Customer Reviews

Boundaries of Her Body: A Troubling History of Women's Rights in America

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
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A remarkably well researched book. Women's Rights can now be studied chronologically, as separate issues within the text and anecdotal studies illuminating both issues and the general concept of women's rights. I found particularly startling the section describing the victimization of(very)young females in an international, commercial sex trade. The chapter endnotes, while initially appearing quite daunting, do a good job of providing references for further study of the many concepts, facts and history that receive(understandably)truncated treatment in a chapter.

I picked up Rowland's new book because of it's topic on the history of women's rights, but I bought the book for it's extensive footnotes and excellent documentation. As many other readers have noted, Rowland writes in a language we all can understand and with such enthuasiasm that we all can share for the topic. What few writers talk about is that women's history is NOT and should NOT BE studied as a line of progress until we are all "liberated" by the 21st century. There's still a long way to go and the history of any demographical group has NEVER been more complex than that of women in global cultures. What Rowland writes in this book is not a cozy bed time read, but an empowering, disturbing, amazing, narrative of the twists and turns of the legal battles that have created the status of women in America as we know it today.
What bothers me is that readers have dismissed Rowland's book simply because she is pro choice and does not write with a bias against abortion or contraception. It's silly to turn down such an important book as Rowland simply on politics, but unfortunately many people expect that history isn't accurate without it. If you want to read something white washed, conservative, elitist, and politically biased, read "American Heroines" by Senator Kay Balley Hutchinson. If you want to read something that's intellectally challenging, accurate, and well writen read Rowland.

I ordered this book when the history book I'd been using for my Intro to Women's Studies class went out of print. I'm not ABSOLUTELY sold on the book myself (the information is great, copious, solid, but some of the syntax can make me cringe), but my students loved it. LOVED it. It's a huge book and I thought the sheer bulk of it would overwhelm them, but that's not what happened. They read it, they found it enjoyable to read, ... I didn't assign the whole book, and many of them read the whole thing anyway. It was an unmitigated success as a textbook ... In fact, several of my students noted on their course evaluations that this was one book they'd be keeping at the end of the semester.

This is an amazing and comprehensive book that describes the evolution and current status of women's legal rights in the U.S. It is a legal history, describing the major legal decisions that have generated and defined women's rights. The book describes these legal decisions in easy to understand language that does not oversimplify or condescend to the reader. It also puts these decisions in a social context, by discussing many of the societal events in which these legal decisions were made.

Another reviewer complained about the use of statistics in this book, but I found no such problems. There are many statistics in the book and I generally found them to be illuminating.

Overall, this is an important book that is worth the time of anybody who cares about what rights American women have and how they got them.

The Boundaries of Her Body

This is a history of woman's rights in America. The scope of this book - and it is a huge and heavy book - is wide and due to the subject matter highly interesting. We should always be concerned with what is slightly more than one half of the population. We should also be concerned that women continue, but to a lesser extent then 60 years ago, to be treated as second class citizens. Yes - second class - why for instance are there so few female politicians and business leaders? Why are woman's roles in religion minimal - particularly in the Catholic Church and Islam?

The author explores the woman's rights movement mostly from a legal perspective and for the most part in the U.S. There are times when the book does bog down in legal terms and there are a tremendous amount of footnotes. But overall there are many rewards.

The author highlights that many rights for women were established during the 1960's - equal employment opportunities, equal rights and of course the legalization of abortion (Roe vs. Wade). I do feel, and the author mentions it - that the employment and educational opportunities offered to women during World War II, and the Roosevelt era in general, was beneficial for the advancement of women. There were many positive female role models during the Roosevelt period (Eleanor, Frances Perkins was Labour minister, Amelia Earhart, Margaret Bourke-White...)

Of course after the war there were many advances in birth control with women beginning to take reproductive control of their bodies. Sexuality became more and more removed from pregnancy. The openness in sexuality that evolved from 1950 onwards is hardly mentioned. Terms that are in common use today were taboo in 1950. Kinsey, Master and Johnson are hardly noted in this book. The focus is on legal rights.

Abortion is examined in great detail and ever since its' `legalization' there has been an ever increasing crusade (deliberate word) by anti-abortionists to diminish abortion rights. It should also be pointed out that there are many women involved in this anti-abortion crusade. They have whittled away - legally asking for 24 hour wait period for the abortion to proceed, abortion is not available under Medicaid, abortion for minors requires parental consent in some states. There are also (rabid) anti-abortion demonstrations in front of abortion clinics. Doctors and workers in abortion clinics can face daily harassment and some have been murdered. So even though abortion is legal - in many states women (and younger women especially) face a continuing onslaught of bureaucratic red tape and physical and psychological harassment.

The anti-abortion crusaders have upped the anti and become increasingly sophisticated in using science. They do not refer to the `fetus' but to an `unborn child'.

Abortion and a woman's right to control her body suffered even more under the conservative Bush administration of 2000-08. Various forms of contraceptive pills were vetoed.

Pregnancy laws are also examined. Pregnancy leave in the U.S. seems to be far less regulated than in other developed countries. Sexual harassment also lags behind. In Canada, where I live, our company passed strict sexual harassment guidelines in the early 1990's. Harassment exists from the person receiving the harassment. In other words, if the victim perceives it as harassment, then it is such. The onus is placed on management to end it (not that it happens in all cases).

