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Woman: The American History of an Idea
A comprehensive history of the struggle to define womanhood in America, from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century
What does it mean to be a “woman” in America? Award-winning gender and sexuality scholar Lillian Faderman traces the evolution of the meaning from Puritan ideas of God’s plan for women to the sexual revolution of the 1960s and its reversals to the impact of such recent events as #metoo, the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the election of Kamala Harris as vice president, and the transgender movement.
This wide-ranging 400-year history chronicles conflicts, retreats, defeats, and hard-won victories in both the private and the public sectors and shines a light on the often-overlooked battles of enslaved women and women leaders in tribal nations. Noting that every attempt to cement a particular definition of “woman” has been met with resistance, Faderman also shows that successful challenges to the status quo are often short-lived. As she underlines, the idea of womanhood in America continues to be contested.
What does it mean to be a “woman” in America? Award-winning gender and sexuality scholar Lillian Faderman traces the evolution of the meaning from Puritan ideas of God’s plan for women to the sexual revolution of the 1960s and its reversals to the impact of such recent events as #metoo, the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the election of Kamala Harris as vice president, and the transgender movement.
This wide-ranging 400-year history chronicles conflicts, retreats, defeats, and hard-won victories in both the private and the public sectors and shines a light on the often-overlooked battles of enslaved women and women leaders in tribal nations. Noting that every attempt to cement a particular definition of “woman” has been met with resistance, Faderman also shows that successful challenges to the status quo are often short-lived. As she underlines, the idea of womanhood in America continues to be contested.
600 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2022
33 people are currently reading
1208 people want to read
About the author
Lillian Faderman
28 books340 followersLillian Faderman is an internationally known scholar of lesbian history and literature, as well as ethnic history and literature. Among her many honors are six Lambda Literary Awards, two American Library Association Awards, and several lifetime achievement awards for scholarship. She is the author of The Gay Revolution and the New York Times Notable Books, Surpassing the Love of Men and Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers. (photo by Donn R. Nottage)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 10, 2023
Stopped reading as soon as she started transing historical lesbians. A woman wearing trousers and marrying a woman?!? Must be a trans man!! (More than a hundred years before that ideology even existed no less.) How lesbophobic and misogynistic. Lesbians did what they had to do (dress like men) to be with the women they loved. Also women wearing men's clothing to get a job doesn't make them men, they had to do that to have any semblance of autonomy over themselves and to survive. This book erases the unique lived female experience of women right off the bat, especially that of lesbians, turning GNC women into "men." How regressive. Newsflash: women can love women, wear trousers, and work male-centric jobs and none of that makes them men. Crazy concept to Faderman, apparently. 🙄
March 19, 2022
This is not the first book that tries to tell the story of American women from pre-Columbian America to the present day. In fact, there are many out there, but let me say a word on why this one should be the place to start and should be the gold standard in current historiography.
Lillian Faderman does an excellent job looking at women's history from the history of how that concept is defined. It is more than just private vs public sphere or working woman vs housewife. By focusing the lens on how the definition of "woman" has changed over time, she is able to take a much more comprehensive view of history than has ever been done before.
One challenge of the new social history is how to tell a diverse story that does not compartmentalize different groups' stories and treat them as categories that need to be addressed in each time period. Faderman integrates the stories of much more than the typical "American woman" (white). Here, black women appear in the section on the Great Depression, and Mexican American women appear in World War II. The way that Faderman pulls in different groups of women into a larger narrative is masterpiece history.
Not only that, but she does an excellent job of "zooming in and out." There are stories of large groups of people, but she uses individuals' stories as evidence of her larger thesis. What is true for the whole is true for individuals, again, making for excellent history.
Please read this book. You will gain an appreciation for a deep and rich history over the struggle of women and how they define themselves and how others define them.
Lillian Faderman does an excellent job looking at women's history from the history of how that concept is defined. It is more than just private vs public sphere or working woman vs housewife. By focusing the lens on how the definition of "woman" has changed over time, she is able to take a much more comprehensive view of history than has ever been done before.
