I received many questions about the nature and content of this book. Quite frankly, In an Abusive State is a phenomenal work by Amherst College Professor Kristin Bumiller. She criticizes the mainstream feminist movement for its collusion with a neoliberal agenda in approaching violence in our respective communities. Studies of visual representation of violence and survivors of violence, the problematic, position of psychiatric therapy as a legitimized determinant of a survivor's mental health, and the racialization of violence are some of the contentious issues she broaches in her slim but stunning work. In an Abusive State is a refreshing read that offers an intersectional analysis to the social problem of gendered violence that is careful not to reify discriminate stereotypes - as this is precisely what Bumiller criticizes mainstream feminism of doing.

Read the rest of this review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/in-abusive-state-how-neoliberalism.html

To read this week's 21 Fabulous Feminist Reviews, check out http://www.feministreview.org/.

This week's Free Feminist Fun:
http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/free-feminist-fun.html
http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/breeders-matt-kim-whip-free-show-today.html

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: Feminism vs. Black Liberation, Maria Shriver, Secular and Faith-based organizing, Rigoberta Menchu

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 6/30
Just Who Will You Be?: Big Questions, Little Book, Answer Within
By Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver's latest book, Just Who Will You Be?, has received positive reviews from individual readers and professional reviewers. While they praise this small (5" x 7") 91-paged hardcover, this reviewer was sorely, sourly, surly, and surely disappointed. With a sub-title promising "Big Questions, Little Book, Answer Within," this book is only a reprint of a commencement address which Shriver gave at her nephew's high school graduation. Apparently, attendees were so impressed by her words (and her fame?) that they approached Shriver afterwards and asked for copies of her speech. The supposedly inspiring prose and poem should have been given away for free! They're certainly not worth the book's shockingly high suggested retail price of $14.95USD or the chopping down of trees for paper and hardbound covers!

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/just-who-will-you-be-big-questions.html

T - 7/1
Radical Sisters: Second-Wave Feminism and Black Liberation in Washington, D.C.
By Anne M. Valk

It's been oft repeated that feminism and Black Liberation were not always allied movements, and depending on who you ask, they remain fragmented campaigns today. In Radical Sisters, Anne M. Valk seeks to disrupt this myth and show the interconnectedness of these political movements that have, in fact, been allied since the 1970s. Academic in its analysis and format, Radical Sisters reminds me of a text I would hope to one day find being used in Women's Studies classes in universities. Personally agreeing that gender courses are often white-centric in their framework and critical text (in part because I earned such a degree and was not alone in having to put forth effort to learn outside my program's sometimes homogenous course load), this book's chapters could serve as vital framework for understanding overlapping, intersecting, and complimentary activism from the Second Wave of feminism and some of the more progressive times of change in Black Liberation.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/radical-sisters-second-wave-feminism.html

W - 7/2
Wallet

Ember Necessary Baggage is a company founded by one woman, Ellen M. Belanger, who creates personal bags – including handbags, totes, and wallets. Her artistry is seen in cleverly crafted designs and carefully stitched construction. Each and every bag is made by hand, often a one-of-a-kind piece. This loving attention to detail creates crafter kinship, as many of her patrons either create their own works or simply have an appreciation for hand crafted artisan goods.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/wallet.html

T - 7/3
The House in the Night
By Susan Marie Swanson

Author Susan Marie Swanson focuses on poetry in her children's books. In addition to writing children's poetry and picture books, she teaches poetry to children through an artist-in-the-schools program, as well as in summer art programs. Her previous children's books include Getting Used to the Dark: 26 Night Poems, Letter to the Lake, The First Thing My Mama Told Me, and the recently released To Be Like the Sun. The House in the Night is a 36-page, 104-word children's story about a house at bedtime. It's not so much of a story as a portrait of a house at night - what is in it and where it rests in the larger world. With an average of just four to seven words per page, and repetition of phrases, the book has a rhythmic cadence that could sooth a child to sleep. Cumulative pattern poems, such as "Hush, little baby, don't say a word" and "This is the House that Jack Built," inspired the structure.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/house-in-night.html

F - 7/4
Organizing Urban America: Secular and Faith-based Progressive Movements
By Heidi J. Swarts

In Organizing Urban America, Heidi Swarts details the strategies, successes, and challenges of two major actors in United States social movements: the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and congregation-based community organizations (CBCOs). Her contribution to a growing body of work on American social movements is detailed, thorough, and provides considerable insight for activists and scholars about these organizations. Swarts lays out the national organizing cultures of the two types of organizations, which is helpful in contextualizing the four local chapters she then focuses on: People Acting in Community Together (San Jose PACT), Metropolitan Congregations United for St. Louis (MCU), and the San Jose and St. Louis ACORNs. In a repressive time for progressive social movements, she lays out the ways theses organizations have nonetheless mobilized considerable constituencies to confront local, regional, and national political players in the interest of the racially diverse, poor, and working class people involved in these organizations. I was delighted to read examples of the ways community organizers in St. Louis are combating the effects of deindustrialization and suburban sprawl by drawing support from inner-ring suburbanites.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/organizing-urban-america-secular-and.html

S - 7/5
Time Out New York Eating and Drinking 2008: The Essential Guide to the City's Best Restaurants and Bars
 
