Ariel Levy is a contributing editor at New York magazine. This is her first book.
"Reading Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy's lively polemic, gave
me an epiphany of sorts. Finally a coherent interpretation of an
array of phenomena I'd puzzled over in recent years.... Levy's
argument is provocative -- and persuasive...a consciousness-raising
call to arms." -- The New York Times Book Review
"With Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy becomes feminism's newest
and most provocative voice, brilliantly laying bare the
contradictions and evasions and self-deceptions that pass for
empowerment." -- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping
Point
"With the fresh voice of a young woman who grew up taking equal
rights for granted while feminism was being perverted into a dirty
word, Levy both shocks and sobers as she exposes the real cost of
youth culture's 'Girls Gone Wild' form of status-seeking....A great
choice for book clubs of either gender, it's a fast read and a
surefire discussion sparker." -- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Witty and provocative, painfully funny...as it documents the rise
of trashy, raunchy, really, really bad female behavior, Levy's
newly published book may well provide the next 'aha' moment in how
North American women see themselves." -- Maclean's (Toronto)
Female Chauvinist Pigs (FCPs), according to New York magazine columnist Levy, come in two species: the woman "open to a certain sort of attention" and her foul-mouthed female fan, willing and able to objectify "like a man." Though the reductive thesis imposes obvious limits, Levy nonetheless fortifies this original work with the boggling evidence of raunch culture's ubiquity. Defending their work variously as liberating, ironic, and humorous, influential triumvirate Christie Hefner (Playboy), Sheila Nevins (HBO), and Jennifer Heftler (former producer of Comedy Central's The Man Show) appear unreflective as they call the (compromising) hot shots. Community anecdotes also abound as lesbians (butch and boi) disparage their femme girlfriends or the straight dupes of the "Girls Gone Wild" juggernaut flash for a branded hat. Levy suggests that the motivation behind all this pole dancing and pose striking is fear of an uptight planet; she blames antiporn feminists like the late Andrea Dworkin and Elizabeth MacKinnon for this development. Her insights into preteens' confusion between feeling sexual attraction and simply desiring attention reinforce her argument for rehabilitation of comprehensive sex-ed programs. Levy's witty style entertains even as the facts disturb. Recommended for all public libraries. [See "Fall Editors' Picks," LJ 9/1/05.-Ed.]-Elizabeth Kennedy, Oakland, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
"Reading Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy's lively polemic, gave me an epiphany of sorts. Finally a coherent interpretation of an array of phenomena I'd puzzled over in recent years.... Levy's argument is provocative -- and persuasive...a consciousness-raising call to arms."
-- The New York Times Book Review
"With Female Chauvinist Pigs, Ariel Levy becomes feminism's newest
and most provocative voice, brilliantly laying bare the
contradictions and evasions and self-deceptions that pass for
empowerment."
-- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping
Point
"With the fresh voice of a young woman who grew up taking equal
rights for granted while feminism was being perverted into a dirty
word, Levy both shocks and sobers as she exposes the real cost of
youth culture's 'Girls Gone Wild' form of status-seeking....A great
choice for book clubs of either gender, it's a fast read and a
surefire discussion sparker."
-- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Witty and provocative, painfully funny...as it documents the rise
of trashy, raunchy, really, really bad female behavior, Levy's
newly published book may well provide the next 'aha' moment in how
North American women see themselves."
-- Maclean's (Toronto)
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