Beyond Feminism 101: Your Feminism-Friendly Book Recs

From a feminist's perspective, what books have most significantly influenced you? What books are your favorites? I don't want to suggest any parameters with regard to authors, language, subject matter or genre, really, just anything in print. My favorites for the last half-decade have been two works of fiction by a terrific writer named Jean Hegland, "Into the Forest" and "Windfalls." Seriously, if you don't know who she is or have never heard of those works--go out and buy them right now. As a feminist in 21st Century America, I identified deeply with the characters, their struggles, issues with identity, life pursuits, personalities and joys. These novels are very well written by a woman who cares as much about her prose as about her stories. Totally worth your money. If you have to pick, I'd start with "Windfalls," for the sensitive, topical treatment it gives the challenges facing all women today, particularly those with children. To date, I've purchased six copies of that one. It's excellent.

oops, posted on wrong thread.

Anything by Ariel Gore and the Hipmama crew

"When God Was a Woman" by Merlin Stone
"A God Who Looks Like Me" by Patricia Reilly
"Sexism and God-Talk" by Rosemary Radford Ruether

"A God Who Looks Like Me" by Patricia Reilly

I got it wrong in my post to some other thread in this Group on books. I called it "The Feminine Face of God" and I think that phrase is actually used as part of the subtitle, isn't it?

Discovering a Woman-Affirming Spirituality.

The Feminine Face of God is actually a book title of a separate work.

Murdoch's language is really, really colloquial, and the evidence she uses to back up the arguments she makes is from her own clinical experiences as a psychologist, (so it's genuine, but she is, effectively, her only source) and therefore, I didn't feel comfortable sticking this under "Core Texts." The prose isn't going to be for everyone, the informal nature of her writing is going to strike many readers as "wimpy" or "unconvincing." And, although I doubt that any woman my age (26) hasn't experience a little of what Murdoch is talking about, I think it would be hard for anyone to accept all of the issues she purports to have seen affecting all modern American women who have mothers.

Still, this one really helped me to understand some of the reasons for the less-pleasant aspects of my relationship with my mother. I'd always heard people talk about the so-called gap between Second Wave feminists and their feminist kids, or between Second Wavers and their younger students, assistants, coworkers, fellow election volunteers what-have-you. I'd heard about the problems older feminists allegedly have getting alon with younger feminists, and about how this sometimes results in a feeling that members of these two groups "aren't working together" because of "generational conflicts" and an "inability to understand each other." Finally, lots of people I'd worked and studied with had given me their opinion that the mothers of the Baby Boom/Boom Echo generation, particularly if they were feminist, were somewhat disconnected from their Gen X/Y kids (especially their daughters). I was always like, "well, I've never have those problems. I work and communicate successfully with older women, many of whom are feminists, including my mother, what are people talking about?" (Those of you who are aware of these issues and their sources are probably laughing your heads off right now.) Then I read Murdoch's chapter describing some common conflicts that can occur between women of these age groups, and explanations for why these conflicts take place and I realized, "My mother treats me like that all the time!" So, this book really helped me understand her and our relationship better. We interact more companionably now, there are fewer conflicts.

And yes, there are about six hundered other things Murdoch also examines about the psychology and personality of the modern woman, with, what I think, in the end, are helpful suggestions for how women can simply become more self-actualized, which she manages to do without putting too many qualifications on what self-actualized means, in an emotional, personal, professional or spiritual sense.

Surprising what can be in an experimental style work of fiction....

-B

the first being one that'll make you rethink some of your assumptions about gender, and the second being the horror story that shows what COULD happen if we let it...

I read this in 2004, and was so impressed. I really love everything about this novel. Being a fan of concision and brevity in a writer, I adore Levin's prose, which is among the best of any modern author I've encountered. And, I confess, I was surprised to see a perspective I happen to hold that I receive so little support for from fellow feminists be so respectfully addressed in his work. No, I don't feel like posting what it is, but I feel that it was an unpopular perspective for a woman to hold circa 1970, and if my own experiences over the last decade are an indication it's a damn unpopular perspective to hold at this time. So, I guess I like it the most for an entirely subjective reason, my own ridiculed opinion was discussed non-judgmentally in that book, damnit!

Let's see, anything by Alice Walker. For the religious curious or minded "Adam, Eve and the Serpent", not strictly feminism, but a great book by Elaine Pagels, or "Standing Alone" By Asra Q Nomani. Here's a great site on Andrea Dworkin's writings
http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/dworkin/OnlineLibrary.html

I just finished "Crone" by Barbara Walker, I'm not sure how well researched her stuff is, but this one is very well written with a sly wit leading to righteous rage.

Also not feminism--exactly, but I have a first edition copy (Not mint) of "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson I'm gonna reread, There was a GD thread on that book, and it got me curious, it's been many years.