One challenge of the new social history is how to tell a diverse story that does not compartmentalize different groups' stories and treat them as categories that need to be addressed in each time period. Faderman integrates the stories of much more than the typical "American woman" (white). Here, black women appear in the section on the Great Depression, and Mexican American women appear in World War II. The way that Faderman pulls in different groups of women into a larger narrative is masterpiece history.
Not only that, but she does an excellent job of "zooming in and out." There are stories of large groups of people, but she uses individuals' stories as evidence of her larger thesis. What is true for the whole is true for individuals, again, making for excellent history.
Please read this book. You will gain an appreciation for a deep and rich history over the struggle of women and how they define themselves and how others define them.
March 19, 2022
Written by a professor and an American historian, this is a look at the concept and history of "woman" from the Puritans to today. Despite it being an academic title it is easy to read and completely engrossing. I enjoyed the intersectionality of it as well, Most books about women leave out women of color or the LGBTQ community. This author did not. It was beautifully researched and definitely a must read for anyone interested in American history of feminism.
January 22, 2024
2024 is shaping up to be a year of fantastic nonfiction doorstoppers for me. What an incredible book. Faderman’s research here is second to none. This history of rhetoric around the idea of “who is a woman” in light of Ketanji Brown Jackson being mocked with that question during her confirmation hearings is sorely needed in the current public discourse. The fact of the matter is, the idea of “woman” has never covered nor protected everyone assigned female at birth, and in fact the ideology of womanhood has been actively harmful towards huge swaths of women across American history. Faderman expertly shows how the idea of “woman” has been shaped, weaponized and deployed by men, women, and people of all genders from the early Puritan settlers’ witchcraft hysteria to the public pillorying of Anita Hill. An excellent, excellent history.
This book remains five stars for me just because of the depth of research and attention paid to the philosophical examination of gender rhetoric, but there are two major topics that I feel were not given enough attention. First, there was not coverage of Indian women in the American Indian Movement of the 60s and 70s, despite the fact that women were major players in several historic actions including the takeover of Alcatraz. Second, despite the fact that the author acknowledges that trans women and the trans rights movement have been re-defining concepts of gender and gender expression, transgender women aren’t included in the history of second-wave or even third-wave feminism here. Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson don’t even get a mention, which is disappointing as the author is extremely detailed in her coverage of different coalitions led by women of color, working-class women, and other women-led affinity groups during these movements. She even covers cases of transgressive gender expression by people identified as female throughout the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in America. A history of how trans women have fought regressive notions of gender is especially important because trans women are perhaps the most in danger under the current hysteria around trans and queer people as “groomers” in America. The author is careful to end the book by touching on these subjects, and I want to make it clear that the author is in NO WAY a TERF or gender essentialist; however, I would’ve liked a more thorough coverage of the history of trans women in general.
That being said, still an overall fantastic book. Be careful though, because even though this book is extremely well-written, some of the subject matter is so frustrating that I was grinding my teeth and had to take breaks. The coverage of anti feminist women, from anti-suffragettes to Phyllis Schlafly to the contemporary women white nationalists running rampant across the national stage, is especially infuriating. The coverage of Anita Hill’s testimony and Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings made me want to punch a wall, but instead, I’m going to go register to vote.
This book remains five stars for me just because of the depth of research and attention paid to the philosophical examination of gender rhetoric, but there are two major topics that I feel were not given enough attention. First, there was not coverage of Indian women in the American Indian Movement of the 60s and 70s, despite the fact that women were major players in several historic actions including the takeover of Alcatraz. Second, despite the fact that the author acknowledges that trans women and the trans rights movement have been re-defining concepts of gender and gender expression, transgender women aren’t included in the history of second-wave or even third-wave feminism here. Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson don’t even get a mention, which is disappointing as the author is extremely detailed in her coverage of different coalitions led by women of color, working-class women, and other women-led affinity groups during these movements. She even covers cases of transgressive gender expression by people identified as female throughout the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in America. A history of how trans women have fought regressive notions of gender is especially important because trans women are perhaps the most in danger under the current hysteria around trans and queer people as “groomers” in America. The author is careful to end the book by touching on these subjects, and I want to make it clear that the author is in NO WAY a TERF or gender essentialist; however, I would’ve liked a more thorough coverage of the history of trans women in general.
