Customer Reviews

Girldrive: Criss-Crossing America, Redefining Feminism

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are those feminist books that are written for women who don't know much about feminism--that are meant to convert them and break it down in easy and relatable terms. Then there are the books about feminism for self-proclaimed feminists--books that build on basic ideas and speak to women who already identify as feminists.

This book is both.

That's really rare. Both feminists and non-feminists can learn and enjoy flipping through Girldrive. When I first picked it up, I thought it was just going to be a feminist primer, but it's much more than that. It reveals the changing and developing layers of modern feminism through the eyes of young women. It's great that you can just flip through it and start at any point (though I read it cover to cover). It's also one of the only attempts at diversity that actually seems to succeed. Even though it's written by two white girls, they do not privilege their own voices. Rather, they let women speak for themselves.

This is a powerful book which manages to travel across many fields at one time. While crossing the country, Bernstein and Willis/Aronowitz also travel back and forth through the history of feminism and into its present complex state. It is beautifully, tenderly, even poetically written and photographed. A fresh and accessible intro and update for the THINKING contemporary woman and man.

I was unsure what to expect when I started reading this book. I was skeptical about a "Feminist" book written by girls around my own age. There are so many misconceptions about what feminism is and what it represents. I hadn't considered myself a feminist before reading this book, but Nona and Emma made me realize the depth that encompasses the word and I realize now that I'm a feminist through and through. Many of the women interviewed didn't consider themselves feminists either and I related to a lot of what the interviewees had to say on the subject. No one (at least no one I know) wants to be thought of as a "Man Hating Uber-feminist" but this book showed me that feminism is more about strength and (for lack of better term) girl power. I was moved and inspired by the text and photographs that grace the pages of Girldrive. I laughed out loud and I shed several tears while I traveled the country with Nona and Emma. The personal experience and objectivity that the two women embrace throughout these pages made me want to jump in my own car with my best friend and travel all over the place interviewing women myself. I can't wait for a sequel!!! I think that every girl should read this book and pass along the knowledge within. I am buying this for every woman I know this Christmas. Seriously....BUY THIS BOOK!!!

Girldrive offers porthole flashes of young women's lives and perspectives from two talented, articulate, and perceptive reporters. It's a beautiful looking book. The writing succinctly draws you into the different worlds of the women they interviewed as they drove across the country. The mesmerising photography underscores and enhances the impact. I was especially impressed with the scope of this venture-the quest for the feminist pulse of young females throughout the United States. It required guts and steely endurance on the part of Ms. Willis-Aronowitz and Ms. Bernstein. The respect the authors felt for the girls of Girldrive is evident throughout the book. Ms. Bernstein's photography dazzles every page with it's haunting precision and rainbow clarity. Her death must have shaken the foundations of the quest. That Ms. Willis-Arnowitz had the strength to proceed--as tribute to her partner--as tribute to her mother-- imbues this journey with an even higher level of faith and endurance.

I proclaim to be a feminist, but what about other women my age? What about women from different ethnicities and walks of life? I have always asked myself these questions. Thus, I was very excited that a new book addressing these issues, as well as the state of feminism among young American women was in the market.

Girldrive is a pleasure to read. You feel as though you are accompanying Nona and Emma on their road trip, bearing witness to their adventures, meetings and interviews. I was greatly impacted by the deftness of the discourse. The writing is very beautiful, and layout and photographs truly bring this book to life!

This book makes a perfect gift for yourself, or for anyone interested in what young women are thinking, and feeling, these days. This is a must buy!

I appreciated that there wasn't any manipulation of our words and testaments, especially as I do not consider myself a feminist though many of my friends, their mothers, and even Nona consider me to be a feminist. I am very proud of Nona's accomplishment with this book and her accomplishments since, and feel honored to be immortalized in "Girldrive."

Pia Monique Murray

This book answers a question people interested in human rights issues have had over the past decade: what are young women's perception of themselves around the US? While Bust, Bitch, Feministing, Jezebel, Venus and other Third Wavers have partially answered that question, the authors of Girldrive take that dedication one step further by going into less popular places around the country, ones where many of the organizations and publications I mentioned don't often tread unless some kind of horrible legislation might get passed and an action is needed.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in young people's causes, especially the question of why or why not one might consider themselves a feminist. This book is tremendously helpful in understanding the ways in which we have both helped and let the current generation down, and why it's important to continue working for equality, tolerance and compassion.

I love the layout, love the whole idea and concept - well written! I will highly recommend it to anyone who holds an interest in women's rights and/or gender equality

This is an interesting book, valuable too, for recording the variety of experiences and thoughts among young women across the US. If anyone doubted this country is full of smart, interesting, and ambitious young women, this book should remove those doubts. As to the idea behind the book--what does feminism mean to young women, and do they consider themselves feminists--in general it seems that if young women have a positive definition of feminism, they connect to that, and if they have a negative definition, they don't. They appear to be largely defining themselves by their own goals, lives, and hopes rather than an ideology of some sort, which was one of feminism's most important goals--at least in my memory.

The photographs, primarily by Emma Bernstein, are also beautiful.

On the downside--I wish an editor had suggested a somewhat modified tone to the prologue by Nona Aranowitz. Emma died at 23--a heartbreaking loss of a beautiful and gifted young woman. To characterize this as a "thirst for passion" that led to "self-destruction and madness" does her, and the book, no service.