Women, Men, and the Whole Damn Thing
Feminism, Misogyny, and Where We Go From Here
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
A brilliant, impassioned, unflinching account of the firestorm of #MeToo, how we got there, and where we must now go.
In Women, Men, and the Whole Damn Thing, author David Leser presents an essential and incisive investigation, unearthing the roots of misogyny, its inextricable links to the patriarchy, and how history brought us to the #MeToo movement and the wave of incandescent female rage that is sweeping the world. Crucially, he also interrogates his own psyche, privilege, and culpability as he bears witness to the “collective wound of the world” and asks how we can move towards healing and profound and permanent change.
This book calls on men (yes, all men) to be accountable for their contribution to the continuing oppression of women by the patriarchal structures that have dominated our culture historically and through to the present. He argues that misogyny and female oppression is the greatest moral issue of our times and we are all responsible for dismantling the structures which cause such oppression. This book is his journey into how to grapple with both the personal and collective aftermath of #MeToo and the new future.
Including interviews with Tina Brown, Zainab Salbi, Marlene Schiappa, and Helen Garner, among other globally recognized names, Women, Men, and the Whole Damn Thing is a bold, honest, and self-searching global overview of the cultural moment of misogyny that we exist in and, perhaps, a way to move forward.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Leser (To Begin to Know) surveys "universal crimes against women" in this searing, deeply reported account. "It's here, there, and everywhere," Leser writes about sexual harassment, "coded into the system and architecture of where we work and how we live." He credits the #MeToo movement for allowing women "to describe the not-so-alternative reality they have always inhabited," and documents abuse and rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Louis C. K., Irish rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, and other prominent men in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Leser also points out misogyny in Jewish prayers, the New Testament, and the works of Aristotle, and cites shocking statistics about discrimination, harassment, and sexual violence ("In America, a woman is raped every 9 seconds and a rape is reported every 6.2 seconds"). He interviews women's rights activists including Zainib Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, and playwright Eve Ensler, talks with his daughter about her first sexual encounters, and casts a critical eye on his own behavior and attitudes. Leser's fluid writing style and emotional honesty will keep readers from sinking into despair, despite the heaviness of the material. This powerful call to heal the "collective wound" of misogyny resonates.
