What do you think?
Rate this book
Regiment of Women
Living in the ecologically-destroyed twenty-first century, George Cornell, like all other men, dresses and acts like a woman and tries to cope with feminine militancy
349 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
27 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Berger
234 books140 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Thomas Louis Berger was an American novelist, probably best known for his picaresque novel Little Big Man, which was adapted into a film by Arthur Penn. Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, the utopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology, Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.
Berger's use of humor and his often biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, though he rejected that classification.
Thomas Louis Berger was an American novelist, probably best known for his picaresque novel Little Big Man, which was adapted into a film by Arthur Penn. Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, the utopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology, Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.
Berger's use of humor and his often biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, though he rejected that classification.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 20, 2017
This is the weirdest fucking book.
June 28, 2019
(4.5 rating) —- The concept of this seems uncomplicated enough but the more you read it the more you realise how jarring and disorienting it is. The language used and the way it is written really add to this feeling. You forget that the genders have been swapped and you read it as though the main male character is a women. The fact that it takes a while for this new gender swap to settle in shows that gender stereotypes are still very much part of our society. I loved that it took a book from the 1970s to come to this realisation. It is obviously better now but in terms of feminine/masculine expectations and traits, things have not evolved as much as we would like to think.
As this was written in the 1970s, I don’t know if it is purposely using negative and provocative gender stereotypes to critique gender roles or whether it is just using the accepted stereotypes of the 1970s. Also, at first, I didn’t know if this was anti-women and anti-feminism. That it was a warning to men to show them what would happen if they allow feminism to continue. However, as I’m reading this in 2019, it doesn’t really matter what the intention was as it now reads as a very satirical and clever gender manipulation. I felt like I was in on the joke and that by the author putting men in the oppressed role, it allowed them to feel outrage at the way they are unfairly treated. By putting typically female experiences onto a man, the author was able to reach men by highlighting that this is in fact the way they treating women. So, for me, if it was intended to be anti-feminist and a warning to men, then it backfired spectacularly and I would love it more for it.
I have read many feminist dystopia books that are all from the same perceptive of women being mistreated. It is their story, their voice, their struggles. I loved this book even more as it gave a new perceptive to this genre. It makes you think of how the world would be if women were the dominant force. It allows you to see how unnatural and absurd it would be if men are treated unequally the way women have been, and this in turn, allows the reader to see how gender inequality is unnatural and gender equality is essential!
This also raises interesting ideas about the concept of gender, individual identity and sexuality and how society dictates the ‘norm’. For example, when the main character is trying on women’s clothes (which are men’s clothes in our world), it seems strange. If you apply that to our society it would be strange but in the book it highlights that is what is our norm. Shows how gender traits are not a biological destiny but a social construct. Why do men wear suits and women wear dresses? If this was not the normal world and it was a world like in the book, would it feel strange for a man to wear a suit and a woman to wear a dress? As a reader you are already jarred by the gender manipulation and in the midst of trying to navigate that, these ideas sneak up on you and make you question everything about gender and society. It is a really clever book. Again, I’m not sure how it would be interpreted or what it’s intention was when it was released, but reading it now it is a real eye opener and clever judgment of gender constructs and social critique.
I was blown away by the complexity of this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in reading about gender constructs from a different perspective and with a unique twist.
As this was written in the 1970s, I don’t know if it is purposely using negative and provocative gender stereotypes to critique gender roles or whether it is just using the accepted stereotypes of the 1970s. Also, at first, I didn’t know if this was anti-women and anti-feminism. That it was a warning to men to show them what would happen if they allow feminism to continue. However, as I’m reading this in 2019, it doesn’t really matter what the intention was as it now reads as a very satirical and clever gender manipulation. I felt like I was in on the joke and that by the author putting men in the oppressed role, it allowed them to feel outrage at the way they are unfairly treated. By putting typically female experiences onto a man, the author was able to reach men by highlighting that this is in fact the way they treating women. So, for me, if it was intended to be anti-feminist and a warning to men, then it backfired spectacularly and I would love it more for it.
I have read many feminist dystopia books that are all from the same perceptive of women being mistreated. It is their story, their voice, their struggles. I loved this book even more as it gave a new perceptive to this genre. It makes you think of how the world would be if women were the dominant force. It allows you to see how unnatural and absurd it would be if men are treated unequally the way women have been, and this in turn, allows the reader to see how gender inequality is unnatural and gender equality is essential!