That being said, still an overall fantastic book. Be careful though, because even though this book is extremely well-written, some of the subject matter is so frustrating that I was grinding my teeth and had to take breaks. The coverage of anti feminist women, from anti-suffragettes to Phyllis Schlafly to the contemporary women white nationalists running rampant across the national stage, is especially infuriating. The coverage of Anita Hill’s testimony and Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings made me want to punch a wall, but instead, I’m going to go register to vote.
April 17, 2024
I don’t normally go for nonfiction, but this was an enjoyable read. It was a nice collection of women’s stories throughout the history of the US showing how the role of “woman” has changed with time.
I originally started reading with the question “What is a woman?” in the back of my head kind of hoping to be supplied an answer. But there is no straightforward answer to this because “woman” is incredibly dynamic and not all women fit the same mold of “woman”.
I appreciated the contrast through out the work of stories of women who were pioneers - being the first in higher education, fighting for the right to vote, entering spaces historically only available to men - with women who were content being in their traditional roles as mother and homemaker. It emphasized that is not one “woman” or one role for her to fill, but also that there no wrong answer to who “woman” is. Rather than trying to define “woman” as a collective, we should allow woman to define this individually for herself.
I originally started reading with the question “What is a woman?” in the back of my head kind of hoping to be supplied an answer. But there is no straightforward answer to this because “woman” is incredibly dynamic and not all women fit the same mold of “woman”.
I appreciated the contrast through out the work of stories of women who were pioneers - being the first in higher education, fighting for the right to vote, entering spaces historically only available to men - with women who were content being in their traditional roles as mother and homemaker. It emphasized that is not one “woman” or one role for her to fill, but also that there no wrong answer to who “woman” is. Rather than trying to define “woman” as a collective, we should allow woman to define this individually for herself.
May 17, 2022
Meticulously researched history of what it means to be an American woman, including an exploration of intersectionality and diversity. Scholarly.
January 17, 2023
Faderman traces the history of women in America alongside American conceptions of womanhood. Overall, this book is an excellent read. I took copious notes and will likely reference this book again. For example, she did a great job of telling how the women's rights movement was born out of the abolition movement when women were relegated to the sidelines at a major abolitionist conference. However, Faderman also frames "woman" as a cultural idea, and ends the book by looking at the current waters of gender ideology and asking (with no answer), "Will women cease to exist?" After page upon page of showing how women throughout American history have bucked narrow notions of womanhood, Faderman makes the same blunder as those who promoted things like "the cult of true womanhood" — mistaking the idea of womanhood for the reality of women. We're not going away anytime soon.
July 21, 2022
The starred Kirkus Review of Lillian Faderman’s book Woman: The American History of an Idea very accurately describes her book as an “intelligently provocative, vital reading experience…” as she explores what it means to be woman in America.
Although individual women are as varied as individuals in any species, the social construct of the idea of what a woman is has varied over the last 400 years. Faderman’s brilliantly researched history shows how the idea of woman as a class has been shaped by those in positions of power (usually men) and outside forces such as war, the economy, or a pandemic.
For those of us who are appalled at how the US Supreme Court has just sent us backwards regarding human rights for women, Faderman’s book may provide solace. The pendulum swing of women’s economic, social, sexual, and legal equality has always progressed with two swings forward and one back. Although big gains were often short-lived, the conservative right could never erase them completely.
What Faderman’s book made clear to me, was that class and privilege has always affected the idea and freedom of women. Butch lesbians like Anne Lister in the early 1800s were able to cross dress and step out of the traditional confines of women’s roles in public life and even live openly with another woman instead of marrying. “Boston marriages” were common in the late 1800s among college educated women who could make their own living or who had inherited money. Not true though for the working class or women of color who had no choice but to live under the rules of the patriarchy.
