Female Rage: Unlocking Its Secrets, Claiming Its Power - Hardcover

Valentis, Mary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517595842 ISBN 13: 9780517595848

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 1994

Synopsis

Examines the very real causes of women's rage over gender and cultural bias, explaining why such a reaction is not only real but also justified and how the acknowledgement of that rage leads to empowerment

About this title

About the Author

Mary Valentis now teaches in the English and Humanities departments at the State University of New York at Albany.

Reviews

Valentis and Devane start from a basic premise: Women's rage is not necessarily destructive-it can also serve as a catalyst for change, such as for equality between the sexes. Literature professors at the State University of New York, the authors analyze women's rage and how it can wreak havoc or serve as a wake-up call, drawing on examples from myth, especially vignettes from the story of Medusa, which begin each chapter (the Medea legend also comes up frequently); news events, including Anita Hill's testimony at the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings and the Hedda Nussbaum/Joel Steinberg case; and examples from literature and film. Also discussed are the psychological problems that can result from repressed rage: multiple personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol dependency, anger at other women and overdependence on men. Covered as well is the rage older women often experience in reaction to a youth culture. Finally, the authors suggest to women how to acknowledge their rage and transform it into energy for positive change. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

According to the authors (English, SUNY-Albany), rage defines women's lives. But this pastiche of tabloid vignettes (concerning, among others, Amy Fisher and Princess Di) and superficial case studies of "average" women does more to confirm stereotypes of angry women than to reveal the "secrets" of that rage. The authors' musings are set in the frame of the Medusa myth, to which they repeatedly advert, supplemented by outmoded popular psychology and undigested snippets of theory drawn from a variety of disciplines. The appendix includes a quiz entitled "How Enraged Are You?" with a scale that ranges from "low-grade anger" (up to 40 points) to "filled with rage and unresolved anger" (120 to 186 points). A second appendix, which offers advice on "channeling your rage," includes the admonition, "Lighten up!" Not a worthwhile purchase.
Cynthia Harrison, Federal Judicial Ctr., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0517595842
• ISBN 13: 9780517595848
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 262