Philosophy professor Christina Sommers has exposed a disturbing development: how a group of zealots, claiming to speak for all women, are promoting a dangerous new agenda that threatens our most cherished ideals and sets women against men in all spheres of life. In case after case, Sommers shows how these extremists have propped up their arguments with highly questionable but well-funded research, presenting inflammatory and often inaccurate information and stifling any semblance of free and open scrutiny. Trumpeted as orthodoxy, the resulting "findings" on everything from rape to domestic abuse to economic bias to the supposed crisis in girls' self-esteem perpetuate a view of women as victims of the "patriarchy". Moreover, these arguments and the supposed facts on which they are based have had enormous influence beyond the academy, where they have shaken the foundations of our educational, scientific, and legal institutions and have fostered resentment and alienation in our private lives. Despite its current dominance, Sommers maintains, such a breed of feminism is at odds with the real aspirations and values of most American women and undermines the cause of true equality. Who Stole Feminism? is a call to arms that will enrage or inspire, but cannot be ignored.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Sommers presents a controversial viewpoint, accusing feminists of using unsubstantiated information in portraying women as victims.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In this jeremiad, Sommers (philosophy, Clark Univ.) takes out after antimale "gender feminists" who willfully, she contends, distort information on women's status to keep their lock on government and foundation money. Their dark agenda includes silencing sensible "equity feminists," who celebrate women's achievements and who seek, in partnership with men, to make the few minor adjustments needed for perfect equity. Her chief disagreement with "gender feminists" concerns their belief that gender bias is so ingrained that we are frequently unaware of its influence. Unfortunately, Sommers's scornful tone makes her reporting suspect; she mocks the arguments she opposes rather than engaging and refuting them. She is strongest when she criticizes the methodology of some well-known feminist research, but she undermines her credibility when she fails to apply her own standards to studies that suit her position. This book will have as an audience readers who share her politics. [BOMC alternate.]-Cynthia Harrison, Federal Judicial Ctr., Washington, D.C.
--Cynthia Harrison, Federal Judicial Ctr., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--Cynthia Harrison, Federal Judicial Ctr., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
178 of 201 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A well written and researched book. The author identifies two basic types of feminists: equity and gender. She seems to believe that the great majority of historical feminist figures prior to the 1960's based their arguments upon equality of economic opportunity, full political liberty, fair and equal treatment under the law, etc. It's difficult for most reasonable people to not support such admirable goals.
However, she sees gender feminists as being of a more radical variety that seem to equate maleness with innate evil. She is very effective at pointing out outright lies, misrepresentations, and simply incredibly sloppy research on the part of some gender feminist writers. She additionally argues that any school of thought based upon demonizing an entire group of people because of a certain physical characteristic must be held to be highly suspect. The holders of these views too often find themselves in close company with racists, xenophobes, etc. Understandably, true believers of this sort do not enjoy their errors pointed out to them--witness the malicious ad hominen attacks of some of the prior reviewers.
Ms. Sommers wrote a very good, thoughtful book. I think society needs feminism, but not of an insanely ideological sexist kind.
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
By Michael
Format:Paperback
For proof of Mrs Hoff-Sommers assertions in this informative and very readable book one need look no further than the authors of all the previous 1 star reviews. They are the perfect reason why we ought to listen closely to people like Mrs Hoff-Sommers, if only in the hope of saving future generations from being similarly affected. It is clear that few of them have turned a page of this book. True, Equity Feminism is an oxymoron in the class of Marxist Capitalism. But her demonstration that its aims were noble, and vastly different from later Gender Feminism are convincing, as are her reasons why a once noble but long since misguided movement has resulted in our society producing the kind of people it is. Buy and read this interesting book, and don't be put off by the so-called reviewers below who condemn without reading.
72 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Besides using facts, and debunking the high status of gender feminists like Faludi, Mackinnon, and Wolf with their own words, Sommers shows us how the lies used to disseminate their brand of feminism hurts our society. How can a problem be sufficiently answered if gender feminists, or any group for that matter, muddles the truth with exaggerations. The March of Dimes study that falsely attributes the majority of birth defects to battery is symbolic of the problem. The true problem is that not enough pregnant women are screened for battery. Like Sommers said, the false but sensational claim that battery is the number one cause of birth defects works great for gender feminists. But the true problem--that not enough women are screened for defects--will be unanswered because the truth often does not make headlines. In the few but vicious poor reviews of this book, I have yet to see one that found any errors that undercut Sommers' larger argument--that gender feminists are liars, and use the stigma of the label of "anti-feminist" for political gain and ultimately hurt a mainstream feminism that "never recognized their leadership" Instead of saying that Sommers' book is poor, I would like to have one person show that it is so, rather than just making the assertion. Until then, this reader will continue to regard Sommers as the genius she appears to be.
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read Ms. Hoff-Sommers book with some skepticism, after all I had never met the kinds of feminists she was accusing of hijacking feminism. But my opinion of the book changed when I went to Duke University and took a class on Feminism and Ecology and was attacked by the instructors because I am apparently a sell-out to patriarchy, simply because I happened to marry someone who works for an organization they were against.This is the play-book for gender difference feminists.
Ms. Hoff-Sommers points out in her book that gender difference feminists claim their "special natures," a reflection back to 19th century ideals of womanhood, as a reason for their determiniation to set up an us v. men world.