Looking for a place to eat or drink in New York City? Time Out New York Eating and Drinking 2008 has some suggestions for you. This handy volume, which is updated annually, contains over 1500 reviews of restaurants, bars, and lounges in the five boroughs, and the book's organization makes it easy for readers to find what they are looking for. Readers can flip through the color-coded tabs to choose between Afghan, African, American, Argentine, Asian, Australian, Austrian, Barbecue, Belgian, Brazilian, British, Cafes and Diners, Caribbean, Chinese, Eastern European, Eclectic, French, German, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Koren, Kosher, Latin American, Mediterranean, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Peruvian, Portuguese, Russian, Seafood, Spanish, Steakhouses, Thai, Turkish, Vegetarian, Vietnamese, and Bars/Lounges. Vegetarian-friendly, gay-friendly, cheap eats, and critics' picks are also duly marked.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/time-out-new-york-eating-and-drinking.html

S - 7/6
Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans
By David Stoll

For those unfamiliar with 1983's I, Rigoberta Menchu, or the controversy that surrounded the initial publication of David Stoll's contentious academic countering in 1998, it would be best to revisit the debates that have raged for the last ten years. Rigoberta Menchu, an indigenous Guatemalan woman who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her now 25-year-old testimonio and subsequently found her book added to the multicultural canon in colleges around the world, has drawn sharp criticism from both scholars like Stoll and her own country's people, who do not believe their stories have been represented by hers. As Stoll is a white, Western, male academic, his initial deconstruction of her story felt problematic for many. Yet, after conducting nearly 120 interviews with Guatemalan people who refute some of Menchu's base claims, it becomes hard to remain optimistically objective, even if her story speaks to a wide range of real and existing experiences of oppression and revolution in Latin America and the Global South. In this case, Stoll's criticisms also feel particularly significant as Menchu's book has been lauded for its supposed authenticity, rather than as a literary masterpiece.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/rigoberta-menchu-and-story-of-all-poor.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: mommy politics, Frida Khalo, feminist princess, Sex and the City

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 6/23
Princess Ben
By Catherine Gilbert Murdock

I love fairytales and I think, in Princess Ben, I've found a new favorite. The novel, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, has been labeled good reading material for seventh, eighth, and ninth grade girls. While I'm sure that's true, I loved it and I'm in eighteenth grade! Princess Ben follows the story of Benevolence, the princess of Montagne, a small sovereign nation constantly under attack by a neighboring kingdom, Drachensbett. It is, like many fairytales, a coming-of-age story. At fourteen, Benevolence's parents are killed and, with no direct heir of her own, Queen Sophia (the title character's aunt) embarks on a mission to make a proper princess out of Ben (as she is called). Though Ben resists, she is heir to the throne and through trials and tribulations — many of her own making — she manages to find herself and become a competent leader along the way.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/princess-ben.html

T - 6/24
The Maternal is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change
Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong

In The Maternal Is Political, forty-three writers examine the connection between their transformative experience as mothers and their political engagement both nationally and globally. This is a collection about the interconnections between the personal and the political, the familial and social, and it addresses some basic questions: How does motherhood transform women's political consciousness? How do mothers weave activism into their lives? Does the very act of becoming a mother make one more suitable for and engaged in movements for social change? What is the link between the choices mothers make in their personal lives and the ones they make in their communities and the world at large?

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/maternal-is-political-women-writers-at.html

W - 6/25
Liddle Kiddle Embroidery Patterns (Artist Series 4)
By Lisa Petrucci

I had never before attempted embroidery until I received Sublime Stitching's Artist Series 4 embroidery patterns, "Liddle Kiddle" designs drawn by artist and illustrator Lisa Petrucci. The front of the packet promises "any skill level" and "EZ how 2," and it's true! By following the included instructions, I was embroidering immediately, even though I'm not a particularly gifted textile crafter. With these patterns, anyone who can sew on a button should be able to embroidery right away.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/liddle-kiddle-embroidery-patterns.html

T - 6/26
Bitter Pie 18
 
Charlott, the main character of Bitter Pie 18, reminds me of Hothead Paisan, another tough woman in an independent comic who wore shirts with thought-provoking slogans and questioned the world's absurdity. In this installment, Charlott finds herself locked away in a mental institution (The Betty Rubble Clinic) where she is forced to break her heroin habit. She is literally confined with a bunch of characters. Lucy of Peanuts is Charlott's psychiatrist, sitting in a booth proclaiming her fee, updated from 5 cents to $50. Other patients on the ward include Cathy and Nancy from the funny pages, Pippi Longstocking, and Velma from Scooby-Doo.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/bitter-pie-18.html

F - 6/27
Sex and the City: The Movie
Directed by Michael Patrick King

Far as I can tell, there's never been a consensus on Sex and the City's feminist appeal. It shows intimate female relationships, but it's heteronormative, white, and the characters often talk past each other. The women live (mostly) sexually liberated lives, but they're nevertheless forever in search of the perfect man to fulfill their emotional needs. The ladies are also all highly successful in their own careers, but their love of expensive shoes and sex toys supports a patriarchal, capitalist model. I was not an original follower of the show – never had HBO, for one. But over the past two years, thanks to several series-devoted female friends, I suspect I've seen every episode at least once or twice. A fan of the individual characters more than their sum total, my expectations for the film felt reasoned. Not skeptical or enthusiastic, I walked in knowing product placement was rampant, it was a sometimes-tedious 2.5 hours in length, and that I was in for a film a bit below its cable-television standards.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/sex-and-city-movie.html

