Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters (Paperback)

by Jessica Valenti (Author) "What's the worst possible thing you can call a woman? Don't hold back, now..." (more)
Key Phrases: repro rights, frontal feminists, New York, United States, Girls Gone Wild (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Many people need a morning 'fix.' For some, it's coffee, For others, it's SportsCenter. For me, it's Feministing.com." -- Katie Stone

Product Description

Feminism isn't dead. It just isn't very cool anymore. Enter Full Frontal Feminism, a book that embodies the forward-looking messages that author Jessica Valenti propagates on her popular website, Feministing.com.

Covering a range of topics, including pop culture, health, reproductive rights, violence, education, relationships, and more, Valenti provides young women a primer on why feminism matters.

Valenti knows better than anyone that young women need a smart-ass book that deals with real-life issues in a style they can relate to. No rehashing the same old issues. No belaboring where today's young women have gone wrong. Feminism should be something young women feel comfortable with, something they can own. Full Frontal Feminism is sending out the message to readers — yeah, you're feminists, and that's actually pretty frigging cool.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580052010
• ISBN-13: 978-1580052016
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Primer, September 28, 2007

By	J. Aragon "Feminist Educator" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is one of many new books on the market that offer a primer on feminisms. I found this book just as interesting as Megan Seely's book.

Valenti offers a strong foray into a preliminary history of feminisms in the US. Her writing is clean and at times sarcastic, which I enjoyed for the most part. There are certain sections where I felt she needed to expand on some points to give a clearer view of the issue.

The audience for this book is a lay audience or university audience new to feminism or women's studies.

I found that the list of sources at the end of the book to be the most useful. However, I do think that Seely's information at the end of each chapter was more helpful for someone new to feminisms.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff., November 14, 2007

By	M. Perez "M. Perez" (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a fan of Valenti's blog and was turned on to her book via her site. As a senior women's studies major I found that the book was a great introduction to feminism. I wouldn't recommend it to older, well seasoned feminists but its a great intro to feminism/women's studies. It covers a wide range of issues and I found it useful as a reference for some of my assignments.

73 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for emerging feminists, May 8, 2007

By	Amanda Marcotte "amanda panda" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Casually written book that does a great job of reaching out to young women who may not think of themselves as feminists. The casual tone can be a tad deceptive, because the book is absolutely stuffed full of information about the current state of feminism, the current state of sexism, and why feminism is still relevant and why any young woman with a reasonable amount of self-respect should embrace it. Jessica makes the case for being a feminist not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's personally important, and she draws on a number of personal anecdotes to show how often a little feminist theory can help you navigate many a personal situation where you might otherwise find yourself making decisions you won't like. The book drives home how feminism isn't some airy academic pursuit, but a social justice movement that goes right to the root of things in your daily life.

I see the book getting slipped into a lot of high school graduation gift baskets, since it's perfect for that. With all the anxiety about young women and early independence in college ramping up--especially the fear of the dangers of sexual experimentation and the feminist fears that the pressure to live for boys will overwhelm girls' internal need to live for themselves--this book really comes at a good time. Jessica addresses these issue for what they are, and doesn't engage in moralistic finger-wagging, far from it. She gives good, self-affirming advice to young women about the importance of feminism to help stiffen your backbone to face the onslaught of pressure on you to live a self-denying existence.