But the truth of the matter is that all people must learn to live cooperatively and equally in order to move toward a society where men and women can fully appreciate their differences, similarities and their collective strengths. Ultimately, equality does not mean everyone feels exactly the same on every issue, as gender difference feminists try to enforce. Rather, feminism is about educating women, allowing them to make their own decisions, even when we don't always agree with them. No one wins in an us v. them game, and that is what this book tries to point out.
You will have to deal with someangry rants in this book, but they are the passionate frustration of a woman trying desperately to remind women that our strength comes through unity, not through selling out groups of people who don't agree with everything we have to say.
Ms. Hoff-Sommers points out in her book that gender difference feminists claim their "special natures," a reflection back to 19th century ideals of womanhood, as a reason for their determiniation to set up an us v. men world.
But the truth of the matter is that all people must learn to live cooperatively and equally in order to move toward a society where men and women can fully appreciate their differences, similarities and their collective strengths. Ultimately, equality does not mean everyone feels exactly the same on every issue, as gender difference feminists try to enforce. Rather, feminism is about educating women, allowing them to make their own decisions, even when we don't always agree with them. No one wins in an us v. them game, and that is what this book tries to point out.
You will have to deal with someangry rants in this book, but they are the passionate frustration of a woman trying desperately to remind women that our strength comes through unity, not through selling out groups of people who don't agree with everything we have to say.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By Dean Esmay
Format:Paperback
Feminism is a word that means different things to different people, which is why some people support equal rights for women but criticize feminism, but why on the other hand some feminists take criticisms of feminism as attacks on women.
Sommers tries to give us new terms. On the one hand, there are "gender" feminists who fabricate data, blame men for almost every ill, and have an uncanny ability to interpret almost anything as oppression of women. She differentiates them from "equity" feminism, a feminism that respects and likes men, deplores portrayals of women as helpless victims of patriarchy, and seeks sane equity between the sexes, recognizing that there are issues on all sides of questions involving gender.
In lucid, carefully researched and documented prose, Sommers als lays out how the former group of extremists have damaged the cause of gender equity, created a wholly unnecessary war against the sexes, and often debased academic standards and made for some genuinely terrible laws.
The worst part about criticism of Sommers is claims that she's a "right winger" (she isn't), that she trashes the idea of equality for women (she doesn't), or that she's polemical and mean(she isn't). What she is is a fair-minded and thorough researcher who tells the truth and documents her research in ways that can be verified. And in doing so demonstrates just how logical, competent, and capable women can be.
This is a must-read for anyone who cares about sexual politics, or just the relationships between men and women.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
20 Years On And Still Valid
I was introduced to this book through academic research. Prof Sommers needs to be congratulated that here work has stood both the tests of time and scrutiny by those who would tear... Read more
Published 10 days ago by yummy27
4.0 out of 5 stars
READ IT AND FIND OUT, OR: HOW VIEWS BECOME TWISTED, SISTERS.
I am still recovering from the writings of philosophy Professor Christina Hoff-Sommers. Published in 1994, the author states in her preface that while she does indeed consider... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Salomé Agent 17
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ridiculous crap and nonlogical reasoning.
I would use no stars--or better yet, minus stars-- but amazon's system doesn't allow it. This woman appears to be the classic type who identifies through men's approval, so she has... Read more
Published 5 months ago by SubBear
1.0 out of 5 stars
A +1 to the Y Chromosome!
I'll admit, I didn't read through the entire book, because the first few pages were absolutely abhorrent and full of misinformation. But because Ms. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Chelsea
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's nice to hear from the other side.
Sommers walks through how to understand survey and poll statistics and how they can be skewed in favor of the desired result. The references are excellent. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lady VonKountzavitch
5.0 out of 5 stars
a warning to men and women of good will and good faith
The book makes a reasonable case for male-female coexistence without antagonistic distrust and resentments constantly striving to break out to the surface. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Richard Nash Creel
5.0 out of 5 stars
21st century Feminist = Disobedient First Eve
I searched for this book after hearing Jane Brennan's story "Feminism Misunderstood: One Woman's Journey to Peace" (on audio CD). People really need to hear her and read this book. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sexy Bachelor
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling yet incomplete critique of feminist nonsense
Who Stole Feminism? is an amusing and vigorously written critique of the nonsense and propaganda promulgated by radical feminists. Read more
Published 16 months ago by David Walters
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only you can free yourself , Neo....
Excellent! Author gives a good, honest look at the great farce that is modern Feminism.
Having spent most of my formative years in a Femino-propagandized town, I can only... Read more
Having spent most of my formative years in a Femino-propagandized town, I can only... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Zigfried
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feminists love Misandry and false statistics as this book proves
Want to know why feminism shouldn't have any say in gender issues in the US? You could read some of the comments coming from the feminists on book reviews like this and others OR... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Matt Clark
Citations (learn more)
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112
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- How Schools Shortchange Girls by Aauw Report on 5 pages
- Final report on page 164, page 166, and Back Matter
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- Our Looks/Our Lives: Sex, Beauty, Power, and the Need to Be Seen by Nancy Friday on 4 pages
- When Women Ask the Questions: Creating Women's Studies in America by Marilyn Jacoby Boxer on 4 pages
- Vamps & Tramps: New Essays by Camille Paglia in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Feminist Amnesia: The Wake of Women's Liberation by Jean Curthoys in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Recovering Women: Feminisms And The Representation Of Addiction (Polemics Series) by Melissa Friedling on page 57, page 80, and Back Matter
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