This also raises interesting ideas about the concept of gender, individual identity and sexuality and how society dictates the ‘norm’. For example, when the main character is trying on women’s clothes (which are men’s clothes in our world), it seems strange. If you apply that to our society it would be strange but in the book it highlights that is what is our norm. Shows how gender traits are not a biological destiny but a social construct. Why do men wear suits and women wear dresses? If this was not the normal world and it was a world like in the book, would it feel strange for a man to wear a suit and a woman to wear a dress? As a reader you are already jarred by the gender manipulation and in the midst of trying to navigate that, these ideas sneak up on you and make you question everything about gender and society. It is a really clever book. Again, I’m not sure how it would be interpreted or what it’s intention was when it was released, but reading it now it is a real eye opener and clever judgment of gender constructs and social critique.
I was blown away by the complexity of this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in reading about gender constructs from a different perspective and with a unique twist.
March 18, 2018
Berger's concept: the terms masculine and feminine still apply to men and women respectively, but the connotations of these words are completely reversed. Skirts and high heels: masculine; trousers and ties: feminine. Passive and emotional: masculine; aggressive and logical: feminine. From this idea, he builds a dystopia where women are in charge and men have no power.
Unlike many future dystopias, Berger's does not come with a backstory to explain its origins. The setting might be 75 years from the 1973 publication date, as someone born in 2003 is said to be 45. But elsewhere, a vague catastrophe which has laid waste to Manhattan is referred to as "the general collapse circa A. D. 2050". Also, mention is made of "centuries" of female oppression of males, though this may be an exaggeration by an advocate of Men's Liberation; besides, men are not good with numbers. Another clue may be embodied in this example of the novel's humor, in Colonel Peckham's address to the new recruits about to serve their 6 month term at a New Jersey "sperm camp" (babies are produced in vitro and born from machines), Camp Kilmer:
Berger's idea seems to be to illustrate the arbitrary nature of stereotyped gender roles by putting men literally in women's shoes. I was reminded of the male Cheyennes who lived as females in Little Big Man. The concept is difficult to sustain over 300+ pages. The typical dystopian formula is followed: the protagonist, Georgie Cornell becomes an outlaw and experiences the oppressive machinery of the gynocracy firsthand. Through Georgie's adventures, the reader slowly comes to accept Berger's world which at first seems too improbable to be creditable.
May 13, 1973 New York Times review.
Previous: Vital Parts
Next:Sneaky People
Unlike many future dystopias, Berger's does not come with a backstory to explain its origins. The setting might be 75 years from the 1973 publication date, as someone born in 2003 is said to be 45. But elsewhere, a vague catastrophe which has laid waste to Manhattan is referred to as "the general collapse circa A. D. 2050". Also, mention is made of "centuries" of female oppression of males, though this may be an exaggeration by an advocate of Men's Liberation; besides, men are not good with numbers. Another clue may be embodied in this example of the novel's humor, in Colonel Peckham's address to the new recruits about to serve their 6 month term at a New Jersey "sperm camp" (babies are produced in vitro and born from machines), Camp Kilmer:
"... Thousands of young men have passed through this camp in its long history - and before that, thousands of young women, en route to the wars, and many of those brave girls are buried in some foreign land, having sacrificed their lives in the defense of democracy.Re-written post-apocalyptic history or alternate history? Berger is non-committal.
"This very camp is named for one of them - Joyce Kilmer, the poetess who authored 'Trees' and subsequently died in combat. That was a century or more ago, and yet it is not forgotten."
Berger's idea seems to be to illustrate the arbitrary nature of stereotyped gender roles by putting men literally in women's shoes. I was reminded of the male Cheyennes who lived as females in Little Big Man. The concept is difficult to sustain over 300+ pages. The typical dystopian formula is followed: the protagonist, Georgie Cornell becomes an outlaw and experiences the oppressive machinery of the gynocracy firsthand. Through Georgie's adventures, the reader slowly comes to accept Berger's world which at first seems too improbable to be creditable.
May 13, 1973 New York Times review.
Previous: Vital Parts
Next:Sneaky People
August 23, 2007
In a world where women are the dominant sex and intercourse consists of women sodomizing men, one man named Georgie, fond of his pretty legs and sporting breast implants, will re-revolutionize gender from the remote wilds of Maine, like the Zuni people left to 'barbarism' in Huxley's 'Brave New World.'