S - 6/28
Spider Lilies
Directed by Zero Chou

In the language of flowers, the spider lily has pessimistic associations in Japan, signifies mutual yearning in Korea, and in China, is a more positive blossom, with connotations of elegance and purity. Perhaps these were flowers of a different color. In Zero Chou's Spider Lilies, the perennial flowering bulb is said to line the path to hell, and be entirely poisonous. Spider lilies decorate the arm of the movie's protagonist, a gay tattoo artist named Takeko. She is pursued by a web-cam girl called Jade, a too-cute private dancer who goes to Takeko's shop to purchase a design to spice up her act, and recognizes the skin engraver as her childhood crush. Their dance is indeed as subtle as the stems of the title, not thorned roses, or the decadence of abundant-petalled peonies.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/spider-lilies.html

S - 6/29
Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself
By Salomon Grimberg

Frida Kahlo appeared to burst into mainstream consciousness in the 2002 movie Frida, which featured the glamorous Mexican actress, Salma Hayek in the leading role. In reality, Kahlo was an iconic figure for many in Mexico and the art world many decades before. Even today, Kahlo's unconventional and independent artwork and lifestyle continue to inspire new devotees forty-four years after her death.

In Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself, Salomon Grimberg has taken this complex 20th century icon and added her "voice" to the narrative of her personal and professional life and work. Based on Kahlo's candid and introspective answers to a series of interviews and psychological tests that she participated in with her friend, psychologist Olga Campos, we are allowed a brief entry into her private world and the experiences that were to shape her into the talented and complicated person she was to become.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/06/frida-kahlo-song-of-herself.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: hip-hop politics, italian cinema, transgendered prisoners, feminist fertility, philanthropy

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 5/19
Cruel and Unusual
Directed by Janet Baus, Dan Hunt and Reid Williams

Imagine you were born female and, later in life, you were convicted of a crime for which, by a sick twist of fate, you will serve your time in a men's prison. Now imagine that you will also be denied medical or mental health treatment that you were receiving prior to your incarceration. This scenario is not far from reality for the women featured in Cruel and Unusual. Yolanda, Ophelia, Ashley, Anna, Patty Lou, and Linda are male-to-female transgender prisoners (some now released) in the United States who were born men, but identify and live their adult lives as women. These women are among the 30% of the total transgender population estimated to be incarcerated, and were assigned to a prison or area of a prison based on their birth sex. Stories unfold of the sexual assault, ridicule, and mistreatment by other prisoners and guards experienced by these women. Viewers learn that, with few exceptions, transgender prisoners are often "protected" by being segregated from the general population and put in solitary confinement, otherwise known as lockdown. Anna, Patty Lou, and Yolanda all reported having been locked in solitary confinement for nearly a year where Yolanda "felt like an animal," like she was "going crazy."

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/cruel-and-unusual.html

T - 5/20
Freedom Is Not Enough: The Opening of the American Workplace
By Nancy Maclean

Maclean's book is a remarkable achievement: narrating in a single compelling, lucid, and reasonably comprehensive manner the American Civil Rights movement (particularly as it applied to labor struggle), women's fight against "Jane Crow laws," Mexican Americans' push for full citizenship, and the complex relationship between Jewish Americans and African Americans in the latter half of the twentieth century. She traces the subtle and dramatic shifts in American conceptions of race, gender, and work. The struggle for racial equality from Brown v. Board to Affirmative Action is well traveled terrain, as is the history of feminist activism during the period. Questions of Mexican American identity — "Are Mexicans white or people of color," for example — may be less familiar, especially as they are framed around the workplace as a site of oppression and the push for social justice. Mary McLeod Bethune's proclamation could serve as an epigraph for the book: "The right to work is a right to live."

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/freedom-is-not-enough-opening-of.html

W - 5/21
Waiting for Daisy
By Peggy Orenstein

The sub-title of Waiting for Daisy by Peggy Orenstein is a great summary of the book: "A tale of two continents, three religions, five infertility doctors, an Oscar, an atomic bomb, a romantic night, and one woman's quest to become a mother." The story of the author's increasingly frustrating and passionate pursuit of motherhood is one that tugs at the heart. The book reads almost like a novel, though you are never far removed from the very real and authentic emotions of the author. Orenstein is a feminist who thought she never wanted children. Then in her 30's, she and her husband start trying for a baby. As a number of complications arise, she realizes that having a baby is more difficult than she had imagined.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/waiting-for-daisy-tale-of-two.html

T - 5/22
Giving Back: Connecting You, Business, and Community
By Bert Berkley and Peter Economy

Inspiration comes in many forms. Giving Back: Connecting You, Business, and Community tells the stories of businesspeople who were inspired in a multitude of different ways and were determined to do more, engage more, than just cutting a check from the comfort of their desks. The stated intent of the book is to provide "a catalyst for change for businesspeople who want to have a positive and long-lasting impact on their communities and on the world around them." Giving Back is composed of case studies of people who worked from a business mindset in order to achieve philanthropic success. The stories are impressive in their diversity: some feature CEOs working from within their successful companies to extend their community involvement, such as Chick-fil-A's Truett Cathy and his multiple WinShape initiatives designed to help disadvantaged children. On the other hand, there are founders of businesses specifically geared toward giving back, such as the husband and wife team of Jessica and Matt Flannery, who co-created Kiva.org, which links lenders with overseas entrepreneurs looking for microloans.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/giving-back-connecting-you-business-and.html

