Abstract
Two fortuitous events occurred when I was reading Modern Misogyny for this review. First, I read a majority of it at the pool (because when you are reading about the continuation of misogyny in US culture, you need a little sunshine) and second, I read it at a time when comments about the first woman presumptive nominee for the office of president were filling the news media and my social media. Indeed, Hillary Clinton might want to take a copy of this book on the campaign trail as she fends off criticism that she is a crook, liar, and most damaging to her femininity, is not a warm and nurturing woman. In Modern Misogyny, Kristin Anderson draws on a multitude of social psychology studies to examine the now more “palatable and stealthy form” of contemporary sexism and antifeminism (p. xii). She takes on the refrain that feminism is dead, not needed, and has accomplished all it can (or needs to), and we now live in a gender neutral world where equality is a daily possibility.
While Anderson is not the first to note the problems of postfeminism rhetoric, this is not her core argument. She carefully takes apart in the rhetoric of antifeminism and sexism by untangling popularly held ideas and beliefs to reveal their falsity. Indeed, the book’s main contribution is that it dismantles misogynistic ideas such as “feminists hate men” (they actually like them better than some nonfeminists do), “feminist hate themselves and sex” (again, not true), and “feminism makes women victims” (actually, it empowers them). She does so in a series of chapters that range from topics such as “Post-Feminism Post-9/11,” (chapter 2) which examines the return to traditional womanhood in the patriotic, homeland security post-9/11 years, and “The End of Men and the Boy Crisis,” (chapter 4) which addresses how men and boys are not any worse off because of feminism (particularly in education where women are just catching up). Chapter 5’s title “Women Are Wonderful, but Most Are Disliked,” is my favorite and captures the paradox of benevolent sexism in a world where women are supposed to be empowered but are often disliked when they are. It is here that she discusses the “dominance penalty” that women in positions of authority face. (Are you reading this Hillary?)
I did struggle with the core premise of the book that most, if not all, women/people believe that gender equality has been reached and that postfeminism is widely accepted in society. She notes that the book is focused on “relatively recent moves away from feminist activism … ” (p. 2). As a social movement scholar who studies contemporary feminism, I would argue that in 2016 we are actually in a time of renewed feminist identification and activism, and being a feminist today is actually somewhat “cool” à la Beyonce. (This of course opens up a whole other argument about celebrity and consumption feminism … ) Scholars continue to document how movements such as feminism influence and shape other movements (think about Occupy and #BlackLivesMatter) and feminist organizations and networks still abide and thrive in communities. Feminist activism in the millennium is often submerged with other movements, done in small groups, and organized in cyberspace. But most importantly it exists and is still relevant.
Overall, while the issue of postfeminism is overstated, the book is useful in that it addresses many of the old false ideas about women in general and feminism in particular. With this in mind, I would argue that feminism is not “post” but agree that misogyny is still “modern.”