Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future

• Publisher:   Lawrence Hill Books
• Number Of Pages:   384
• Publication Date:   2009-09-01
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   1556527764
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9781556527760

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, September 9, 2009
By Deborah Blumenthal (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
If you've sat back complacently thinking that women in America have pretty much broken through most sexist barriers by now, Barbara Berg's Sexism in America Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future, will open your eyes to how the right-wing, phallic politics of both Presidents Regan and Bush have stealthily worked to erode the hard fought gains for women on every front giving rise to a resurgence of sexism in this country. This lively, very readable, fast-paced overview of feminist history is laced with the often shocking confessions of women across the country who responded to hundreds of interviews by Berg, telling their punch-in-the gut stories of abuse. They range from a soldier in Iraq who was knocked unconscious, brutally raped, given no trauma counseling and then asked to take a polygraph exam and get back to work, to a panicked woman who became pregnant from an abusive boyfriend who sought help at a pregnancy crisis center only to find that instead of help getting an abortion, what they offered was the picture of an aborted fetus and the advice to "put her faith in God." The crisis center, it turned out, was a Christian antiabortion facility, the type of place being funded now by the government in many states. There are so many more stories like these and rich detail about how women's rights are being trampled in every area. The book will make you angry. It will also make you want to cry.

This is a book I might not have picked up on my own, but my wife bought a copy Saturday night and she kept reading me passages from it. Finally I decided to read it myself and I have to admit I was blown away. I thought: great, another angry rant, but Sexism in America is compassionate and empathetic and a very good read. Berg tells the story of the Second Wave Women's Movement (something I didn't really know much about although I lived through it) with wonderful anecdotes, compelling stories, passion and even humor. Once establishing the rights women achieved, she shows how their progress has been thwarted and, in some cases, halted under different administrations. She draws on sociology, psychology, and history and a remarkable number of interviews to make her case. This isn't about Berg's experiences, but about the lives of women, many from vastly different backgrounds, who opened their hearts to her. This is a highly intelligent, thoughtful study with a novel explanation about how and why women have been losing ground. As a fiftysomething male who's run his own company for many many years, I was in for quite an awakening about the many practices, comments and lapses that I as well as many of my colleagues engage in that are detrimental to women. And I have two daughters whom I adore and have always prided myself on being pro-women! This book was definitely a wake-up call for me. It's no longer going to be enough to say, "Yeah, I know women are discriminated against." The important thing is understanding the depth, prevalence of it. (I didn't for example know that women are dying at younger ages than men or about the very successful campaign on the right to grant fetuses personhood which would eliminate choice without a Supreme Court decision.) But once we know what is happening and why, then, we can begin as Berg says, "To make a society that will enhance all of our lives." Everyone should read this book.

The big news of 2009 was that women had made great strides and that we were a post feminist society. But nothing could be further from the truth as historian, author and activist, Barbara J. Berg makes clear in her thorough and eye-opening new book Sexism in America: Alive, Well and Ruining Our Future. The book traces women's position in this country and the assault on their rights starting in the 1950s through the second wave women's movement of the 1970s (a wonderful reminder of what was accomplished) to the horrific rollback of rights starting under President Reagan and continuing through the administration of George W. Bush. Every important recent national event - from the terror attacks of 9/11, the war in Iraq, the current economic crisis, to the healthcare debate are examined by Berg with a keen eye towards their impact on women and the results are startling. As she writes, "The inheritance of the women's movement is being short-circuited in every aspect of our lives." Of particular interest is Berg's analysis of popular culture and its impact on girls, young women, boys and young men. Drawing on the stories of hundreds of women, this book should be mandatory reading for everyone who cares about justice and equality. Berg tells us what went wrong and why and how to get back to a more equitable society.

Sexism in America is an excellent and very compelling book. Even if you already know that there's prejudice against women in America, this book with shock you with the depth, insidiousness and pervasiveness of the discrimination. For example: women are dying at younger ages for the first time since the 1920s; our country is only 31st in the world in gender equality; a female is assaulted every few minutes; women pay more for their health insurance than men and were the main victims of the subprime mortgage debacle: women are being fired when they become pregnant in stark violation of the law. And on it goes.
Berg begins with a short history of the women's movement in America then shows how and why the gains made have been slowly, but surely eroded in every aspect of our lives, whether it is healthcare, education, including academia, the workplace or popular culture. Berg's explanation of what has happened to gender equity both as a fact and ideal is both a revelation and very persuasive. Her discussion of the entertainment industry is especially fascinating. She combines years of careful research, great story telling, a sense of humor with an impassioned argument for equality. I couldn't put the book down.

Ah, a book wherein a priveledged middle class white lady discovers that sexism is still alive and well in America. No, really? I mean, come on, did she grow up in a box? Even the merest search on the 'net will throw up heaps of feminist blogs and websites about Feminism and Womanism, many of them not even written by,*gasp*, white women! Save your money on this one...

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