Interestingly, even women who argued against women getting the vote or stepping out of traditional roles that were “God’s plan for women” early in the last century were themselves unmarried or did not adhere to the restrictions of the traditional roles they espoused. Phyllis Schlafly, “perfectly coiffed and ramrod straight looking like a well-off 1950s housewife”, campaigned against the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1970s. She was well-educated with a doctorate degree in law, even running for political office while urging other women not to compete with men on an equal basis. Sadly, this hypocrisy of women on the radical right has continued with Amy Coney Barrett, a privileged educated white woman who managed to have a career in law and multiple children because she had educational opportunity, money, live-in childcare, and a supportive spouse who took on the role of “wife.” Yet, she would deprive poor women and women of color--with far fewer supports and options—of the ability to control their reproduction and thus their own lives.
Faderman’s book illustrated for me how the changing concept of woman affected my own life. As a girl growing up in the 1950s and 60s, I lived through the era of restrictive roles for women. Lesbianism was defined as a mental illness, abortion was illegal, and women’s education and entry into law and medicine was severely limited. Like Emily Blackwell over a century earlier, I experienced multiple rejections to medical school early on despite near perfect academic scores. I also had to travel to Mexico for an illegal abortion. Still, having come of age during second-wave feminism with its gains in women’s reproductive freedom and equality in education, I rode the wave of the changing concept of woman in my ability to enter the medical profession and enjoy a thriving career.
As a lesbian, I always had to work to support myself so the backward swings of the pendulum in the 1980s and 90s for married women urged by the culture to “opt out” and return to the traditional role of stay-at-home Mom did not affect me. Faderman shows, however, that each backlash and reversion of women to traditional roles of wife and mother and provider of sexual pleasure to men was followed by another step forward. More women than ever entered the workforce in a variety of jobs previously held by men and made progress on closing the education and pay gap. Punk rock groups like Bikini Kill sang that woman can do everything and were entitled to the same sex privileges men had hoarded for themselves. The Me-Too Movement demonstrated the extent of sexual harassment of women by men in positions of power. Women were no longer willing to put up and shut up.
As Faderman notes, even gender itself has undergone transformation with Generation Z introducing multiple gender choices with a whole spectrum of identities and associated behaviors. Well educated women can now earn their own living and no longer need a man for support. Women are no longer confined to traditional marriage and can establish diverse ways of being in relationship. This is all too much for the radical right who are once again attempting (and partially succeeding) in swinging the pendulum backwards to define the concept of woman as second-class citizens once again.
Though Faderman’s treatment of the idea of woman is academic with extensive references and notes, the book is very readable and held my interest throughout. I gained new perspective on the social forces affecting my grandmothers going back over three centuries in this country as well as the social forces affecting women (and lesbians) in my own lifetime. I read it straight through, going back to peruse sections several times. That is the sign of a really good book.
Although individual women are as varied as individuals in any species, the social construct of the idea of what a woman is has varied over the last 400 years. Faderman’s brilliantly researched history shows how the idea of woman as a class has been shaped by those in positions of power (usually men) and outside forces such as war, the economy, or a pandemic.
For those of us who are appalled at how the US Supreme Court has just sent us backwards regarding human rights for women, Faderman’s book may provide solace. The pendulum swing of women’s economic, social, sexual, and legal equality has always progressed with two swings forward and one back. Although big gains were often short-lived, the conservative right could never erase them completely.
What Faderman’s book made clear to me, was that class and privilege has always affected the idea and freedom of women. Butch lesbians like Anne Lister in the early 1800s were able to cross dress and step out of the traditional confines of women’s roles in public life and even live openly with another woman instead of marrying. “Boston marriages” were common in the late 1800s among college educated women who could make their own living or who had inherited money. Not true though for the working class or women of color who had no choice but to live under the rules of the patriarchy.