F - 5/23
The Pakistani Bride
By Bapsi Sidhwa

The Pakistani Bride is constructed around a real life incident where a young bride was murdered by tribesmen when she ran away from her husband's home, which the author happened to hear about on a visit to the Karokaram mountain area of Pakistan with her husband. This incident haunted Bapsi Sidhwa's mind, and she decided to write a short story about it. The story took four years to complete and became a novel. Interestingly, this is Bapsi Sidhwa's first book, but it was not published until after her second book. The story's axis is around the life of Zaitoon and her foster father, Qasim, who is a tribal man of Kohistan. The tribal clan lives in the absence of any state laws, with only a strict code of honor to guide their actions. Qasim leaves the mountains for a better job when he is caught up in the madness of Partition. He rescues a little girl whose parents are killed and takes her as his own daughter.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/pakistani-bride.html

S - 5/24
Diva: Defiance and Passion in Early Italian Cinema
By Angela Dalle Vacche

As an infrequent reader of non-fiction and a former Italian scholar, I looked forward to reading Diva: Defiance and Passion in Early Italian Cinema. The book promises to be engaging and accessible to everyone, even those not well-versed in film history or theory - and in this respect, author Angela Dalle Vacche certainly delivers. Dalle Vacche clearly put a tremendous amount of energy into researching the historical context and philosophical writings that contributed to the production of the "diva" in early 20th century Italian film. The book offers a thorough overview of the wide array of social, artistic and political forces surrounding the phenomenon of cinema itself, and of the diva film in particular, during this time period.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/diva-defiance-and-passion-in-early.html

S - 5/25
Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence
By Keli Goff

In Party Crashing, Keli Goff develops an argument relevant to this election: how does the young, African American person vote? Exploring points relevant to black culture, she shows the hip-hop generation finding itself with unmet needs and points out that the support a black person wants or needs differs from that of a white person. Currently, it is assumed black voters automatically support Democratic politicians because Democrats hear and respond to their needs. Goff shows that this is no longer the case, and she elaborates on issues concerning this group of voters. Presenting testimonial of varied black leaders, the author questions what makes a leader powerful. She covers Republicans, Democrats, and Independents - offering a more thorough coverage of representatives.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/party-crashing-how-hip-hop-generation.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: body image, lawyer girls, aging, simpsonology, married women

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 4/21
The Trials of Kate Hope
By Wick Downing

The Trials of Kate Hope is set in 1973 when the roles of women are changing in homes around America, though Kate's journey to become a lawyer began years before. An interesting story from start to finish, the book always leaves you wanting to know what happens next. Kate Hope was dealt a devastating blow when her beloved father and brother died in a car accident when she was just 6 years old, leaving her alone with Annie Hope, a mother who was now afraid to let Kate out of her site. Kate was never a girly girl; she spent her free time helping her grandfather, know to the town folks as The Judge, at the law office he once shared with Kate's father. Kate learned how to look up statutes as well as write motions and briefs for her grandfather. As his health faltered, Kate's grandfather needed a partner and that she should become his partner. Being only 14, she told him she could not a lawyer. The Judge was not so sure and sent Kate to look into it.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/trials-of-kate-hope.html

T - 4/22
I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me By a Young Lady From Rwanda
Phoenix Theatre Ensemble

I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me By a Young Lady From Rwanda is an amazing two-person play set in London, England in the modern day. It chronicles one Rwandan refugee's struggle to write about what happened to her in 1994, and the Englishman who helps her. While living in England, Juliette (Susan Hayward) meets an aging poet, Simon (Joseph J. Menino), who works at the refugee center part-time. She comes to him for help in getting her book about the Rwandan genocide published. After reading her work, Simon notes that the book is completely—and only—historical and factual, so much so that he asks, "Where are you in all of this, Juliette? Where is your story?"

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-have-before-me-remarkable-document&183;html

W - 4/23
Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial
By Nicole Hollander

Nicole Hollander, author of the nationally syndicated cartoon, Sylvia, claims that, among other things, "the sixties are the new forties." If that's true, she asks, "When will I be 30?" Honestly, I've never found Sylvia to be my cup of tea, but Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial is funny, even if I'm not exactly the target audience. As a twenty-something reviewer, Hollander and her cadre of characters kept reminding me of friends of my parents. Nevertheless, the snippets hold kernels of truth for someone my age, too, and that's a good thing. I was at first under the impression that Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial was a collection of Sylvia comics that had a title for a theme. I was wrong, then confused, and finally pleasantly surprised.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/tales-of-graceful-aging-from-planet.html

T - 4/24
Simpsonology: There's a Little Bit of Springfield in All of Us
By Tim Delaney

After nineteen seasons and a feature film, The Simpsons is a wealth of source material for pop culture analysis. I remember watching the first full-length episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" with my family when I was six years old. At first, my mother forbid my brother and I to watch the irreverent show about a dysfunctional American family, but she relented after I pointed out the series' redeeming value. The Simpsons was genuinely funny, and it was controversial because it forced viewers to question long-held societal assumptions.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/simpsonology-theres-little-bit-of.html

F - 4/25
This Is Who I Am: Our Beauty in All Shapes and Sizes
By Rosanne Olson

Curves and oceans of tired skin, caverns of an empty stomach, worry lines, moles, and tired bones are all qualities that women fear for their own bodies. Through its beautifully chosen photography, this book amplifies flaws and trains the eye to see past any imperfection. A beautiful girl with a magazine body confesses the broken parts of her insides. Older women who look so fragile admit their stronger sides. Mothers relish in the beauty and magic reflected in their children. Larger girls divulge into their curvy beauty and how it makes them feel better than most would understand.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-is-who-i-am-our-beauty-in-all.html

S - 4/26
The Secrets of Happily Married Women: How to Get More Out of Your Relationship by Doing Less
By Dr. Scott Haltman and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo

