Book Review: Sexual Politics by Kate Millett
Introduction
The published dissertation for Millett’s PhD in Literature from Columbia University was a book called the Sexual Politics by Kate Millett. In 1970, Millet finished her dissertation however she started it way back in 1969 but successfully defended the dissertation and published it almost ten years later. The book was known to be a master piece and also looked at as being very much successful and notoriousduring the time it was written. Research shows that Sexual Politics and economics was a piece that assisted influence and inspiring the move of feminism. Millett’s controversial thesis in Sexual Politics and economics is that women are being oppressed by a society that is patriarch since the start of mankind and that there is asucceeding political relationship among patriarchy and also the female sex. In 1970, Millett groundbreaking study of mysogyny in American writings was a radical break from custom and a risky move for a young intellectual. Furthermore to helping to install a new school of literary disapproval, feminist study, this book was extremely powerful among a certain section of the women's crusade of the 1970's. The author came to the point that men are trained to control women and that women, through socialization are trained to be inactive and obedient to men. Millett chiefly uses literature in order to back up her argument but likewise uses proof from history, sociologyand anthropology.
Chapter One
Millett opens her well-known polemic with some scientific examination of sex scenes from novels by Norman Mailerand Henry Miller. The Mailer part fine points the anal rape of a maid by a man who has just slayed his spouse - with the maid actually enjoying it. In the first chapter, which is called, “Instances of Sexual Politics” the author manages to utilize some instances from using other pieces of literature. These other pieces of literature were used to show that women are being dominated by men, especially when it has something to do with money(Millet). These other pieces of literature were able to show how the male/patriarchal society was oppressingwomen by forcing them to be submissive and make less money as possible. When it comes economics she was able to put the focus on the way the men were dominating women when it comes to money and also the forces a male dominated society puts on women so as to keep them submissive and obedient (for instancemaking more money than them). Millett was able to makes some great examples of the way a male dominated society is seen through means of literature. Nevertheless, Millett points out that Feminist economics is the serious study of economics as well as its epistemology, methodology, empirical research, and history attempting to overcome androcentric (patriarchaland male) prejudices.
Chapter Two
Next, chapter 2 is called “Theory of Sexual Politics and Economics” and here the author makes the conclusion that patriarchy is significantly powerful for the reason that it has been an institution for a long time and that patriarchy is predominant in nearly every culture on the planet especially when it comes to controlling the finances. Millett also settles that patriarchy is something that is imbedded in almost every feature of culture and men return all the power in pretty much every setting of society; educational, political, financial, etc Millett finds a way of explaining the organization of patriarchy and its origins by means of an interdisciplinary tactic. Millett also does things such as utilize some examples and then quotesthe sources from anthropology, history, sociology, education, religious conviction and political viewpoint. By means of these various and strong kind of examples, Millett leaks patriarchy’s part in causing women into sexual objects in addition to sexual and domestic slaves for men through social /socializationconditioning(Cohen). The amount one offender of this is the nuclear family. Millettlikewise provides a viewpoint of how a male dominated society has been able to apply its control over women and also restrict their finances. She was able to do a phenomenal job at using adisplay of disciplines and teachers’ works as indication to back up her argument. Millettquiteand fluid diverse examples are what make her sentimentsapproximately unquestionable(Millet). She truly exemplifies the omnipresence of patriarchy in all surfaces of life and how deep entrenchedmale-controlledopinions are in our culture and also the way they control women financially. For example, on jobs women are paid much less than the men. However, being able to identifyand recognize sexual objectification of women bya male dominated society, as Millett is able to do in this chapter and during the course of the book is the first step in retreating it, something that the feminist drive is now (and throughout the Second Wave) putting much exertion into.
Chapter Three
Kate Millett, as a feminist economist called attention to the social edifices of traditional economics, questioning the degree to which it is objectiveand positive, and displaying how its models and methods are prejudiced towards masculine favorites." He allowed men to "rationalize the invidious relationship between the sexes, to ratify traditional roles". Chapter three is the next section and it is called the “The Sexual Revolution, First Phase: 1830-1930,” here, the author brakes down her story of the beginning part of the Sexual Revolution into three sections; literarypolitical, and polemical(Paisely). In Millett’s political part of the chapter, she was able to provide the history that is behind the procedure of literal objectification of women in addition to the “Women’s Crusade” or what the author believes was the path to what would become the Sexual Revolution.
Millettlikewiseclarifies that historians along with political theorists, over-all were not including women in revolutions and politics all over time and normally just put the emphasis on women’s suffrage which was considered to be an injustice to women all over, as women have been known to play a part in politics, society and revolutions for all of time by having a subordinate and political connection with patriarchy/men. She shows the dialogue on gender, mostly women and education all through 1830-1930. She was stressing mostly on the dichotomous assessments of John Ruskinand John Stewart Mill; Rationalist (forward thinkingand moderate in nature) versus gallant (patriarchaland conservative) philosophy. Millett then also goes into deep depth of Friedrich Engal’s deep-seated and ground-breaking/Marxist assessments on patriarchyand gender.
