A Good Feminist Read

Susan Faludi is one of my favorite authors! She wrote an incredible book entitled Backlash. I read this brilliant book when I was in college. It really opened my eyes to gender discrimination.

Well, Ms. Faludi has written another brilliant book, The Terror Dream. It was a quick, entertaining read, taking a look at gender discrimination since September 11th. Faludi illustrates how our country reacted to 9/11 is just how we have done historically when our country has gone through tough times. Our country, our leaders, and our media copes through the creation of “captivity narratives” and the idea that the men of our country will protect and take care of us. Faludi also asks some great questions on page 259 of the book…
• Why was the attack reconceived as a threat to the American home and family?
• Why were independent female voices censured and a bugle call sounded to return to Betty Crocker domesticity?
• Why were our political and cultural stages suddenly packed with Lone Ranger leaders, Davy Crockett candidates, and John Wayne “manly men”?
• Why, in short, when confronted with an actual danger, did America call rewrite?

Below are some examples exposed in the book. These examples surprised and upset greatly.

• Feminists and other liberals caused 9/11 to occur…women’s liberation had feminized our men making our men/country weak and vulnerable to attack.
• Following 9/11 feminist-minded writers, editorial writers were disenfranchised; women speaking on media news shows shrank by 40%, female newspaper executives decreased by 26%. When news executives were questioned about this, they responded, “Listen, this is a war situation” as if the voice of women no longer had a role.
• When the Bush Administration wanted people to buy into the war they talked about the “repression of Afghan Women”. Once the bombs dropped they suddenly had other priorities and negotiated away the rights of women.
• The continuing role and theme of protecting and rescuing women.
• Women rescue workers were not honored as their male counterparts.
• The EEO suspended their practices regarding women in rescue worker roles. They noted that after 9/11 we had to have “realistic standards to protect the public” inferring that women couldn’t do the job.
• By 2005, the Bush Administration reduced sex discrimination litigation by 40%.
• Media reflected that the women’s role was to be a stay at home mother, be dependent, and to trust government.
• If you spoke out against the war or resisted marriage women were portrayed to be selfish and un-American.
• Media told women that since 9/11 had occurred that they needed to reassess their priorities. It was reported that there were surges in marriage, engagements, and pregnancies that were simply not true.
• The Media portrayed Bush and our leaders as Cowboys who could rescue a nation and protect our women and children.
• The media myth of the “security/soccer moms”…women worrisome and anxious, only focusing on family and safety.
• The myths surrounding Jessica Lynch and her “rescue”.

Faludi did another great job capturing and showing evidence of how our government and our media continues to create gender discrimination and why our society feeds into it.

I strongly recommend the book.