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Domestic Tranquility: A Brief Against Feminism
The principal targets of feminist fire in the on-going "gender wars" are not men but traditional wives and mothers, says a lawyer-turned-housewife in a powerful critique of contemporary feminism. With a profound understanding of the quandary of modern women, Carolyn Graglia shows that the cultural assault on marriage, motherhood, and traditional sexuality, rooted in the pursuit of economic and political power, has robbed women of their surest source of fulfillment.
Mrs. Graglia traces the origins of modern feminism to the post-war exaltation of marketplace achievement, which bred dissatisfaction with women's domestic roles. In a masterly analysis of seminal feminist texts, she reveals a conscious campaign of ostracism of the housewife as a childish "parasite". Turning to the feminist understanding of sexuality, now pervasive in our culture, she shows how it has distorted and impoverished sex by stripping it of its true significance. Finally, after exposing feminism's totalitarian impulse and its contribution to the "tangle of pathologies" that have left marriage and family life in tatters, she argues for a renewed appreciation of the transforming experience of motherhood and the value of the domestic vocation.
Mrs. Graglia traces the origins of modern feminism to the post-war exaltation of marketplace achievement, which bred dissatisfaction with women's domestic roles. In a masterly analysis of seminal feminist texts, she reveals a conscious campaign of ostracism of the housewife as a childish "parasite". Turning to the feminist understanding of sexuality, now pervasive in our culture, she shows how it has distorted and impoverished sex by stripping it of its true significance. Finally, after exposing feminism's totalitarian impulse and its contribution to the "tangle of pathologies" that have left marriage and family life in tatters, she argues for a renewed appreciation of the transforming experience of motherhood and the value of the domestic vocation.
451 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 24, 2008
This book is incredible. The title may put some people off, but it in no way diminishes a womens rights or equality. It is the story of a woman who is educated, who was a lawyer, and found joy in being a wife and mother. She choose to leave a successful legal carrer and stay home to take care of her family. And rather then find this unfulfilling as many feminists would have us believe, she found joy and happiness.
Graglia expounds upon what true feminism is. Freedom to choose what we want to do with our lives. Freedom to choose a career or to stay home, but to be supported in either choice.
Graglia expounds upon what true feminism is. Freedom to choose what we want to do with our lives. Freedom to choose a career or to stay home, but to be supported in either choice.
June 15, 2008
This book was amazing and it was pretty easy to read. The book has seven chapters, an index, an acknowledgment, bibliography and an introduction which is very very long.
The first chapter is how woman became discontented and because of that discontent the feminist movement was bound to happen. She tells us how the "traditional family started" and how different cultures contributed to women no longer valuing the home or the homemaker status.
The second Chapter discussed the response the revitalized woman's movement chose-- a further devaluation of the housewife's role to drive women into the market place.
In the next chapter the author explains on how feminism de-feminized women to become more like men or lesbians.
The forth chapter deals with feminists and them encouraging women into male promiscuously, and explains to us that our fore mothers probably had a better time in the bedroom than feminists lead women to believe.
The fifth chapter was probably my favorite which deals with feminism and how the it tries to force or shame housewives into the market place by no-fault divorce laws, or by childish name calling.
In chapter six probably the most hard-to-swallow chapter is how feminism impacted society and basically with numerous other accounts destroyed the black community, and made numorous women poor, children being born out-of-wedlock, contributed to falling birth rates, and more.
The last chapter discusses how women would probably be more happier raising their children and if they choose to inter the workforce they shouldn't be shamed into it. Women should be free to choose whatever they think suits them and shouldn't be ashamed to do so and society shouldn't just take one side and not get the other side any chance to explain their side of the story.
Hope you enjoy!
The first chapter is how woman became discontented and because of that discontent the feminist movement was bound to happen. She tells us how the "traditional family started" and how different cultures contributed to women no longer valuing the home or the homemaker status.
The second Chapter discussed the response the revitalized woman's movement chose-- a further devaluation of the housewife's role to drive women into the market place.
In the next chapter the author explains on how feminism de-feminized women to become more like men or lesbians.
The forth chapter deals with feminists and them encouraging women into male promiscuously, and explains to us that our fore mothers probably had a better time in the bedroom than feminists lead women to believe.
