Customer Reviews

Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation, New Expanded Edition

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There couldn't be a better title for this book. Each essay begs you to "listen up" and listen good. The women in this book focus on all areas of feminism, and their feminist experiences at different times in their lives. Some are about trying to reconcile their circumstances with their feminist ideals, such as the feminist aerobics instructor, or the feminist who nearly had to become a go-go dancer just to pay the rent. My favorite essays were the ones that focused, at least in part, on what it's like to be growing up now, in a time where all too many people think that feminism is dead and/or dying. I have too many favorites to begin listing them here, but I definitely recommend this book to any one who is a feminist (no matter your age); think you might be a feminist, but don't want "that label"; or if you adamantly aren't a feminist, but you know one. I don't think any one will regret buying it.

Profound, eloquent articulate, wrenching. After the first reading, nearly every page has markings, passages I relate to, echoes of my life or thoughts, or points I find myself surprised or ashamed to have missed, overlooked or ignored. There are notes in the margins of every essay, authors or other figures I don't want to forget, awakenings that came at the end of a paragraph sentence, or even mid-sentence.

In the essay by Curtis Sittenfeld, titled "Your Life as a Girl," I saw myself in literally every paragraph, from the early triumph of running the timed mile and beating not only all the other girls, but all but one or two of the boys, to the first time I gave up trying (be it a math problem or the precise spin of a football throw), admitting myself the weaker, slower or less intelligent. The year I spent perpetually chilled, wearing clinging fabrics to show the body I'd "worked" so hard for, while at home I piled on the layers and spent hours in front of the space heater, and nights dreaming of lavish meals I would never eat. The year upon year upon year spent camouflaging the giddy pleasure at being deemed worthy of brief attention by the object of my (temporarily) undying affection, followed inevitably by the crushing voice that convinced me that my poochy belly was the reason for my unrequited devotion. Most nights are now spent dreaming not of romance (at least not the kind they build novels around) or wealth, but of crossing that finish line to sit with the boys and gloat, watching all the rest straggle in after me.

To wit, an essential read for any woman searching for a voice she relates to, but always coming up short of that perfectly articulated match. These are voices you can trust to speak clearly, loudly, angrily, humorously and with integrity and honesty about the challenges we still face.

Not sure how to rate this, as all the old essays are here and just as good as I remember them. However, I felt, for the most part, that the quality of the new pieces did not measure up to the old. It wasn't necessarily the abundance of four-letter words, but what it was (or wasn't) exactly, I couldn't quite put my finger on. I suppose you could say they felt more tossed off. If it's true, as a reviewer said, that the new authors are angrier, that's intriguing. Has nothing been accomplished in a decade, or are women just less shy about demanding change? I wish I knew.

I did like the new essay from the woman who attended Smith as a Francis Perkins Scholar (I also went to school in that area) and was forced to also jump through the demeaning hoops of the state welfare system. Also interesting was "Class Feminist" - I'm not too (sadly) surprised that a teen would be ostracized for assuming that label, but that a teacher would by her colleagues....

And I didn't think there was that much male bashing - but then, I am female.

This book provides a very broad view of the struggles women face in every aspect of life. A new perspective is gained when reading the first hand experiences of those who have really struggled, as a result of merely being themselves. This book provides a lot of insight and is a must read for anyone who sympathizes with feminist struggles, or who just cannot yet grasp why there is a need for feminism.

This book was required reading in a Women's Studies class last semester. Though many of the stories were tough to relate to, they were well written. The vast majority of them were very compelling personal stories. I would recommend it to any prof looking to broaden the understanding of women's issues.

This is a required text book for a class I'm taking. I've found that it's easy to read and well written. This feels more like a book I would read for enjoyment than a "required" reading. I enjoy getting different perspectives on things, and this book has multiple authors.

Listen Up is almost two books, as the writing in the first half is so good that it's almost electric. The second half often gets a little tedious. (Note: I read the 1995 ed.) Most of the writers are women coming into feminism in college, and they find that it's almost life-saving. They blossom and grow, as it's exactly what they needed to hear in order to counteract all the negative messages that oppressed them as they were growing up.

A common example is a woman who is taught, as many women are, to think only of others, and never to think of her own needs. As a result of this training, she loses her very identity and doesn't even know who she is. She takes a class in women's studies, or hangs out at the women's center, and she is reborn. Her mentors teach her that it is not only healthy to think of her own needs, but it's even essential, if she's to establish her own identity.

The writers have such different stories, because there's no single type of oppression that occurs when growing up. For example, others might be subjected to horrible abuse, and in college they can find help. They are lovingly mentored, and taught what it means to be a grown up woman. Young men often find high school just as oppressive, but the only place where they are taught what it means to be a man is in military basic training, which is as likely to be damaging as beneficial.

Primitive tribes almost always do one thing very well: initiate their young fully into being adults. So thank you for showing me that at least some of our adolescents are given exactly what they need at the time.

Now in an expanded second edition, Listen Up: Voices From The Next Feminist Generation showcases an outstanding series of essays by leading "third-wave" feminists on an impressive range of topics such as blending careers with feminists politics; the inability of a singular feminism to speak for all women, the intersection of traditional culture and third-wave sensibilities; feminist activism; sexuality; identity, gender formation, and more. Ably edited by feminist and women's issues expert Barbara Bindlen (Managing Editor, Family Fun magazine), Listen Up is a core addition to any academic and community library Women's Studies collection, and very strongly recommended reading for women seeking to learn contemporary feminist perspectives on important and principle women's issues of the day.

The book was in good shape and it was shiped very quikly. i enjoy it.
thanks for a good seller.