BOOK REVIEW: The P.I.G to Women, Sex and Feminism

I heard about this book after reading a column by the author, Carrie Lukas. The column released this past Mother's Day spoke about Universal Child Care in the United States. Her book was listed at the bottom and the title caught my attention, so I checked it out. I loved what I read about it and so I immediately ordered it from Chapters and read it cover to cover in just a couple days!

The book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex and Feminism sums up what I have been thinking, pondering, and contemplating the past few years. I am not a modern feminist. When I say this, I do not mean I do not believe in women's rights or equality for women. I get severely irritated with the left-wing feminist types. Ones that rant and rave and put down marriage, family life, and shove their ideologically agenda down your throat in the classroom, when you pay $5500 to be there, and can't even voice your opinion.

I wasn't always a bitter and jaded anti-feminist. This started long before even my politically beliefs developed to become more conservative. I remember reading in my Sociology 100 textbook, this one sub box dedicated to demonstrating that all this attention is on women and not on men. And it's so true! For example:

We have walks to end violence against women, but it is a fact that men are more likely than women to be murder, assaulted or victims of violent crime. We have million dollar programs from the Ontario government to aid women and children from domestic violence, but what about our men?

We have walks for breast cancer. But it is a fact that the number one cancer that kills males between the ages of 18-35 is testicular cancer. Unfortunately, no one is talking to men about doing self-exams or talking to their doctor.

We have more women than men enrolling and graduating with University degrees. Or have a look at the difference of grades and academic achievements between boys and girls. Girls often always do better in school. But I ask, what it happening to our men? Our boys?

They are being left behind.

Now this has nothing to do with the book, and I have completely stayed off topic on my little anti-feminist rant. I am finished. Onto to the review!

I loved this book! It was divided into 15 chapters and touched on many issues ranging from gender, sex, marriage and family. In her introduction, Lukas makes a distinction between the feminist movements. The "first-wave" movement of the late 19th and early 20th century had goals of women and the right to vote. The "second-wave" movement came in the 1960s and 1970s with the legal and social changes to women to participate more fully in society. This movement also came to reject the traditional family and the introduction of the "liberation" of women. During this period of history also came the changes in attitudes towards pre-marital sex and family structures such as living together before marriage, children out of wedlock and of course, divorce.

The "third-wave" movement of feminism is currently taking place. This movement has grown to become more politically powerful and largely organized with groups such as the National Organization for Women (NOW). The modern feminist movement primarily has a left-wing political stance focusing on socialist ideas like larger governments and social welfare state programs. Lukas delves into the topic of gender, which is a very controversial issue. Many feminist would have you believe that aside from genitalia, there are no differences between men and women because we are socialized in our gender roles. Lukas affirms that we cannot have a gender-neutral world because men and women are fundamentally different. Between hormones and brain chemistry to research studies on the topic, the evidence proves that many differences between men and women are biologically based.

Sex is another issue examined and I found this topic the most interesting. Lukas claims that women lost the sexual revolution. She looks at polls and studies that examine rates of casual sex with how people feel about it afterwards and their perceptions of how often their peers are engaging in it.

Lukas also examines marriage and divorce. Feminists are known to not be fans of marriage. One women’s organizations even have restrictions of their membership: “We have a membership quota: That no more than one-third of our membership can be participants in either a formal (with legal contract) or informal (e.g. living with a man) instance of the institution of marriage” (Lukas 76).

I did a paper on same-sex marriage a month ago and in my research I read a few articles about the feminist perspective on marriage. I guess I have not come to a full comprehension on understand why some feminists are anti-marriage. Marriage is a goal for me, and divorce is not an option unless it is an abusive relationship. In my last year of high school I also did a research project on cohabitation versus marriage.

Lukas’s book touches on all the issues of gender, sex, marriage, divorce and the family are always relevant in our current society. The only criticism I offer is that her editors were kind of sloppy. I noticed they referred to an author as “Appleton” and then on the next page as “Applewhite” and in addition they spelled Jodie Foster’s name incorrectly.

All in all, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex and Feminism was a great read and I would encourage all women to read this book whether you’re a teenager or in your 60s.