Listen Up!: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation

Exploring and revealing the lives of today's young feminists--the "Third Wave"--a collection of essays by thirty diverse members of the "twenty-something" generation covers a wide range of topics including racism, sex, identity, AIDS, revolution, and abortion. Original. IP.

The face of feminism is not only that of Gloria Steinem or Naomi Wolf. It's no longer a luxury limited to the white, affluent and professional. This zesty collection of essays by young feminists, edited by Ms. executive editor Findlen, demonstrates that those feminist lessons of pride and self-determination have been thoroughly absorbed. Spunky and original, these women reveal their difference up front. The writers are lesbians and bisexuals, feminists from every ethnic group, teen mothers, rape survivors, disabled women, aerobics instructors, anorexics, self-described "chicks" and punks?whose involvement in the movement signals feminism's evolution from within. The book wants to weave an "identity tapestry," to borrow one essay's title, and each piece uses some real experience to delineate the ways in which the writer's life and self have been informed by the logic and language of feminism. Virtually all depend on the experience of being stereotyped. This collection enlarges feminism's self-image. If the voices here threaten to atomize a collective movement into numberless discrete and personal feminisms, for now they hold and work together, and it's important that they be heard. QPB selection; serial rights to Mademoiselle, Ms., Girlfriends magazine and Cosmopolitan.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Editor Findlen became part of the feminist movement at age 11 in 1975 and thus belongs to the first generation "for whom feminism has been entwined in the fabric of our lives." The experiences of other women of that generation inform this anthology whose subjects include the conservatism of the Reagan-Bush administrations; the perceived backlash against women and concomitant erosion of reproductive rights; AIDS; the growing power of the lesbian and gay rights movement; and the growth of multicultural awareness. Their voices demonstrate the range of worldviews and life concerns of their feminist cohort. Jennifer Reid Maxcy Myhre reports her crew cut androgyny. Nomy Lamm and Abra Fortune Chernik testify on weightism and the fat revolution. Lisa Tiger writes of testing positive for HIV and finding her life's purpose. A variety of women write about rape survival and fighting street muggers, and a top professional aerobics instructor describes her feeling of strength in the gym, where she could "command and connect . . . where I possessed an irrefutable degree of power." Whitney Scott

This is an anthology of 28 essays in which "Generation X" ("twentysomething") women explore their concepts of feminism. Within the essays are various stories of how these young women awakened to the realization of sexism, racism, or classism through personal experience. While some of the women talk of surviving anorexia, fat oppression, rape, multiple abortions, AIDS, physical disabilities, and sexism in the workplace, others tell of coming to terms with their own sexuality and integrating cultural, ethnic, and family traditions with feminism. The importance of inclusion in 1990s feminism is noted in several essays and is highlighted in those written by African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. While most of the essays are interesting, enlightening, and offer encouragement for the future, others exude immaturity and youthful rebellion that are less encouraging.?Jeris Cassel, Rutgers Univ. Libs., New Brunswick, N.J.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.