Click

This is a fascinating anthology, whether you consider yourself a feminist or not, which is an important point. It would be a shame for only self-identified feminist women to read this book, or to assume that it is talking about a singular "feminism." At times, there was a sameness to the stories; many of the writers gained entrée into their feminism via books, some of which were written by fellow contributors. Where I think Click succeeds best is when the click moment happens in another form, to remind us that feminism isn't just for bookworms. Whether it's "Number One Must Have" (about the band Sleater-Kinney), hunting, having an androgynous name ("Winter"), fishnet stockings or engineering, the authors here tackle a wide range of ways feminism and exploring gender affect their lives.It also brings up some major issues around what "feminism" means and whether the goal of a feminist movement should be to have everyone identify as feminist (which many of the women in the book, as well as their mothers, grapple with--interestingly, I didn't see any pieces where authors grapple with whether their romantic partners identify as feminists, but moms were a sticking point). Co-editor Sullivan writes: "In both word and deed, feminism is something we only really understand after we've been exposed to it, after someone else has taught us what it looks like and how it can help make our lives all the richer." Yet this very point is disputed by many of the authors here, and one I don't agree with. If the personal is political, then women need to look both inward and outward; waiting to be "exposed to" or told what feminism is, I'd posit, is precisely what alienates many women from feminism.Alissa Quart's "I Married a War Correspondent" is a fascinating look at the evolution of her relationship and her feeling that the topics she covers as a journalist were "lesser" (and were treated with less acclaim) than her fiance's acts of daring. In Joshunda Sanders' "'What's the Female Version of a Hustler?': Womanist Training for a Bronx Nerd" and Mathangi Subramanian's "The Brown Girl's Guide to Labels," each author highlights the ways "feminism" has been tied to a white women's movement, and how they have alternately rejected, embraced and negotiated with the label and what it means to them. Li Sydney Cornfeld and Karen Pittelman offer unique tales, the former of the gender implications of an ADHD diagnosis, the latter about dissolving her $3 million trust fund to work for social change.There are moments here that feel a little too much like cheerleading for feminism without actually defining it precisely. The best pieces show how issues of gender, along with race, class and sexual orientation, are viewed and how a change in that viewpoint can propel action and enlightenment. Sometimes, there really is a click, such as in Marta L. Sanchex's piece: "At Spelman, I became a women's studies major. Suddenly, the entire world made sense. I stopped feeling like an alien visiting a strange planet." She backs this up without resorting to clichés, but by calling forth the spirits of her ancestors, who each gave her a different way of embracing the world. Many authors reference previous generations, whether the Second Wave or their parents (quite starkly in Sophie Pollitt-Cohen's piece, when she's assigned to read something her mother, Katha Pollitt, wrote at Wesleyan), but this is not an Us vs. Them type of book, thankfully. Rather, it's one that, at its best, looks at the ways feminism has impacted our personal and familial relationships, education, job opportunities, religious choices and identities.Most of all what I got out of Click is that what happens after the "click" moment is perhaps more important than what happens before or during it. How people grapple with even defining feminism, rather than simply embracing another person's version of feminism, is what the heart of this book is about.

It's always fascinating to hear how other people become aware of the power structure in this country and around the world. The underlying premise for inequality in gender, sexuality, race, etc. is power and the benefits being the power holder can be. As a white, straight woman in the U.S., I recognize the benefits of my race and sexuality. Yet I am also cognizant of the (often subtle, sometimes glaring) disadvantages of my gender. I digress.This is a great collection of stories from women whose feminist tendencies span the spectrum from radical to just awakening. For those who fall in between, the stories in this book make for an inspiring read that gives depth to a term that often feels dated or disconnected.

This was such a good book. I loved that the writers were diverse so I didn't just get the White Feminist perspective. Great selection of writers. All the writers spoke of other writers that I had not heard of and now I can't wait to get those books and essays as well.

somehow I didn't.Maybe it just made me feel kind of old because I had my "clicks" while they were playing in the sandbox and stuff. More like tossed-off blog posts than essays in many places. Thoughtful and worth the read in most places, but not all that fresh and new if you've spent time around the feminist blogosphere.

I absolutely loved this book. Having a collection of different stories allowed the reader to examine feminism and what it means from several different viewpoints, making it both interesting and dynamic. Great as an introduction to feminism, but also equally fun as a review of the subject in a fresh way. Definitely not a dry, academic read - it's personal, inspiring, and full of 'me too!' moments.

An amazing book. One of the best I've read in a long time. A must read.

This anthology of writings by (mostly) women from my generation of feminist theorists explains how and why we came to feminism. Women already had the vote and grew up the beneficiaries of birth control/abortion liberalization and Title IX. So it was easy to believe that all the battles had been won, right--WRONG!!The power of this collection (and my generation's experience with feminism) comes from understanding the intersectionality of our own unique experiences. We have to speak for ourselves and on our own turf.Li Sydney Cornfeld wrote about problems encountered both because of her learning disability and being female. Myself having disabilities and being female, I appreciated this particular essay's inclusion. It echoed many of the experiences which friends and I shared about our own learning disabilities. But it still did not exactly mimic my own personal experiences; the parents who overprotected a daughter, who already understood the rules of special education but who would not immediately adapt to a world with the ADA (and ironically) more rights and freedoms laid out for her. I thought about this legal-social paradox while reading her essay and wanting 'something more' included in the pages.Since he was one of the voices helping us initially understand feminism, it is very appropriate that Rachel Shukertwrites about the conflicted feelings which so many of us had upon learning of Kurt Cobain's death. Like our parents (and grandparents) when Kennedy was shot, we felt someone and something very special was taken away. Feminism is supposed to be about supporting women, but some people initially wanted to blame Courtney for the tragedy. We could not bring ourselves to openly admit that Cobain himself had problems. She believes the ease with which society (including the 'alternative' culture with which so many of us were infatuated with) initially critiqued Courtney demonstrates how ingrained the misogyny Cobain had spoken out against in his life is throughout society. Relieving this time now as an adult is still extremely sad, but I better understand the pain of loosing a loved one.And Olessa Pindak also contributes a good essay about how the same guys who once defaced the campus women's center in protest ultimately grew up to learn from the error of this mistake. Sitting on the board of feminist organizations and married to strong women, they are not the same men they once were. As they grow, people do change and mature. We cannot create the society which we claim to want when we do not recognize this process of change actually occuring.The essays in this book are not particularly long or complicated. It's good lesiure reading. There is no index so it's probally not a good research book. But it does have a mix of pop culture and social science information inside.