Slut!: Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation - Hardcover

Tanenbaum, Leora

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1888363940 ISBN 13: 9781888363944

Publisher: Seven Stories Press, 1999

Synopsis

Leora Tanenbaum's Slut! is a groundbreaking account of the lives of young women who stand up to the destructive power of namecalling, written by one of the rising young talents of journalism today. Slut! seamlessly weaves together three narrative threads: powerful oral histories of girls and women who tell us their stories and how they finally overcame sexual labeling, Leora's own story, and her cogent analysis of the underlying problem of sexual stereotyping.

About this title

Review:

The statistics are daunting: "Two out of five girls nationwide have had sexual rumors spread about them," reports Leora Tanenbaum. "Three out of four girls have received sexual comments or looks, and one in five has had sexual messages written about her in public areas." The 50 women interviewed for this book differ greatly in ethnic background, age, and economic status, but they share one thing in common--each of them, along with Tanenbaum herself, was labeled a "slut" in junior high or high school. (And, as recent cases involving Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky demonstrate, a woman can face such taunts no matter what her age or professional level.) As such, they became victims of a double standard that winks at sexual promiscuity among teenage boys but insists that young women remain virginal and pure. Even worse, the slut bashing is perpetuated in nearly every case by female classmates. In addition to insisting that schools get serious about combating sexual harassment, Tanenbaum urges the development of sex education programs that acknowledge responsible alternatives to abstinence, programs that would recognize the sexual desires of young women (and men) without condemnation. Her social critique is solid, but it's the personal accounts of emotional abuse--and, thankfully, perseverance--that will thoroughly convince you that the current tolerance of slut bashing is simply unacceptable. --Ron Hogan

About the Author:

LEORA TANENBAUM writes about women and girls and the unique problems they face. She is the author of Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation, Catfight: Rivalries Among Women—From Diets to Dating, From the Boardroom to the Delivery Room, Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them, and Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality. She lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Seven Stories Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1888363940
• ISBN 13: 9781888363944
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288