Fabu!
Fabu!
September 15, 2017
What an interesting take on dystopian fiction. I spent much of the novel struggling to keep gendered words and their altered implications straight (so to speak) in my mind. Berger has really (and brilliantly, I think) re-visioned both Brave New World and 1984, and the "sperm term" scenario even foretells Atwood's Handmaid's Tale's vision of one sex having control of the other's reproductive capabilities. The fact that he wrote this in 1973 makes it even more brilliant and original, and also somewhat explains his treatment (limited and negative) of homosexuality. I like . I'd like to believe Berger was saying something about his own 1973 male-dominated society, cleverly reversing the roles to show how ridiculous it is for one gender to dominate the other. The quotes sprinkled between chapters underline his point, keeping the reader aware of reality versus this particular fiction.
August 21, 2022
REGIMENT OF WOMEN by Thomas Berger -- Fasten your seat belt, you're in for a bumpy ride with this book, first published nearly 50 years ago (1973). Set in a dystopian not-too-future period, women are in charge of everything and men have power over nothing. Gender roles have been completely reversed. Women lead, administer, control, govern, provide, protect, and rule. Men follow, serve, and obey. Women wear the pants, literally and figuratively, with ties and jackets. Men wear skirts and dresses, high heals, lacey and frilly underwear, and spend countless hours with make-up and hair. Women bind their breasts, men get implants. Sex consists of women sodomizing men. Babies are conceived and born in birthing and incubation centers and healthy young men are milked of their sperm. In this gender-bent world Georgie Cornell struggles with his identity and place, gets arrested by two aggressive female cops, spends time in prison, escapes, and runs away with a dominant FBI woman. The last part of the book demonstrates how Georgie and his companion deal with society, their roles and places, and how they might reconcile to each other and invent a new life together. The book is probably not for 13-year-olds, but thoughtful adults should not be scared away by my description. A good counterpart to Brave New World, 1984, and The Handmaid's Tale.
February 2, 2021
Implausible speculative fiction, nicely put together.
April 17, 2022
Absolutely wild from start to finish
July 3, 2023
Bizarre, interesting premise but I didn't love it
February 28, 2024
Unbelievably awful! There are two reasonable pages in the whole book towards the end. That. Is. All. Don't read it if your brain works.
Read
March 7, 2017woah
September 20, 2013
Ever since I bought a used copy of this book about twenty years ago, I'd been dreading actually getting around to reading it. This was partly because of the cover illustration on my copy (_not_ the same as the one pictured on Goodreads), which I found offensive, and partly because I feared--based on the back cover blurb and the cover--that this would be some sort of reactionary, anti-feminist screed. I'm happy (and chagrined) to say that I should have had more faith in Thomas Berger. I think this novel could (and perhaps should) be considered an early (pre-second wave) feminist novel, one that was meant to edify early-1970s (male) readers about the effects of arbitrary and oppressive gender roles on women. For the first several chapters of the book this works wonderfully well through gender role-reversal: the "men" in the novel are represented as conforming to stereotypically feminine gender roles c. 1950s-1960s, while the "women" are represented as conforming to masculine gender roles. The incredibly detailed, varied, and enlightening incidents in the plot contribute to the success of Berger's (presumably) feminist purpose. He even manages to convincingly show how these roles are unconsciously assumed and reinforced through social forces, rather than as a conspiracy of power (it's obvious that Berger had done a lot of reading and research into feminist arguments about gender roles, patriarchy, sexism, and society). The problem, however, comes in when Berger is forced to assign a historical cause for this situation that links it to our own time period (that is, when the book moves from the genre of fantasy to that of science fiction). By showing that this dystopian state of affairs (and it's true, no one would ever want to actually live in this society; the infrastructure is in ruins and continuing to decline, pollution is eroding the quality of life, the divide between the "haves' and the "have nots" is abysmally wide--oh, wait: we _are_ living in this society!) is a result of the feminist revolution a la 1970, the feminist purpose and Berger's sympathetic argument is entirely undercut. Eventually the novel is forced into arguing that the only solution for the protagonists is a retreat from society and a reversion to "natural" gender roles. Yes, this ending mars an otherwise admirable attempt to educate the public on the oppression the social system of patriarchy; but, I think, it also demonstrates how difficult it was (and is) for even a feminist (albeit a male one), in 1973, to be able to think beyond the constraints of the social system s/he lives in. I think this novel is rather undeservedly forgotten. There is still a lot to learn (and, besides, the writing is funny, scathing, and thought-provoking by turns) from Berger's work.