Interestingly, even women who argued against women getting the vote or stepping out of traditional roles that were “God’s plan for women” early in the last century were themselves unmarried or did not adhere to the restrictions of the traditional roles they espoused. Phyllis Schlafly, “perfectly coiffed and ramrod straight looking like a well-off 1950s housewife”, campaigned against the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1970s. She was well-educated with a doctorate degree in law, even running for political office while urging other women not to compete with men on an equal basis. Sadly, this hypocrisy of women on the radical right has continued with Amy Coney Barrett, a privileged educated white woman who managed to have a career in law and multiple children because she had educational opportunity, money, live-in childcare, and a supportive spouse who took on the role of “wife.” Yet, she would deprive poor women and women of color--with far fewer supports and options—of the ability to control their reproduction and thus their own lives.
Faderman’s book illustrated for me how the changing concept of woman affected my own life. As a girl growing up in the 1950s and 60s, I lived through the era of restrictive roles for women. Lesbianism was defined as a mental illness, abortion was illegal, and women’s education and entry into law and medicine was severely limited. Like Emily Blackwell over a century earlier, I experienced multiple rejections to medical school early on despite near perfect academic scores. I also had to travel to Mexico for an illegal abortion. Still, having come of age during second-wave feminism with its gains in women’s reproductive freedom and equality in education, I rode the wave of the changing concept of woman in my ability to enter the medical profession and enjoy a thriving career.
As a lesbian, I always had to work to support myself so the backward swings of the pendulum in the 1980s and 90s for married women urged by the culture to “opt out” and return to the traditional role of stay-at-home Mom did not affect me. Faderman shows, however, that each backlash and reversion of women to traditional roles of wife and mother and provider of sexual pleasure to men was followed by another step forward. More women than ever entered the workforce in a variety of jobs previously held by men and made progress on closing the education and pay gap. Punk rock groups like Bikini Kill sang that woman can do everything and were entitled to the same sex privileges men had hoarded for themselves. The Me-Too Movement demonstrated the extent of sexual harassment of women by men in positions of power. Women were no longer willing to put up and shut up.
As Faderman notes, even gender itself has undergone transformation with Generation Z introducing multiple gender choices with a whole spectrum of identities and associated behaviors. Well educated women can now earn their own living and no longer need a man for support. Women are no longer confined to traditional marriage and can establish diverse ways of being in relationship. This is all too much for the radical right who are once again attempting (and partially succeeding) in swinging the pendulum backwards to define the concept of woman as second-class citizens once again.
Though Faderman’s treatment of the idea of woman is academic with extensive references and notes, the book is very readable and held my interest throughout. I gained new perspective on the social forces affecting my grandmothers going back over three centuries in this country as well as the social forces affecting women (and lesbians) in my own lifetime. I read it straight through, going back to peruse sections several times. That is the sign of a really good book.
April 3, 2022
Quick Take: While there have always been woman ahead of their time, what it has mean to be “woman” has historically been defined (by men) as synonymous with “homemaker” and “mother.”
If I could give Woman: The American History of an Idea by Lillian Faderman more than 5-stars, I would! Lillian Faderman, an American historian dives into what it has meant to be a real “woman” throughout American history and how that definition changes if you are white, black, Hispanic, or Indian. This book made feel all the feels (unusual in non-fiction!): anger, heartbreak, amazement, and inspiration. This is the story of the American Woman, what men wanted us to be and who we truly are.
Faderman begins her quest to define the historical ideal woman in 1700’s America, shortly after the firsts colonists arrive. As early as the 1700’s the definition of “woman” was prescribed by men from the Bible. Woman was to be a helpmeet and support to men only. She had no recognition in her own right as she was the “weaker vessel” physically, emotionally, and mentally. Unfortunately, this idea persisted in one form or another until the early 1900’s.