The fifth chapter was probably my favorite which deals with feminism and how the it tries to force or shame housewives into the market place by no-fault divorce laws, or by childish name calling.
In chapter six probably the most hard-to-swallow chapter is how feminism impacted society and basically with numerous other accounts destroyed the black community, and made numorous women poor, children being born out-of-wedlock, contributed to falling birth rates, and more.
The last chapter discusses how women would probably be more happier raising their children and if they choose to inter the workforce they shouldn't be shamed into it. Women should be free to choose whatever they think suits them and shouldn't be ashamed to do so and society shouldn't just take one side and not get the other side any chance to explain their side of the story.
Hope you enjoy!
August 21, 2012
This book is a amazing no fluff straight forward attack on the feminists and all the harm that feminism has created. She outlines how myths were created such as the myth that there was no economic opportunity and she notes how feminists subsequently rejected that majority of the housewife's actually wanted to stay at home and raise children and that they were not as oppressed as feminists point out.
She quotes from feminist writings exposing their biases against family and their plan to destroy the institution that has protected women for so long. This is the bible of anti feminism and so far the best anti feminist book I have read. This is a must read for all women sucked into feminist lies and their socialist agenda.
She quotes from feminist writings exposing their biases against family and their plan to destroy the institution that has protected women for so long. This is the bible of anti feminism and so far the best anti feminist book I have read. This is a must read for all women sucked into feminist lies and their socialist agenda.
July 2, 2019
In this book, the critique is directed toward one specific slice of feminism, the one that attacks the traditional family. Of course, this implies going into the broader aspects as well into things like sex, children, work, etc. and in such becomes a much broader critique. It does however always remain within the limits of the access point of domestic life. Carolyn Gragila crushes some feminist myths in this book, shows very gracefully why they are wrong and actually changes society and women to the worse. She does a great and careful job in dismantling the feminist views, and in this way is one of the great responses to the second wave of feminism written quite a long time after, ergo with plenty of evaluation time. She is good with showing numbers, statistic, sources and explaining what went wrong, but also sometimes maybe a bit too thoroughly so that it becomes slow to read the 370 or so pages. Sometimes, however, Gragila is very feisty and definitive in her approach and I find her very believable even then although she may have some small missteps and sometimes I find her being too careful. She focuses mostly on a few writings from feminist, and it should capture the essences, but it also gives an impression of having read more. The same goes for the repeated usage of some main sources for her side - even if the source material is great, it felt a bit lacking. This is a book one should not miss if one is looking for ammo against feminism.
May 13, 2020
I want to believe that my recent-found capacity to empathize with conservatives come not from a shift in my core desire for a more egalitarian society, but from a maturing perception that people who differ from me are not evil or unjust, but instead perceive the problems and solutions differently. I've been finding that to be the case in most of my areas of interest: psychology, philosophy, nutrition, politics and economics. I see myself growing weary of groupthink by seeing firsthand how most ideas start to go awry once they're sedimented and institutionalized, and how even the finest ideals start spiraling into tyranny if you don't keep the arena wide-open for fresh air.
The funny thing about that is that once I allow myself to hear what people from the other side have to say I start to see a lot of convergence in ideas from groups who would swear have nothing in common with each other. For instance, the author here, while definitely conservative in regards to morals, argues for government aid for families whose mothers stay at home to care for their children. She's also very much against "the market", a term which appears in a negative light throughout the entire book and seems to be second only to "feminism" in her admonishments.
Take this quote, for instance: "It is because society has accepted this stereotype of the housewife
as a cultural truth that Professor Carolyn Heilbrun can go virtually unchallenged when she asserts that the woman who devotes herself to domesticity lacks "selfhood," since she fails to act "in the public domain" and exists, instead, as a "female impersonator," simply "fulfilling the needs of others." How can anyone familiar with the real world of demanding market production (possibly, some academics really are not) ever believe a worker in the marketplace does anything except fulfill the needs of others? What did I do as a practicing attorney except fulfill clients' needs?—they were surely not my own needs. It was during those years in the marketplace, before I had borne my children, that I sometimes did feel like a female impersonator. Why, one must wonder, are feminists convinced that fulfilling the market demands of strangers is so much worthier an endeavor than attending to the needs of one's own family? Is it really too late to challenge this conviction? A challenge seems necessary because a life that requires the constriction of marital and maternal relationships in favor of a materialist pursuit of career achievement bears a remarkable resemblance to the pornographer's world of sex without emotions."
Granted, I don't agree with a lot (most?) of the points the author makes throughout the book's nearly 400 pages, but the whole thing is so well researched and elegantly written that it would be just my bias speaking if I gave this book fewer than 5 stars.
The funny thing about that is that once I allow myself to hear what people from the other side have to say I start to see a lot of convergence in ideas from groups who would swear have nothing in common with each other. For instance, the author here, while definitely conservative in regards to morals, argues for government aid for families whose mothers stay at home to care for their children. She's also very much against "the market", a term which appears in a negative light throughout the entire book and seems to be second only to "feminism" in her admonishments.
Take this quote, for instance: "It is because society has accepted this stereotype of the housewife
as a cultural truth that Professor Carolyn Heilbrun can go virtually unchallenged when she asserts that the woman who devotes herself to domesticity lacks "selfhood," since she fails to act "in the public domain" and exists, instead, as a "female impersonator," simply "fulfilling the needs of others." How can anyone familiar with the real world of demanding market production (possibly, some academics really are not) ever believe a worker in the marketplace does anything except fulfill the needs of others? What did I do as a practicing attorney except fulfill clients' needs?—they were surely not my own needs. It was during those years in the marketplace, before I had borne my children, that I sometimes did feel like a female impersonator. Why, one must wonder, are feminists convinced that fulfilling the market demands of strangers is so much worthier an endeavor than attending to the needs of one's own family? Is it really too late to challenge this conviction? A challenge seems necessary because a life that requires the constriction of marital and maternal relationships in favor of a materialist pursuit of career achievement bears a remarkable resemblance to the pornographer's world of sex without emotions."
Granted, I don't agree with a lot (most?) of the points the author makes throughout the book's nearly 400 pages, but the whole thing is so well researched and elegantly written that it would be just my bias speaking if I gave this book fewer than 5 stars.
September 27, 2014
This is quite a good book, and in my opinion a must-read for anyone concerned about our culture, the fate of the family, and perhaps even the fate of the nation. Despite their many denials, feminists do indeed loathe the family, particularly the homemaker, arguably the glue holding family together by lovingly giving of herself to husband, children, and community. This book documents the story of the feminist's hatred toward the wife and mother very clearly, though in the years since this book has been published, there are many more (and more blatant) examples, many of them being taught daily in "Women's Studies" classes. Thus the mindset of what was once known as 'radical' feminism is in fact more and more mainstream, something deniable only to a) those perpetuating it and b) those who simply are not armed well enough to see it.
Not only does the author document the attack on the homemaker and all she does, Graglia ably, briefly, and devastatingly draws out the consequences of this move's success for individuals, families, and towns.
For those complaining that Graglia focuses too much on sex, I can understand the concern, but since one of her major intellectual opponents (at least as framed in this book) seems to be Andrea Dworkin, Graglia's passages on the topic are understandable. Furthermore, though this book was written a while back, feminism's fairly recent full-ahead tack to "all PIV is rape, okay?" (Radical Wind, 2013) makes Graglia's writing quite timely indeed.
There's quite a bit to digest here, but the book is well worth reading—for both sexes, as men need to understand what traditionally-minded women are up against—as well as pastors, many of whom don't recognize feminism for what it is or its encroachment into their churches. Though academic, it's written for easy digestion by what I suppose we can call laypeople, too, and considering the broad effects feminism has hand, it's fascinating reading, too. Highly recommended.
Not only does the author document the attack on the homemaker and all she does, Graglia ably, briefly, and devastatingly draws out the consequences of this move's success for individuals, families, and towns.
For those complaining that Graglia focuses too much on sex, I can understand the concern, but since one of her major intellectual opponents (at least as framed in this book) seems to be Andrea Dworkin, Graglia's passages on the topic are understandable. Furthermore, though this book was written a while back, feminism's fairly recent full-ahead tack to "all PIV is rape, okay?" (Radical Wind, 2013) makes Graglia's writing quite timely indeed.
There's quite a bit to digest here, but the book is well worth reading—for both sexes, as men need to understand what traditionally-minded women are up against—as well as pastors, many of whom don't recognize feminism for what it is or its encroachment into their churches. Though academic, it's written for easy digestion by what I suppose we can call laypeople, too, and considering the broad effects feminism has hand, it's fascinating reading, too. Highly recommended.
December 5, 2013
The first couple chapters of this book are exceptional, the author defends a woman’s right to stay at home and raise her children as opposed to being pushed into the marketplace. However, this author is coming from a scholarly and rather agnostic perspective that refuses to recognize God in any of her chapters and gives all glory to the husband and children as if this is her sole purpose and meaning in life. Thus, as the book continues on her perspective turns grotesque and rather demeaning to women, as her fairy tale like image of a household is not the reality in which we live. This author would have done greater justice to the traditional woman by recognizing her importance in the household as more than a child-rearing, male-pleasing bobble head. Although, how can this be said anyhow coming from this authors lust-driven worldly perspective, in which the husband she places at the top and God is nowhere in the mix.
February 13, 2017
Fantastic book that deserves 10 stars! It describes very eloquently the damage feminism has done to society. It discusses the who, why, what, when, and where. It quotes feminist writings quite a bit and also shows the consequences we have gotten. Graglia focuses mostly on the damage done especially to traditional women who want to be homemakers and full time mothers. Because of feminists, they are at risk for being marginalized, passed over for dating and marriage, considered inferior, at risk for divorce and destitution. The book talks quite a bit about men and children also and staunchly defends the homemaker's choice. I think this book should be read by all women at all stages of life regardless of your marital status because it so accurately describes the reality we're living in today and helps you be better prepared for what may come in the future. Men might find it interesting and informative too.
August 22, 2021
Introduction was mostly great, dropped in Chapter 1 because I feel this author getting ready to be very repetitive and go into tangents that won't be fun or useful for someone who already knows how the world works at a deeper level. Also very academic feel, intellectualism is boring.
Doesn't even mention that all feminist leaders were jews. If you're gonna ignore the source of a problem, why bother writing near 400 pages on it. "It's a mystery why the world stopped valuing traditional women's roles" not really. It was done on purpose to destroy the family unit, read Merchants of Sin for better info. Only one chapter on Feminism, but it's deeper than this book.
Doesn't even mention that all feminist leaders were jews. If you're gonna ignore the source of a problem, why bother writing near 400 pages on it. "It's a mystery why the world stopped valuing traditional women's roles" not really. It was done on purpose to destroy the family unit, read Merchants of Sin for better info. Only one chapter on Feminism, but it's deeper than this book.
January 25, 2008
This book was very interesting--it is about a lawyer who gives up everything to stay home with her kids. It talks about the kinds of ridicule she has encountered. It was interesting, but it was also a little repetitive and uses very large words--I wouldn't say it is an easy read. It is kind of a political book as well--not my favorite genre. But, it was still interesting and made some good points.
April 2, 2024
A book which I entered, most resistant (I love to call myself a feminist), but whose ideas won me over somewhere between chapters two and three. She makes what was to me a compelling argument that some feminists in their attempts to bring legal equality to women have degraded the choice of motherhood over career even if it is freely chosen, and reduced the genius of womanhood to an economic value. I'm still a feminist though, haha.
December 19, 2013
Author has some very strange ideas about sex. Also seems a response to straw man feminism. I don't see much/any judgment from feminists about my decision to stay home while my kids are young.
Read
May 23, 2019Too early to have an opinion on the book but it's very intelligent so far.
December 25, 2024
This is perhaps the best history of modern feminism to date, and yet so unrecognized! Graglia's prose soars in ways lost to later generations, her philosophical musings on the nature of womanhood, the pact she describes between women and how this had been consistent throughout time, the intrusion of the "helping professions", it's so brilliant. That last is particularly insightful, the shift she describes in her lifetime (I believe she is silent generation) of relying on the wisdom of ages and nearby relatives for help with children to mothers suddenly convinced they needed help from "experts" (herself included) just to raise her own children.
Her research on feminists from the 1800s to the 1960s is just as solid, if not more, than those writing today and her ire against the missives of Betty Friedan (as a contemporary of Friedan's) has a bite that cannot be matched. She meticulously catalogues ever demeaning phrase, every facet of womanhood which has been attacked and dismantled by this movement, but with an eye towards philosophy and raising the discussion. As someone of that generation, educated and in her profession (Graglia was a lawyer who left her practice to raise her children, to become a housewife) well before the 2nd wave of feminism/women's liberation movement had begun, her perspective packs far more punch than the speculations of younger writers. Her bibliography alone is a wonder to behold.
Truly a treasure, and I am very thankful for the recommendation. There's nothing in modern books on feminism/history of that isn't covered here, there just isn't that much to discuss as the books weren't that extensive. While a few authors emphasize the political a bit more (from Schlafly to those writing today) and ties to Marxism, Graglia's masterful writing is more a work of art, a love letter to womanhood and motherhood on their own merits. An inspiring work that truly needs rediscovering.
Her research on feminists from the 1800s to the 1960s is just as solid, if not more, than those writing today and her ire against the missives of Betty Friedan (as a contemporary of Friedan's) has a bite that cannot be matched. She meticulously catalogues ever demeaning phrase, every facet of womanhood which has been attacked and dismantled by this movement, but with an eye towards philosophy and raising the discussion. As someone of that generation, educated and in her profession (Graglia was a lawyer who left her practice to raise her children, to become a housewife) well before the 2nd wave of feminism/women's liberation movement had begun, her perspective packs far more punch than the speculations of younger writers. Her bibliography alone is a wonder to behold.
Truly a treasure, and I am very thankful for the recommendation. There's nothing in modern books on feminism/history of that isn't covered here, there just isn't that much to discuss as the books weren't that extensive. While a few authors emphasize the political a bit more (from Schlafly to those writing today) and ties to Marxism, Graglia's masterful writing is more a work of art, a love letter to womanhood and motherhood on their own merits. An inspiring work that truly needs rediscovering.
December 8, 2020
Overall, this book throws a large, heavy-duty spanner into the works of the feminist worldview, and shows that the way it narrates history and its ethical ideals for women (and men) are respectively not true and not good. I was surprised to learn that many women want to have children and care for them.
There was a (very) weird detour into discussion of female circumcision, however, which I’m not quite sure what to make of.
There was a (very) weird detour into discussion of female circumcision, however, which I’m not quite sure what to make of.
March 31, 2016
Fantastic book!
In this book Mrs. Graglia interweaves her own story as an accomplished professional lawyer in the 1950s and later decided to stay home and raise her children -- a good decade before radical feminism took hold. What makes this book so powerful is that she debunks many revisionist feminist claims simply by the witness of her own life. She also brings to the forefront the radical feminists' condemnation of women who choose domesticity, thereby underscoring feminism's elitist origins and leanings and irrevocably negating the feminists' claim of "speaking for all women."
In this book Mrs. Graglia interweaves her own story as an accomplished professional lawyer in the 1950s and later decided to stay home and raise her children -- a good decade before radical feminism took hold. What makes this book so powerful is that she debunks many revisionist feminist claims simply by the witness of her own life. She also brings to the forefront the radical feminists' condemnation of women who choose domesticity, thereby underscoring feminism's elitist origins and leanings and irrevocably negating the feminists' claim of "speaking for all women."
July 17, 2012
I loved this book when I first read it many years ago. At the moment, as we are trying to reduce the number of bookcases in the house, I am trying to decide whether it is worth keeping. It has great historical details which challenges the current take on women's roles in history and today. I need to find the time to reread it.
Want to read
May 7, 2009I've been reading this one on-and-off for a few months now. It's thick, detailed, and interesting. I'm about halfway through (as of 4/15/09) and while this author is angry, she also makes some sense. I'm eager to read some of the authors she's so angry with as well to round out my education. :)
February 15, 2010
This was an excellent book.
October 17, 2012
The bible of anti-feminism
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews