At the JWA Making Trouble/Making History luncheon, 2012
I am puzzled by Rebecca Traister´s 2018 effort, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger. On one hand it seems as the perfect moment for such a book from a powerful author as she is, on the other it feels as if it was rushed to make the most out of the momentum that feminism is going through in the world and sell more copies.
Clinton & Trump
The book starts with Hilary and Donald´s run for presidency. She starts with the rage and anger that the defeat of the woman running for the White House generated in her and how the #MeToo movement was just the drop of water the glass needed to overflow. These statements of rage take up on almost the first half of the book which is, to me, just a little too much.
Strong Women Defending Men
Incisive exploration into the transformative power of female anger
Just like with Wednesday Martin´s book , the point of it remains completely unclear to me. What did she want to express with the first part of the book? What was really powerful and interesting was the second part in which she takes on those women who need men in their lives and hence defend them regardless of how negative that to a movement like feminism is that is gathering power all around the globe. The cascading power that some women have enjoyed for being the “lady next to” is disheartening for many others who, like me, think that women have more than enough attributes by ourselves to need the image of a man next to us in order to gather some power.
Rebecca´s book is a good effort; I just think that with the second half of the book we would have a way more powerful feminist tool.
Leave a Reply