This amazing historical account describes women ready to fight for the betterment of other women, break barriers and fight for what it right. I was inspired by the stories of bravery and saddened by the many women stuck in an untenable situation without power. I also learned about many important historical females that I had never heard of like the female Quaker preachers, Zitkala-Sa, a Dakota Sioux activist, Madame C.J. Walker and many more.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It gave me a comprehensive understanding of the women who have come before me, and I hope to add my voice to the future of what it means to be “woman.”
If I could give Woman: The American History of an Idea by Lillian Faderman more than 5-stars, I would! Lillian Faderman, an American historian dives into what it has meant to be a real “woman” throughout American history and how that definition changes if you are white, black, Hispanic, or Indian. This book made feel all the feels (unusual in non-fiction!): anger, heartbreak, amazement, and inspiration. This is the story of the American Woman, what men wanted us to be and who we truly are.
Faderman begins her quest to define the historical ideal woman in 1700’s America, shortly after the firsts colonists arrive. As early as the 1700’s the definition of “woman” was prescribed by men from the Bible. Woman was to be a helpmeet and support to men only. She had no recognition in her own right as she was the “weaker vessel” physically, emotionally, and mentally. Unfortunately, this idea persisted in one form or another until the early 1900’s.
This amazing historical account describes women ready to fight for the betterment of other women, break barriers and fight for what it right. I was inspired by the stories of bravery and saddened by the many women stuck in an untenable situation without power. I also learned about many important historical females that I had never heard of like the female Quaker preachers, Zitkala-Sa, a Dakota Sioux activist, Madame C.J. Walker and many more.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It gave me a comprehensive understanding of the women who have come before me, and I hope to add my voice to the future of what it means to be “woman.”
February 18, 2022
The title of this excellent book tells a reader just what to expect. This is an academic title that will talk about the concept and history of women over the course of 400 years of American history.
This title explores women’s experiences and the ways in which expectations for them could often be defined by others. Readers will also discover when and how women began to define their lives and experiences for themselves.
The author is a professor and she knows her subject well. She is also able to engage the reader and does so, right from the introduction, when she talks about her JHS, her sexual identity, and her having been raised by an unmarried mother. Professor Faderman notes the disconnect between her experience and the 1950s woman as portrayed on TV in the personage of a June Cleaver or a Donna Reed.
When Professor Faderman made her way into a PhD program, she chose to study women in America. One result of that decision is this book. Professor Faderman examines the ways in which women have been defined by both men and women and notes that, while some women wanted more (the vote, for example), others did not.
This is an engaging, interesting and absorbing study that moves from the seventeenth century to the present day. I highly recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
This book will be published on 15 Mar 2022.
This title explores women’s experiences and the ways in which expectations for them could often be defined by others. Readers will also discover when and how women began to define their lives and experiences for themselves.
The author is a professor and she knows her subject well. She is also able to engage the reader and does so, right from the introduction, when she talks about her JHS, her sexual identity, and her having been raised by an unmarried mother. Professor Faderman notes the disconnect between her experience and the 1950s woman as portrayed on TV in the personage of a June Cleaver or a Donna Reed.
When Professor Faderman made her way into a PhD program, she chose to study women in America. One result of that decision is this book. Professor Faderman examines the ways in which women have been defined by both men and women and notes that, while some women wanted more (the vote, for example), others did not.
This is an engaging, interesting and absorbing study that moves from the seventeenth century to the present day. I highly recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
This book will be published on 15 Mar 2022.
August 5, 2022
This was a fantastic foray into how women as a class have been defined over four centuries of American history, looking at the intersection of race, class, and sexuality in defining the contours of womanhood and who was excluded from It. A great reading experience for both lay readers, and those with more experience on the topic. Faderman does a great job moving from the broader social movements and historical trends, to intersperse them with the lives of individual women across the spectrum of experience, allowing her to highlight the contradictions of even those who stood against women's movements.
I was a bit worried at first, considering my recent luck with academic books that are geared towards the broader public. But this wasn't the case at all with Faderman's book. And I think the key reason for this is the fact that Faderman treats women as a class. Even when she is explaining how the meaning of womanhood was negotiated across the centuries and across different groups, she still makes it a point to understand the experiences of women as defined by their gender, rather than simply arguing for the way their differences undermined a single understanding of what it means to be woman.