There's a lot I could write about The Secrets of Happily Married Women, but I'm sure I can't fit it all into 500 words or less. The advice contained within its pages may actually work. In fact, I'm sure it does in many cases, but that doesn't keep me from bristling at the idea that women and men are so different that we essentially speak different languages. Let me first be clear: I am not married, and I never have been married. I have, however, been in a serious, long-term relationship, and I think that much of the advice Dr. Haltzman gives is also applicable to situations like mine, marriage papers in hand or not. Also, I love self-help books, and I've read my fair share; as those go, The Secrets of Happily Married Women is one of the better-written ones. And by "better-written" I mean that it's in a conversational tone and can be easily understood.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/secrets-of-happily-married-women-how-to.html

S - 4/27
Margaret Fuller, Wandering Pilgrim
By Meg McGavran Murray

This fascinating biography vividly evokes the life and times of pioneering feminist Margaret Fuller, the controversial author of Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1845), which was the first crusading manifesto for women's rights published in the United States. Meg McGavran Murray analyzes Fuller's hard-won accomplishments as "America's first full-fledged intellectual woman" – her growth from anxious child prodigy to spell-binding lecturer to admired editor of the Dial to celebrated war correspondent and ex-pat revolutionary in strife-torn Italy.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/margaret-fuller-wandering-pilgrim.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: deaf studies, sci fi, marx, black feminism, adultery

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 4/7
Open Your Eyes: Deaf Studies Talking
By H-Dirksen L. Bauman

In his introduction to Open Your Eyes: Deaf Studies Talking, H-Dirkson L. Bauman says that the compilation of essays "intends to compel a variety of audiences to listen [to the insights from Deaf Studies] – from eavesdroppers to longtime residents of the Deaf world." As evident in the subtitle, the entire volume's aim is couched in a phonologically metaphorical manner – the contributors are struggling to be heard in a world that drowns out their voices. Open Your Eyes springs from a symposium called the Deaf Studies Think Tank. It is a series of fundamentally exploratory essays divided into six sections: Framing Deaf Studies, Deaf Perception and Community, Language and Literacy, Places and Borders, Intersections and Identities, and The Question of Disability. Each section focuses on a different aspect of Deaf culture and identity. Many essays pose pointed questions intending to simultaneously broaden and focus Deaf Studies.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/open-your-eyes-deaf-studies-talking.html

T - 4/8
Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones
By Carole Boyce Davies

Still unknown to many, the life story of Claudia Jones is equally inspiring and heartbreaking. Guilty of being everything she was labeled, Jones maintained many overlapping identities - feminist, Black Nationalist, Communist, and journalist - working in the early to mid-20th century on a wide array of equal rights causes. Her activism a precursor to much of the 1960s American counterculture resistance, for which we often remember recent history's leaders of color. Jones's political life in the United States and abroad is memorialized in Carole Boyce Davies's new book that recognizes this astounding woman and her great achievements. With an excellent academic and personal balance, Davies thoroughly investigates and reveals the short life of a remarkable leader whom we could all seek to emulate for her work in radical, feminism, anti-racist politics.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/left-of-karl-marx-political-life-of.html

W - 4/9
Lavinia
By Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin is the author of short stories, essays, volumes of poetry, books for children, and many novels. She has won the National Book Award, five Hugo and Nebula Awards, a Pushcart Prize, and the Howard Vursell Award of American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her new novel, Lavinia, is set in a time when Rome, located near the seven hills, is only a tiny village of little consequence. Lavinia walks out of Vergil's epic poem The Aeneid, where she had been a silent character. Le Guin breathes life into Lavinia by creating her world and truly epic story, a tale that is both about love on many levels and war in all its reality. Le Guin manages to capture a mother/daughter relationship that could translate into modern day newspaper article. The author showers this ancient character with a unique voice, in which Lavinia speaks to the spirit of the poet, setting the whole tone of the novel.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/lavinia.html

T - 4/10
The Microphones – The Glow Pt. 2

Originally released in the shadow of 9/11, The Glow Pt. 2 became an indie classic, a college radio staple, and something people would name drop to make sure you knew what was happening in the world they believed meant everything. Re-released this month on two completely remastered CDs (or three LPs!), the epic disc sounds better than ever; no small achievement for one of the better albums of my youth. The Microphones hail from a beautiful part of the United States, and it comes blaring through in their mild music. This record has remained quintessential for folkies and rockers alike for years, inj part, due to its melodic greatness that sounds like the very mountains of the Northwest; it rises and falls like a Pacific tide you might take for granted if you see it every day.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/microphones-glow-pt-2.html

F - 4/11
The Other Woman: Twenty-One Wives, Lovers, and Others Talk Openly About Sex, Deception, Love, and Betrayal
Edited by Victoria Zackheim

The Other Woman is an intriguing and lively read. Through poignant essays and excerpts written by prominent female writers, this book presents the harsh realities and varied repercussions of infidelity. This collection is deeply personal as women such as Pam Houston, Dani Shapiro, Susan Cheever, and Diana Abu-Jaber allow readers into their own experiences with both the pains of the betrayed and the motivations of the betrayers. None of the stories in this compilation ask readers to forgive or excuse infidelity, yet every piece invites a humane understanding of the many complicated factors that create unfaithfulness. Together, the twenty-one complementary stories found within The Other Woman outline a spectrum of participation and involvement when infidelity occurs; ranging from lifetimes under ill parental role-models to being the betrothed and betrayed to living a dual life as "the other woman" (or TOW, as one writer names her), these stories strike a spark of earnestness that is refreshing. As we all know, it takes two for a literal betrayal (let us never-do-mind figurative or imaginary betrayals), and these powerful writings detail the full scope.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2009/04/other-woman-twenty-one-wives-lovers-and.html