What is most frightening is rape. The statistics are only one aspect of this serious problem - think of the damage done to a woman and all her future relationships. Not all rapes are reported, which can only add to these horrendous figures.

During the Bush administration (once again) national legislation of `Violence Against Women' was not passed. The Supreme Court could be regressing and putting `state's rights' above the national agenda.

Perhaps Europe has now surpassed the U.S. in the rights of women. This is an issue which was not examined in the book. For sure, women in Europe (and Canada for that matter) have far greater access to abortion and contraception than in many U.S. states. Liberalization and woman's rights generally go hand-in-hand. Since the Reagan era there has been an increasingly anti-liberal agenda in the U.S.

This book has a broad spectrum of issues - such as adolescence and the conflicts this creates in young girl-woman. The wide and ever-increasing range of fertility prospects is also explored (it also prompted me to re-read Aldous Huxley's `Brave New World').

I decided to read Boundaries of Her Own Body because as a woman of the twenty-first century I felt like it was my obligation to know the history of my own sex. Womens rights are sometimes completely ignored by society and by the world. Reading about my gender and how we liberated from nothing is nothing but remarkable.
The author, Debran demonstates remarkable and thought provoking issues such as women and the constitution and women's rights after the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. I was very intrigued by the topic of the of women's history since I viewed the liberal movie Iron Jawwed Angels. I was excited to read Boundaries of Her Own Body because of the numerous topics and how diverse the topics were. They were not all about a certain race, there were topics that impacted Cauasians, blacks and every race in-between.
My favorite topic was chapter five which was titled "The Birth Control Debates Begins". I foiund this to be the most interesting because in politics and in our society,women's rights to choose are always under fire from politicans and by the media. I think the most interesting subchapter was "How 'Choice' Became Law: 'Jane Roe' Takes on Texas". In this subchapter, it has remarkable and in-depth information about the landmark case in 1973.
Also, another interesting topic that the book goes into depth about is the constitutional law cases such as Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton, just to name a few. So if you are into law or anything that changed society into the way we know it today, these chapters and book are benifical to you. As a high school student,I review some chapters still to get some backing on my political papers that I have to write for my classes so it can help you tremendously for your papers and your intelligence.
I would highly recommend this book to a person who wants to know an indepth look in womens history. The fight that women have made to the point where we are now is remarkable. Since I have read this book I take a new appreciation about who I am as a woman. The battle for women's rights is an emotional roller coaster and this book is sure to bring you on the ups and downs of womens history.

The single best authority from which to begin or continue the study of women's rights is The Boundaries of Her Body. Ms. Rowland fills each page with rich history, thought-provoking analogies, and the most original points of view ever printed in any women's studies work. There are more than one's share of end-note referencing, which eliminates the frustration of not knowing where a piece of information comes from. This masterpiece is both the beginning from which one can continue learning about the developments(or lack thereof) in women's rights in America, and the culmination of so many well-articulated works and facts tied together in a way not seen until now. You will be brought through the journey that women have made since coming to America, and you will be forced to ponder why even the latest developments in the law work against the burgeoning woman. Be prepared to grapple with the contradictions that adolescent females must face in an already confusing time in their life and the violence from which few women are protected in the name of the law. The theme, in the words of the author, is "A debate over what a woman is, what a woman ought to be, and what a woman should, therefore be allowed to do." Get absorbed in this debate as Ms. Rowland so passionately does.

This book is truly fabulous! Enjoyable reading from start to finish. It is amazing to think of the amount of research that went into putting together such a magnificent piece of work. Highly Recommended to all!

This is the best book on women's rights I've ever read. It's very informative and helps me a lot. I learned so much that I didn't know before! Fantastic book!

I decided to read Boundaries of Her Own Body because as a woman of the twenty-first century I felt like it was my obligation to know the history of my own sex. Womens rights are sometimes completely ignored by society and by the world. Reading about my gender and how we liberated from nothing is nothing but remarkable.
The author, Debran demonstates remarkable and thought provoking issues such as women and the constitution and women's rights after the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. I was very intrigued by the topic of the of women's history since I viewed the liberal movie Iron Jawwed Angels. I was excited to read Boundaries of Her Own Body because of the numerous topics and how diverse the topics were. They were not all about a certain race, there were topics that impacted Cauasians, blacks and every race in-between.
My favorite topic was chapter five which was titled "The Birth Control Debates Begins". I found this to be the most interesting because in politics and in our society,women's rights to choose are always under fire from politicans and by the media. I think the most interesting subchapter was "How 'Choice' Became Law: 'Jane Roe' Takes on Texas". In this subchapter, it has remarkable and in-depth information about the landmark case in 1973.
Also, another interesting topic that the book goes into depth about is the constitutional law cases such as Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton, just to name a few. So if you are into law or anything that changed society into the way we know it today, these chapters and book are benifical to you. As a high school student,I review some chapters still to get some backing on my political papers that I have to write for my classes so it can help you tremendously for your papers and your intelligence.
I would highly recommend this book to a person who wants to know an indepth look in womens history. The fight that women have made to the point where we are now is remarkable. Since I have read this book I take a new appreciation about who I am as a woman. The battle for women's rights is an emotional roller coaster and this book is sure to bring you on the ups and downs of womens history.