An engrossing and informative read, that I appreciated very deeply.
I was a bit worried at first, considering my recent luck with academic books that are geared towards the broader public. But this wasn't the case at all with Faderman's book. And I think the key reason for this is the fact that Faderman treats women as a class. Even when she is explaining how the meaning of womanhood was negotiated across the centuries and across different groups, she still makes it a point to understand the experiences of women as defined by their gender, rather than simply arguing for the way their differences undermined a single understanding of what it means to be woman.
An engrossing and informative read, that I appreciated very deeply.
March 15, 2022
The author traces the evolution of what it means to be a “woman” in America, from the arrival of the Puritans down to the present-day. The book is meticulously researched, & the author strives to show the differing experiences of white women to those of BIPOC communities & their experiences of intersectionality between race & misogyny. I think the author has captured accurately the 'three steps forward & two steps back dance' that has dogged the advancement of women's rights & equality since the beginning.
I would advise reading this in short bursts as the reminder of the constant misogyny throughout history is strong - I read it as one would read a fiction book & I had to keep stopping, & returning once I had calmed down enough to continue. If I had to venture one criticism, it would be that the final chapter on the most recent events seemed to be whirled through compared to all the other time periods.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Yale University Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
I would advise reading this in short bursts as the reminder of the constant misogyny throughout history is strong - I read it as one would read a fiction book & I had to keep stopping, & returning once I had calmed down enough to continue. If I had to venture one criticism, it would be that the final chapter on the most recent events seemed to be whirled through compared to all the other time periods.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Yale University Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
September 14, 2023
This book took dedication, especially as a bedside nighttime read. But it was really worth the effort. The author did a great job of weaving American history with the stories of America women, of varying demographics. The definitions and expectations have not only evolved over the past 400 years, but they’ve really bounced around a lot more than I realized, following a very non-linear path.
As a woman in my 50s I related to much of the later chapters, and remembered some of the highlights. But I realized that how I once viewed them, or how I remember them now, didn’t necessarily mesh with the facts. I was also amazed how much I learned, even about events and attitudes that occurred during my lifetime.
I appreciated the recap in the epilogue with the lingering questions. Where are we going and where will we be in the next century?
I strongly encourage giving this book a read, even if it takes you months to finish!
As a woman in my 50s I related to much of the later chapters, and remembered some of the highlights. But I realized that how I once viewed them, or how I remember them now, didn’t necessarily mesh with the facts. I was also amazed how much I learned, even about events and attitudes that occurred during my lifetime.
I appreciated the recap in the epilogue with the lingering questions. Where are we going and where will we be in the next century?
I strongly encourage giving this book a read, even if it takes you months to finish!
February 20, 2023
I look forward to reading this to my future children. Could not be a better, more comprehensive book about the variable experiences of women (across race) in American society from 17th - 21st century. I learned more than I expected and thoroughly enjoyed every chapter of this book.
May 16, 2022
Written in Faderman's inimitable readable style, this is a fascinating overview of what is has meant to be "a woman" in America through the ages.
October 4, 2022
Learned so much from this book! Really enjoyed it.
December 12, 2022
A pretty solid read/listen. I do think I learned about some aspects of the history of women in America that I might not have otherwise
January 19, 2024
A scholarly book that is extremely readable and exquisitely sourced.
December 20, 2022
A timely book for Women's History Month. Faderman provides a detailed history of the concept of what constitutes womanhood. Starting from the earliest days of colonial America to the present 21st century #MeToo era, you get the evolution of how society viewed women. While I found this book extremely interesting and enlightening, I also came away with the feeling that the more things change, the more things stay the same. Women have come a long way in many respects, yet we still face many of the same chauvinistic, sexist attitudes that have existed since Biblical times. Despite this, "Woman: The American History of An Idea" is definitely a worthwhile read and an excellent addition to the library of women's history literature.
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