S - 4/12
No Bigger Than A Minute
Directed by Steven Delano

Featuring interviews with Meredith Eaton of Boston Legal, actor Peter Dinklage, and rapper Bushwick Bill, the spare documentary No Bigger Than A Minute, disputes the notion that "it is inherently sad being a dwarf." Delano, who states that he is drawn to the more extreme representations of dwarfism, also succeeds in his quest to avoid "a sentimental portrait of people who are 'just like you and me' and are overcoming adversity." Delano, diagnosed with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, recounts his tough love upbringing in New Bedford, Massachusetts and his futile attempts at "pretending not to notice people pretending not to notice [him]." Delano's consequent struggles with self-image and involuntary celibacy are presented in a matter-of-fact manner without a trace of self-pity.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-bigger-than-minute.html

S - 4/13
Gotta Keep on Tryin'
By Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant

Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant's sequel to Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made follows the lives of two black women entrepreneurs, Pat and Gayle, as they climb their way through the children's book and toy industry. Throughout, we follow tales of marriage, motherhood, ideas of "success," fidelity, eating disorders, and addiction. The dramatic plotlines and relatable main characters justify the wide mainstream popularity of the Tryin' series. The two heroines are part of a fairly new genre of fiction depicting black women as upwardly mobile professionals — making it in a competitive world. The book manages to cover much ground in producing new imagery surrounding black femininity, masculinity, and interracial relationships. Witnessing Pat and Gayle work through certain conflicts without being "bogged down" by specifically racialized or gendered problematics is refreshing and sometimes empowering.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/gotta-keep-on-tryin.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: human rights, social work, surveillance, seneca falls

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the ’comments’ section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 3/17
Have You Found Her
By Janice Erlbaum

In a time when writers are faking memoirs with sense of honor or morals, Janice Erlbaum’s honesty is reassuring. It restores this reader’s faith in the genre. The truth she writes into her latest book, Have You Found Her, can’t be denied. This book reads like a novel, and I couldn’t put it down. The story begins with Erlbaum’s desire to give something back to the New York City shelter where she lived twenty years earlier as a fifteen-year-old runaway. It is evident from the beginning that Janice is searching for something that can only be found within. This makes her vulnerable to the stories that are told in the shelter, the lives girls would like to lead, the brutal reality that hits her each time she enters the shelter’s door. Then she meets Sam, a nineteen year old girl, who is a drug addict and has many health issues. Erlbaum breaks the shelter’s rule of playing favorites up front. The reader cheers her on as she becomes a part of Sam’s life.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/have-you-found-her.html

T - 3/18
Challenges in Human Rights: A Social Work Perspective
Edited by Elizabeth Reichert

Human Rights and Social Work – it’s a connection that has been overlooked by many in professional and lay discussions of social work, nationally and internationally. The connection, however, is relevant not only for social workers, but for everyone interested in human rights issues. The book, therefore, while clearly written for a professional and largely academic audience, addresses topics that are relevant beyond the immediate target audience.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/challenges-in-human-rights-social-work.html

W - 3/19
Surveillance 24/7
Directed by Paul Oremland

In 2006, an independent study by Britain’s Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, he warned that increased use of CCCTV (closed-circuit television) and "dataveillance" was turning Britain into a "surveillance society." Currently, in the United States, Congress and the White House are in the middle of a debate over the limits of government wiretapping. Virtually every move we make in our public lives - from buying groceries, to driving through toll booths, to going to the movies - can be tracked and recorded. This climate of intense visual and electronic monitoring provides the backdrop for Paul Oremland’s Surveillance 24/7, a visually interesting, but clichéd and somewhat murky thriller about the dark side of life on "the grid."

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/surveillance-247.html

T - 3/20
Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement
By Sally G. McMillen

On the morning of the Seneca Falls Convention, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton arrived at the Wesleyan chapel she had reserved for the occasion, the doors were locked, and no one had a key. Harriet Cady Eaton’s son, Daniel, had to crawl in a window to let people into the building. It is this sort of suggestive detail that brings to life this momentous occasion in American history, one that seemed to its organizers, even in retrospect, a rather inauspicious occasion in the long struggle for women’s rights in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/seneca-falls-and-origins-of-womens.html

F - 3/21
Open Line
By Ellen Hawley

What if they didn’t give a war and people came anyway? That’s the question posed by the talk-radio host heroine of Ellen Hawley’s second novel, Open Line. The story begins when Annette Majoris, an ambitious broadcaster trying to work her way up from a station in the frozen reaches of small-town Minnesota, glibly states on-air that the Vietnam war never happened, but was in fact "the biggest scam a government ever put over on its citizens." This flippant remark takes on a life of its own, and soon Annette is drawing in larger ratings, syndicating her show, and moderating (and stoking) a heated debate about whether one of the most divisive events in twentieth century American history actually happened.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/open-line.html

S - 3/22
Kassin +2 – Futurismo

This is a smorgasbord of sound; there’s everything from samba to electronica to a lil’ bit of funk and rock. Alexandre Kassin, Moreno Veloso, and Domenico Lancellotti form this intense force from the Rio de Janerio scene, and there is a reason they are at the center of the neo-samba movement. The final piece of a trilogy, Kassin +2’s Futurismo is a musical mosaic; its form is made from a combination of musical genres, instruments, and cultures.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/kassin-2-futurismo.html

