Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women [Paperback]

Susan Faludi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2006

Skillfully Probing the Attack on Women’s Rights

“Opting-out,” “security moms,” “desperate housewives,” “the new baby fever”—the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is back in a fifteenth anniversary edition, with a new preface by the author that brings backlash consciousness up to date.

When it was first published, Backlash made headlines for puncturing such favorite media myths as the “infertility epidemic” and the “man shortage,” myths that defied statistical realities. These willfully fictitious media campaigns added up to an antifeminist backlash. Whatever progress feminism has recently made, Faludi’s words today seem prophetic. The media still love stories about stay-at-home moms and the “dangers” of women’s career ambitions; the glass ceiling is still low; women are still punished for wanting to succeed; basic reproductive rights are still hanging by a thread. The backlash clearly exists.

With passion and precision, Faludi shows in her new preface how the creators of commercial culture distort feminist concepts to sell products while selling women downstream, how the feminist ethic of economic independence is twisted into the consumer ethic of buying power, and how the feminist quest for self-determination is warped into a self-centered quest for self-improvement. Backlash is a classic of feminism, an alarm bell for women of every generation, reminding us of the dangers that we still face.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Faludi lays out a two-fold thesis in this aggressive work: First, despite the opinions of pop-psychologists and the mainstream media, career-minded women are generally not husband-starved loners on the verge of nervous breakdowns. Secondly, such beliefs are nothing more than anti-feminist propaganda pumped out by conservative research organizations with clear-cut ulterior motives. This backlash against the women's movement, she writes, "stands the truth boldly on its head and proclaims that the very steps that have elevated women's positions have actually led to their downfall." Meticulously researched, Faludi's contribution to this tumultuous debate is monumental and it earned the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Far from being "liberated," American women in the 1980s were victims of a powerful backlash against the handful of small, hard-won victories the feminist movement had achieved, says Wall Street Journal reporter Faludi, who won a Pulitzer this year. Buttressing her argument with facts and statistics, she states that the alleged "man shortage" endangering women's chances of marrying (posited by a Harvard-Yale study) and the "infertility epidemic" said to strike professional women who postpone childbearing are largely media inventions. She finds evidence of antifeminist backlash in Hollywood movies, in TV's thirtysomething , in 1980s fashion ads featuring battered models and in the New Right's attack on women's rights. She directs withering commentary at Robert Bly's all-male workshops, Allan Bloom's "prolonged rant" against women and Betty Friedan and Germaine Greer's revisionism. This eloquent, brilliantly argued book should be read by everyone concerned about gender equality. First serial to Glamour and Mother Jones.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 15 Anv edition (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307345424
• ISBN-13: 978-0307345424
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars landmark feminist book, January 22, 2002

By 

Maria from London (London UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (Paperback)

I just received "Stiffed" (also by Susan Faludi) in the mail today, so before getting started on that, I thought I'd take a look at "Backlash" again, & remember how it had felt to read it.

It's been quite a few years since I first came to "Backlash", & back then, I remember that it had made a strong impression on me. It turns out that it was a lasting impression, since, reading parts of the book again now, I see that there are points that have stuck with me & formed parts of arguments I myself use sometimes in conversations! The book is not dated, in my opinion, even though it was written in the 80s. Also, the book may be specifically addressing US society, but the basic arguments apply to European countries, as well.

The basic premise of the book you probably know, so I'll just briefly say that it has to do with the backlash that has risen against feminism & its achievements. You could state it like this: Feminism takes 1 step forward & then gets forced to take 1 step back. After reading "Backlash" the first time around, I remember thinking how clear & logical (& true to my experience here in Greece) is Susan Faludi's argument. Lots of people (mostly men, but women too) are threatened by womens' advancements. So they chose the easy way out: they deride feminism, laugh at "lesbian / ugly / man-hating" etc etc feminists & fail to see that feminism is nothing more than the wish for equality between the sexes: not sameness. But equality.

Susan Faludi painstakingly finds evidence that supports her basic argument, & presents loads & loads of research & interviews to prove her point. There are 2 things that I found a little disappointing: one is the harshness of some of her characterizations: I understand what she's trying to do, she's trying to make some of the "backlash movers & shakers" come alive, with vivid writing & many examples. But sometimes her descriptions are purely cruel, & over the top. People are not one-dimensional as she sometimes shows them to be. Second thing I (kind of) didn't like was the extreme length of the book. It did get tiring at times, & did overdo some of the arguments by repeating & repeating them. But maybe her goal was achieved, since these basic arguments have stayed with me for so many years!!

All in all, a landmark book in women studies / feminism, & an interesting book even today, in 2002, quite a few years after its first appearance in bookstores.

40 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opened up my eyes, July 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (Paperback)

I am a male reader who, prior to having read this book, believed that gender was one front on which a great deal of social progress had been made. Reading Faludi's book made me realize how wrong I was. I was amazed at how often I found myself thinking to myself, "Wow, I had never thought of that. That makes sense." I would recommend this book to anyone as a primer of the state of gender equality (or inequality)in America.

64 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent piece of work, July 15, 2002

By 

"lotusgirl" (South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (Paperback)

I picked up this book mainly because I hadn't lived through the 80s and wondered what liberal groups were talking about when they referred to the regressions of women's rights during that period. Backlash deals with the thoughts and trends in the 80s and the effect they had on women.

Many people here (who may or may not have actually read this book) say that Faludi's book is full of man-bashing diatribe. Actually, though, Faludi focuses more on the relationship between men and women in society, and the main problem with men in general she has is the idea of masculinity which requires domination and superiority in the workplace and home to feel secure. No one should feel that their gender identity is being taken away from them just because the other gender wants to participate in the same activites.

Another good point she makes is the double-standard of views on marraige, children, and careers. While women are told that they must get married and have children or else they are a "failure," and once these children are born they must sacrifice their careers and independence, it is viewed as desirable for men to be away from their children all day, and men's time unmarried and childless is "the good life."

Whether you are sympathetic to feminism or think it's dangerous, you should read this era-defining book.