Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future
by Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards
List Price:
Our Price: $5.81
You Save: $9.19 (61%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.44 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Amy Richards, Jennifer BaumgardnerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-10-04
ISBN: 0374526222
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Reviews of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future
Book Review: Irritating
Summary: 2 Stars
(This review was not actually written by Anthony Schmitz. I'm Anna Schmitz, his 15-year-old daughter.)
I suppose this book had good intentions. The writers seem smart, and the book probably rings true for their select group of dinner party friends (young, urban, in the media business). However, the research is shoddy, the authors' arguments often become long-winded whining, and the arguments themselves are occasionally absurd.
It's unclear whether the authors simply grew bored of their book, or if a deadline was rapidly approaching, or if research was unavailable, but too often the authors rely on "according-to-my-friend-Jane" in lieu of actual research. In an actual quote from the book, in an argument for Take Back the Night, Baumgardner and Richards assure you that Take Back the Night remains important because "Jennifer Gottesman, a junior at Barnard College, confirmed that her college's Take Back the Night rally and march are the most important political events on campus." Say no more! If Jennifer thinks Take Back the Night is the most important event on campus, it surely is.
However, even this she-said research is often overshadowed by the authors' whining about their lack of importance in the eyes of Second Wave feminists. As important as it is to feel approval, it seems that the best way to gain it would be to carve out one's one niche instead on relying on older feminists to advance concerns that they may not fully understand. The authors complain about feeling patronized and disrespected by Second Wavers, about not being invited to speak at panels, and although these concerns are legitimate, it's not hard to see where Second Wavers are coming from when reading "Letter to an Older Feminist". The letter is patronizing and petty. It implies that Second Wavers are no longer useful in the movement-- that although they once wrote important books and had important ideas, they are no longer needed as innovators, and should sit back and hand over all controls to Third Wave women. Second Wave feminists are not dead, and don't need to be treated as such.
On a personal level, I found the book's criticism of New Moon Magazine to be both offensive and off-base. As both a former reader of New Moon and a former Girls' Editorial Board member, the authors' shallow appraisal of the magazine struck me as laughable. The authors argue that the magazine represents feminist mothers' ideas of what girls want, and not what the girls themselves want. The authors are prone to nostalgic reflections on Sassy magazine, and its embrace of fun/funky outfits, hairstyles, and articles. They seem disappointed that New Moon is not a twin of the magazine of their youth, and is instead an outright feminist magazine, with artwork and not Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love on the cover.
Baumgardner and Richards inform the reader that New Moon is not actually what girls want. I beg to differ. New Moon is not what teen girls want-- that's true. Most girls end their subscription by the time they hit 13. But for 8 to 12-year-olds, New Moon is a great magazine. If girls are looking for what Sassy once provided, there are other magazines. New Moon does not have to provide the tips on hair, makeup, and boys that the authors of Manifesta are convinced that girls actually want. What their argument amounts to is two Third Wave feminists advancing their agenda by accusing Second Wave feminists of starting a girls' magazine to advance their agenda. Perhaps Baumgardner and Richards should follow their own advice and let girls themselves decide and control what they want, as opposed to letting Third Wave feminists tell them what they want.
Nonfiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in My Favorite Books about Women's Issues
Supergirls Speak Out: Inside the Secret Crisis of Overachieving Girlsby Liz Funk
Touchstone; Published: 2009-03-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.20
Price in other shops:
Eloise: The Absolutely Essential 50th Anniversary Editionby Kay Thompson
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 2005-10-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.92
Price in other shops:
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhoodby Koren Zailckas
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Get to Work: . . . And Get a Life, Before It's Too Lateby Linda R. Hirshman
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2007-05-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
FEMININE MISTAKE, THE: ARE WE GIVING UP TOO MUCH?by Leslie Bennetts
Voice; Published: 2007-04-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.29
Price in other shops:
How The Pro-choice Movement Saved Americaby Cristina Page
Basic Books; Published: 2006-01-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.69
Price in other shops:
Transforming a Rape CultureMilkweed Editions; Published: 2005-02-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.48
Price in other shops:
Intercourseby Andrea Dworkin
Basic Books; Published: 2006-11-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Futureby Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2000-10-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.82
Price in other shops:
The Feminine Mystiqueby Betty Friedan
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2001-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.09
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Cunt: A Declaration of Independence (Live Girls)by Inga Muscio
Published: 1998-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $51.88
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Womenby Susan Faludi
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2006-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops:
The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New FeminismAnchor; Published: 2004-05-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.18
Price in other shops:
Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Cultureby Ariel Levy
Free Press; Published: 2006-10-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.12
Price in other shops:
Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing FeminismUniversity of Minnesota Press; Published: 1997-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.43
Price in other shops:
The Feminine Mystiqueby Betty Friedan
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2001-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops:
Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st CenturyNortheastern; Published: 2003-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.34
Price in other shops:
Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Mattersby Jessica Valenti
Seal Press; Published: 2007-03-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.11
Price in other shops:
Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politicsby bell hooks
South End Press; Published: 2000-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activismby Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2005-01-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.62
Price in other shops: