Bitching

by Marion Meade

One of the classic books from the Second Wave of Feminism, Bitching is based on the kinds of conversations that women have with each other about their life experiences, from birth to old age, particularly about their relationships with the male sex. Includes interviews with teenagers, housewives, mothers, divorcees, working women, all speaking candidly in no-holds barred informal sessions. The concept of the book had its roots in the women’s liberation consciousness-raising sessions during the Sixties and Seventies.

Genres: Gender

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Marion Meade is an American biographer and novelist, whose subjects stretch from 12th century French royalty to 20th century stand-up comedians. She is best known for her portraits of literary figures and iconic filmmakers.

Her new book, Lonelyhearts: The Screwball World of Nathanael West and Eileen McKenney, is a joint biography of a husband and wife whose lives provide a vivid picture of the artistic milieu of the Jazz Age and the Great Depression.

For more information on Lonelyhearts--and an exciting photo gallery--visit http://www.nathanaelwest.com

Reviews

[BLRBrazil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love books and love to recommend good ones for others to enjoy, so this is a first for me: I intend to conduct a ritual book burning session with this one! I recognise all the hateful things that certain men do to women, and they do need to be brought to general attention, and particularly men's attention, in the hope that consciences will be pricked and bad habits/attitudes changed. But this is not the book to do it, because it is more likely to be counter productive. That is because the entire thing so clearly comes from an "I hate men" stance that it is more likely to simply generate a 'hate women' reaction from men, who are portrayed as the entire problem with the planet and only women's scheming can preserve them from the tyranny. According to the author, men are to be despised and cheated, as that is the only way to deal with them. There is no room for honesty in the relationship, no room for living with them as equals, as it is a battleground and the fight is to the death. I do not know whether this comes across in the author's other works or even if this is her real feeling towards men, but it comes across very strongly in every page of this book and I only stuck the relentless anger out in order to see where the book would end up. Sadly, it ought to be in a fire, as I wouldn't want to see anybody else exposed to this perverted bias.