Books › Woman Hating
Woman Hating
First published 1974 · 217 pages
An unflinching radical feminist critique that dissects cultural misogyny before envisioning a liberated, genderless future.
What it feels like
Reading this foundational text of second-wave feminism is an intense and challenging intellectual experience. The narrative maintains a steady, analytical pace as it unflinchingly confronts the historical and cultural realities of misogyny, from the subtle conditioning of fairy tales to the overt violence of foot binding and witch burning. The mood is serious and deeply critical, asking the reader to sit with uncomfortable truths about gender roles and the psychology of sexism. Yet, the emotional arc does not end in despair; it shifts toward a visionary, thought-provoking conclusion. The direct, rigorous prose ultimately invites the reader to imagine a radical new human community entirely free from the constraints of gender, rewarding those who seek transformative feminist theory.
- Mood
- intense
- challenging
- thought-provoking
- serious
- Tone
- analytical
- unflinching
- radical
- critical
- visionary
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- historical oppression · cultural depictions of women · the psychology of sexism · envisioning a genderless society · radical feminist theory
- The writing
- Direct and analytical, dissecting cultural myths and historical atrocities with unflinching academic rigor.
- The arc
- Moves from a stark confrontation with historical and cultural misogyny toward a visionary hope for a liberated, genderless future.
- Who it's for
- Readers interested in foundational second-wave feminist theory and radical critiques of gender, media, and history.
Content notes
- discussions of pornography
- sexism and misogyny
- historical violence
- witch burning
- foot binding
About the book
Dworkin examines the place and depiction of women in fairy tales and pornography, focusing on the French erotic novels Story of O and The Image, and the magazine Suck. She then looks at the historical practices of Chinese foot binding and Medieval European witch burning from a radical feminist perspective. The book's final section discusses the concept of androgyny within various cultures' creation myths and argues for "the development of a new kind of human being and a new kind of human community" free from gender and gender roles.
Description from Open Library.
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