October 10, 2018
Set in a mythical future, Regiment of Women is a weird jambalaya of a novel. Gender norms have been swapped, with women being the dominant sex. Men can be raped, harassed by female hooligans on the streets, sexually molested by dirty old women and denied ownership of stores they run.
But the novel can’t make up its mind what it wants to be. Is it a comedic farce, in which an Everyman gets wrongfully arrested for transvestism (a Federal crime) and then tumbles from one ludicrous situation to another? Is it meant to be a social satire on the foolishness of gender associations? Perhaps it’s a strident tract of feminism disguised as science fiction. Then again, it might be a screwball romance, complete with car chases, clothes swapping and impromptu robberies (albeit without the requisite amorous talk and with borderline rape).
The title itself is misleading. Surely, there are women in charge of military maneuvers. But they come off as being a bunch of hapless, lackadaisical, easily cowed laggards who barely put up resistance or a reasonable fight when Georgie Cornell decides to turn the tables on them. Military, federal agent or cop, they’re just not very effectual in their jobs (which seems to be a sharp poke in the eye to anyone who claims women can perform in these roles as well as men if given the chance).
This confusion over the novel’s message means that I can’t rank it very highly. While the novel is well written, with a panoply of interesting characters, surprising scenes and no dead spots in its pages, its inability to settle on a recognizable idea or theme means that I can’t recommend it to anyone.
But the novel can’t make up its mind what it wants to be. Is it a comedic farce, in which an Everyman gets wrongfully arrested for transvestism (a Federal crime) and then tumbles from one ludicrous situation to another? Is it meant to be a social satire on the foolishness of gender associations? Perhaps it’s a strident tract of feminism disguised as science fiction. Then again, it might be a screwball romance, complete with car chases, clothes swapping and impromptu robberies (albeit without the requisite amorous talk and with borderline rape).
The title itself is misleading. Surely, there are women in charge of military maneuvers. But they come off as being a bunch of hapless, lackadaisical, easily cowed laggards who barely put up resistance or a reasonable fight when Georgie Cornell decides to turn the tables on them. Military, federal agent or cop, they’re just not very effectual in their jobs (which seems to be a sharp poke in the eye to anyone who claims women can perform in these roles as well as men if given the chance).
This confusion over the novel’s message means that I can’t rank it very highly. While the novel is well written, with a panoply of interesting characters, surprising scenes and no dead spots in its pages, its inability to settle on a recognizable idea or theme means that I can’t recommend it to anyone.
November 21, 2012
Good companion book to The Handmaid's Tale.
Searing and effective satire, set in post-environmental apocalyptic future - in which women become the worst of men and men the worst of women. They flip stereotypes.
Georgie Cornell is arrested for things he did not do, assaulted in the name of therapy, and escapes with his former tormentor, Harriet.
That doesn't even begin to capture intricacies of plot.
Suffice it to say that this is a crude, lewd, rude and truthful fictional exploration of sex and gender and figuring out what's important in life.
Searing and effective satire, set in post-environmental apocalyptic future - in which women become the worst of men and men the worst of women. They flip stereotypes.
Georgie Cornell is arrested for things he did not do, assaulted in the name of therapy, and escapes with his former tormentor, Harriet.
That doesn't even begin to capture intricacies of plot.
Suffice it to say that this is a crude, lewd, rude and truthful fictional exploration of sex and gender and figuring out what's important in life.
August 5, 2009
This story is set in the future when men are the repressed sex and women rule. Pregnancy will kill a woman and everything is all mixed up. It takes some getting used to but Cornell is an unhappy boy who is pushing 30 and gets himself into quite the mess and meets up with Harry....they are both so messed up by societal pressures of being who their sexes say they aren't and finally everything starts to work out; or so one hopes.
March 10, 2007
This book was pretty funny in parts, but it read a little like a joke that's been drawn out too long. Makes a good point, though - women and men switch places in society in this book.
July 4, 2008
This book had way too much impact on my sexuality.
Want to read
November 14, 2008Recommended by Korey.
January 14, 2013
A funny and touching tour de force that is expertly executed down to its natural climax. Could have been entitled God's Second Mistake.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews