He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know [Paperback]

Jessica Valenti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

Double standards are nothing new. Women deal with them every day. Take the common truism that women who sleep around are sluts while men are studs. Why is it that men grow distinguished and sexily gray as they age while women just get saggy and haggard? Have you ever wondered how a young woman is supposed to both virginal and provocatively enticing at the same time? Isn’t it unfair that working moms are labeled “bad” for focusing on their careers while we shake our heads in disbelief when we hear about the occasional stay-at-home dad?

In He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know, Jessica Valenti, author of Full Frontal Feminism, calls out the double standards that affect every woman. Whether Jessica is pointing out the wage earning discrepancies between men and women or revealing all of the places that women still aren’t equal to their male counterparts—be it in the workplace, courtroom, bedroom, or home—she maintains her signature wittily sarcastic tone. With sass, humor, and in-your-face facts, this book informs and equips women with the tools they need to combat sexist comments, topple ridiculous stereotypes (girls aren’t good at math?), and end the

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580052452
• ISBN-13: 978-1580052450
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > Feminist Theory

More About the Author

Jessica Valenti - called the "poster girl for third-wave feminism" by Salon and one of the Top 100 Inspiring Women in the world by The Guardian - is the author of three books: Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters, He's a Stud, She's a Slut...and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know, and The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women which is being made into a documentary by the Media Education Foundation. She is the editor of the anthology Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape, which was named one of Publishers Weekly's Top 100 Books of 2009. Jessica is also the founder of Feministing.com, which Columbia Journalism Review calls "head and shoulders above almost any writing on women's issues in mainstream media."

Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Nation, The Guardian (UK), The American Prospect, Ms. magazine, Salon and Bitch magazine. She has won a Choice USA Generation award, was featured as one of ELLE magazine's "IntELLEgentsia", and was named one of the Left's Top 25 Journalists by The Daily Beast. She has appeared on The Colbert Report, Morning Joe and the Today show, among others, and was recently profiled in The New York Times Magazine under the headline "Fourth Wave Feminism."

Jessica is also a widely sought after speaker who gives dozens of speeches annually at universities and organizations in the U.S. and abroad. She received her Masters degree in Women's and Gender Studies from Rutgers University, where she is a part-time lecturer. Jessica lives in Sunnyside, Queens with her husband, daughter, and their very cute cat and dog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REALLY good stuff!, May 22, 2008

By 

WichacpiHoskila (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know (Paperback)

I'm not being sarcastic at all--I'm a male reader, and I found this book to be REALLY insightful stuff. I also found double-standard #51: that these are double standards that WOMEN should know. Shouldn't men know these too? I mean, I'm trying to raise my two sons with better insights than the blueprint for sexist privilege they are being handed to them every darned DAY, and I want them to see past it. So right there in the title--BAM!--another unintended double-standard. This stuff's just as integral for men to consider.

Jessica Valenti's writing style is snappy, fun to read, and yet very good at disturbing the reader with insights that are dead-on but easily overlooked in our culture. I've followed the feministing website (which Jessica Valenti contributes to) for some time now, and I am constantly fascinated by the sheer amount of research and information that they find. I'm also disheartened by how often her work is dismissed as "thought police" or "hysteria"--but then, that's exactly what she's getting at in this book: male privilege allows (us) men to mouth off on TV, talk radio, and pretty much every other form of media about OUR interests, but women who do the same are labeled "guy bashing" or worse, simply for acting like actually free people. Books like this one are powerful documentaries about that dynamic, which is taken for granted to the point that those who call it out are usually personally scolded for it. All the more reason why Valenti's contribution is integral.

Oh, this is really interesting, to Jessica personally: you know that part where you mentioned seeing your childhood tormentor, Eleena, talking about her own issues on TV? As amazing as this is, I know EXACTLY who you are talking about. I wonder, do you see her on-screen confessional as a sign of hope, or head-smacking "Jeez, how can she not even get this?"

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone who notices the "differences" between the sexes, April 30, 2008

By 

Alik (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know (Paperback)

He's a Stud, She's a Slut was worth the wait. I think Valenti did a much better job with this book than with Full Frontal Feminism and this new book is a lot more approachable for women and men of all ages. Valenti does cover a lot of the more obvious double standards but she also sheds some light on some more pervasive attacks against women and details how some thing which on the surface seemed more geared towards attacking men, also set some unattainable standards for women.

The only real problem I have with this book is the "So... What to do?" section at the end of every chapter basically boils down to "Stop _____. Seriously." I think Valenti could have put more practical solutions to these everyday problems or put in more resources that have some ideas for solutions.

Overall He's a Stud, She's a Slut is great take on sexism and I'll be passing it around to all my friends.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Just For Girls, August 9, 2008

By 

Toni R. Tatro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know (Paperback)

Despite what you may think, this book doesn't just focus on double standards where women get the short end of the stick. It also talks about the crap these double standards cause men. The only critism I can think of is that #46 "He's Childless, She's Selfish" had a title that was misleading. I thought it was going to talk about how childfree women are considered selfish because apparently having kids is the only way women can contribute to society, society doesn't think twice about childfree men. Instead it talked about how single mothers are "selfish." While I agree what she was talking about there, I thought the title was misleading and she should have touched on childfree women as well.