S - 3/23
Biirdie – Catherine Avenue

Biirdie came into my life at just the right time. Named for the musical Bye Bye Birdie (but adding an extra "I" because one Birdie band already exists), this southern California folk-rock trio’s sophomore release may not be extraordinarily adventurous or unusual, but they nevertheless make you want to take a long drive into nowhere, windows down. Maybe living in Boston, I hear songs about L.A. and get whimsical for rolling hills that lead to desert. Maybe I crave anything that sounds like perpetual springtime. Or perhaps I just find comfort in sappy, fuzzy rock about confusing love and wishing the weekend would arrive. Whatever it is, this CD hasn’t left my player for weeks as a result.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/biirdie-catherine-avenue.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: Julie Doucet, queering conception, Susan Sontag, female sexuality

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the ’comments’ section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 3/10
At the Same Time: Essays & Speeches
By Susan Sontag
Edited by Paolo Dilonardo and Anne Jump

This collection of essays and speeches by the noted Susan Sontag is assembled and introduced by her son, who, in his own writing, seems to be trying to piece together his mother just as we may be as her loyal readers. Discovering threads of the personal in her former texts, this assemblage of essays and speeches that she had already begun assembling before her death represents for her son the seriousness of Sontag as a reader/writer and consumer of the world around her.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/at-same-time-essays-speeches.html

T - 3/11
Evangelista - Hello, Voyager

Carla Bozulich, the brainchild behind the band Evangelista, describes the sound of Hello, Voyager as "gospel noise." Even after sitting here for fifteen minutes thinking about how to pinpoint the sound of the album, even after listening to the record for a month straight, I cannot, for the life of me, think of a more apt description. "The inspiration for the album came from a feeling of gratitude for all the music and friends and love that has brought me into the place I’m in—even if it’s not always the most comfortable. Soon it moved into more extreme territories due to my sort of plummeting into a hideous abyss in my life. The inspirations combined and made things very complex," Bozulich said.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/evangelista-hello-voyager.html

W - 3/12
365 Days: A Diary by Julie Doucet
By Julie Doucet

Nearly nine years after Julie Doucet’s official break up with comics in 1998 through the release of the last issue of Dirty Plotte, the two worked out their issues and 365 Days was released. Reuniting has never felt so good. Doucet works with a multitude of mediums, and comics are only a fraction (but an amazing fraction) of her artistic talents, which are portrayed in 365 Days. The illustrated diary chronicles Doucet’s everyday life as a working artist from the end of 2002 through 2003. It begins in her hometown of Montreal and follows her through a brief stint in Paris and back to Canada. She ascends the traditional panel of comic books by combining collage and non-linear storytelling. This experimentation is visually heavy; whitespace never stood a chance. That doesn’t make it a burden to read, but rather keeps the reader on his or her toes, and engrossed in its content.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/365-days-diary-by-julie-doucet.html

T - 3/13
Be Good
By Stacey May Fowles

In her mesmeric debut novel Be Good, young author Stacey May Fowles demonstrates a budding mastery over the poetic aspects of prose. She showers the reader time and again with such rhythmically beautiful sentences as "there is a truth and a progression among all these recollections," or, in reference to the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy, "this burning beneath her skin that would later die for our sins." Fowles’ novel follows the friendship of two young women whose alcohol and drama-drenched lives seem bound for chronic misfortune. Both women seek fulfillment in their relationships with men, even as it becomes increasingly clear that one is in love with the other. But it is not the complex love-quadrangle plot that makes Fowles’ novel compelling. It is the ambiguous nature of its narration.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/be-good.html

F - 3/14
The Hot Woman’s Handbook: The Cake Guide to Female Sexual Pleasure
By Melinda Gallagher, M.A. and Emily Scarlet Kramer

I have to say upfront that one of the authors of this book approached me about reviewing it. She read some of my critiques of sex guides on the Goodreads website and offered to send me a copy of this book to read and review. Always on the lookout for the latest in sex ed, I jumped at the chance. In the book’s introduction, the authors state, "there is a huge disconnect between how women are portrayed and how women really live, fantasize, think, and act. In 2000, we created CAKE to set the record straight." They began producing events in New York City and later in London and then launched the CAKE website where women around the world shared their sexual experiences. (CAKE, the authors say, is a "euphemism for a woman’s sexual anatomy; silky smooth on the outside, tender and moist on the inside," which makes me wonder if the authors assume most women shave their pubic hair.)

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/hot-womans-handbook-cake-guide-to.html

S - 3/15
Why We’re Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America
By Eric Alterman

Republicans have devoted a lot of resources to the smearing of liberals, but Eric Alterman is not going to let them get away with it. He has a mission to correct misconceptions spewed by conservatives and regurgitated by mainstream media. His well-researched Why We’re Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America is chock-full of the staggering statistics, rational reasoning, and liberal principles that are under-represented – and sometimes completely absent – in the so-called "liberal media." This history of liberalism is an opportunity for young progressives to read about a time when liberalism was unbelievably popular, and to discover the origins of stereotypes that plague modern liberalism, many of which are baseless.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-were-liberals-political-handbook.html

S - 3/16
Tick Tock Lullabye
Directed by Lisa Gornick

The opening scene of Tick Tock Lullabye features a white lesbian couple lying in bed, brainstorming men who might impregnate one of them. The film’s graininess and seemingly queer subject matter are initially reminiscent of works like "Go Fish" and "Born in Flames," whose express intent is to subvert historically problematic – and classist - cinematographic and aesthetic norms. Unfortunately, Tick Tock Lullabye falls far short of the queerness and feminist radicalism of those films.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/tick-tock-lullabye.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama

Quick Look: Xiu Xiu, Healing Sex, Burlesque, Hooking Up, Palestine, Anarchy

Start here for a sneak peek then click through for more. Then tell us what YOU think in the 'comments' section of each review. Interaction is highly encouraged!

M - 3/3
Xiu Xiu – Women As Lovers

Ask an indie music fan what she or he thinks of Xiu Xiu, and you'll get an incredibly diverse range of answers, but all will lie on either the love them or hate them side. Singer Jamie Stewart's alternating yelps and whispers either alienate listeners or draw them into the band's extremely personal, lyrical world. Either way, a band that names their latest album after a work by feminist author Elfriede Jelinek is worth a listen.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/xiu-xiu-women-as-lovers.html

T - 3/4
Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma
By Staci Haines

I've wanted to read this book since it was first published in 1999 as The Survivor's Guide to Sex: How to Have an Empowered Sex Life After Child Sexual Abuse, so I was pleased to review this updated second edition. I had forgotten that the focus is on survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and the new subtitle obscures that detail. However, I think this book could be helpful for any woman recovering from any sexual abuse, no matter what her age when the assault happened. The healing offered in this guide is based on somatics, a "new paradigm" that views "the mind, body, and spirit as one integrated whole" or "one interconnected biological system" while treating "the body as an essential place of change, learning, and transformation." Somatic practices aim to help survivors learn "new ways to address their need for safety and connection" while supporting the mind/body in learning "new ways of being and acting."

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/healing-sex-mind-body-approach-to.html

W - 3/5
Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book
By Molly Crabapple & John Leavitt

I can't wait until it's a rainy day in Chicago - April showers, May flowers, ad nauseam - as opposed to this sleet alternating with marrow-shattering frigidity. Apparently Molly Crabapple turned to a life of 'artistic' modeling once her illustration career did not lead to the lush life as quickly as anticipated. Many in the creative fields can relate; it can be the way of ramen supplemented with sautéed zucchini and a fried egg. I did appreciate Jean Smith of Mecca Normal's lyric in which she complains of a three-hundred pound architect suggesting that she buy imported lingerie as she's sitting there inventorying her wardrobe, thrift store jeans and one dollar Value Village underpants - not to mention that she'll cross the street to a different produce stand if she can save a dime a pound on bananas.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/dr-sketchys-official-rainy-day.html

T - 3/6
Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus
By Kathleen A. Bogle

Hooking Up represents Kathleen Bogle's conclusions from a five-year study, during which she interviewed 51 students and 25 alumni from two large East Coast universities, which she calls "State University" and "Faith University." Bogle acknowledges in her introduction that this is a rather small sample from which to draw wider cultural conclusions. Still, she believes that her study could provide a jumping-off point for more specific studies of the "hookup culture." She acknowledges, too, that all of her subjects were white and from fairly wealthy backgrounds, which limits even further the wider application of her study. They are all fair and reasonable disclaimers, but Bogle seems to all but forget their existence when the body of the book begins.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/hooking-up-sex-dating-and-relationships.html

F - 3/7
Colors from Palestine 2008 Calendar
Resistance Art

The Colors from Palestine 2008 calendar is in black and white. This is simultaneously appropriate and ironic: any geopolitical situation is more metaphorically manifest in a spectrum of painfully rendered grays, but there is a growing global willingness to publicly question Zionism. One intimate reports a conversation with a member of Not In Our Name. She confessed her Palestinian sympathies to a 'Jewish friend,' and Shashonnah's response was: "Oh, Lynne. What makes you feel that way? The fact that one side has missiles, and the other, rocks?"

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/colors-from-palestine-2008-calendar.html

S - 3/8
When Species Meet
By Donna Haraway

Donna Haraway's latest book, When Species Meet, is a stunning meditation on the ordinary. Tying together questions of interspecies encounters and alternative practices of world building, Haraway explores how contemporary human beings interact with various critters to form meanings, experiences, and worlds. The text effortlessly slides between theory and autobiography; one of the driving connections in this regard is Ms. Cayenne Pepper, an Australian sheepdog whose "darter-tongue kisses" compel Haraway to look closely at what biologist Lynn Margulis calls "symbiogenesis," a process that explains how life forms continually intermingle, leading to ever more "intricate and multidirectional acts of association of and with other life forms." From lab animals to interspecies love to breeding purebreds, Haraway ensures that her readers will never look at human-animal encounters of any sort in the same way again.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/when-species-meet.html

S - 3/9
Granny Made Me an Anarchist
By Stuart Christie

'Twould be impossible not to love Stuart Christie's Granny Made Me An Anarchist, based on the title alone. The 400 pages that follow are just as loveable, and after this book, the words loveable and anarchist seem not the least bit in juxtaposition. Granny Made Me An Anarchist is the autobiography of Scottish anarchist and human rights activist Stuart Christie; it's not quite a memoir, rightfully filed under "autobiography/history." Christie is best known for his attempt to assassinate the fascist and murderous dictator of Spain, Francisco Franco — for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. If you want to know the incredibly ironic and exciting way he got out after three years, you'll have to read the book. But I'll tell you this: it includes celebrities and a note from his mum.

Full review at http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/granny-made-me-anarchist.html

To read more fabulous feminist reviews, or make comments on these, check out http://www.feministreview.org

Peace,
Ama