In the section that is literaryof the chapter, Millett does go a step further in making the point that economics is traditionally emphasized on topics said to be "culturally masculine" for instance abstraction autonomy, and logic, women's libber economists call for the addition of more feminine topics for example family economics, connections, concreteness, and feeling(Cohen).On the other hand, Chapter 3 is very interesting and was shown in a pleasant, organized way, something a big part of the book does seem to show. The author manages to provide great historical background and utilizes a plethora of thought-provoking and strong sources while managing to work in literature in a way that is engaging. The most attention-grabbing and vital part of the chapter is the dialogue on women, for the reason that the discourses are what truthfully influenced society and status quo of that era.
Chapter Four
“The Counterrevolution: 1930-1960” is what Chapter 4 is called, the author talks about this arrangement and ideology of moving back the progression that had happened for women/ the start of a sexual revolution previous to 1930. She also talks about inclusion of such topics have been helping create rules that have been reducing gender, ethnic, and cultural discrimination and inequity, sustaining normative objectives central to every type of economics.TogetherSoviet Union and Nazi Germany policy deprived women the human rights over their bodies and heartened women to be house slaves to men. Soviet Union and Nazi Germany nations put stress on the significance of family, in addition to putting huge pressure on women to have as many children possible for the betterment of their country(Cohen). Millett likewisedeliberates the philosophy of Sigmund Freud and other Post-Freudian philosophers, who wanted to destroy any fairness among sexes and persuadecivilization that women were characteristicallylesser to men and only true role was to stay at home and make babies.
Millett was able to provide a decent background to the return of the progression for women nevertheless, she endeavors to disapproveof such policy and creed but by this point in the book her arguments against patriarchal institutions are quite dull (Thompson). The author needed to have likewise included American guidelines and societal forces throughout the Cold War, which made the attempts to place women back in their domesticand traditional role (Whelan).
Chapter Five
When it comes to chapters 5-8 basically just mirror all of the other sections in the book. In other words, they are literary reflections of what was talked aboutpreviously in the manuscript. Many feminists call attention to value judgments in economic analysis. This idea is contrary to the typical conception of economics as a positive science held by many practitioners(Millet). For example, Julie Nelson suggests that "the issues that economists choose to study, the kinds of questions they ask, and the type of analysis undertaken all are a product of a belief system which is influenced by numerous factors, some of them ideological in character Millett manages to put the emphasis on the writings on people that are notable for instance Norman Mailer D.H. Lawrence, Jean Genet and Henry Miller, dedicating a chapter to each of these authors. However, Millett managed to give a lot of criticism concerning each of these authors except Genet for supporting and keeping patriarchy or male dominated society type of ideology in their works along with male power and cruelty of women in relationships and all through sex. These writing likewiseassistedin fueling counterrevolutionary type of ideas. However the author does show some type of admiration when it comes to some of their works(Millet). For example, she talks about free trade. She makes the point that the central principle of mainstream economics is that trade can make everyone better off even through relative benefit and efficiency gains from concentration and superior competence.She makes the point that many feminist economists question this claim. Caren Grown Diane Elson, and Nilufer Cagatay see the sights the role that gender inequalities play in worldwide trade and how such trade redesigns gender difference itself(Whelan). She makes the point that other feminist economics explore whose interests detailed trade practices are serving.
I really do have this belief that Millett provided a lot of literary example, particularly of those written in her literary mirror imagesections in Chapter 1 and did not really feel the need to go into bigger complexity of these literary works, at any rate in the book as her dissertation had to for the reason that it was a Literature exposition. I believe that if the author had utilized those chapters to provide some real-life rather than using some kind of fictional examples, Millett point would be even much stronger. However, Chapters 5-8 do not really serve that much of a purpose. They appear to have much less use than the other chapters and also are somewhat boring in their point.
Kate Millett is an author that appears to come up with some amazingly points that are valid and well worth looking into. These points are valid particularly in regards to the institution of patriarchy and then provide some big insights to the history that is behind the institution. Millett was able topublish her book at the right time, in the center of the second trend of feminism. By means of Sexual Politics, Millett was and is capable of greatly influencing budding feminists and provides non-feminists the energy they need in order to be on their way to being a women's libber(Paisely). Millett was able to utilize an incredible collection of sources and disciplines in order to upkeep her extremelystrong argument. Kate Milletton the other handservicesliterature to athorough level and lacks organization during the course of much of her manuscript. Millett elucidates how true sexual revolution could be successful (through radical extermination of the nuclear family and old-stylesexual category roles) but offers no kind of concrete ideas on how to accomplish such a revolution(Millet). Kate Millett was a woman thatsponsors for the questioning of the present circumstances and the institution of a male dominated society but besides that proposes no direction to the rising feminist crusade.
Though Kate Millett classic is peppered with occasionally thought-provoking conversations and information (even if those measurements may not always, to me, advocate what they appear to advocate to Kate), Millett's "examination" -- chiefly of literary participatesat times does appear to be a little unjust, erroneous, and unprofessional. Kate Millett quotes passages COMPLETELY out of context just tofancy her agenda, and is disturbingly lacking in compassion for men who were stressed with the sense of sexual identity with a perceptiveness and complexity that she herself deeply lacks (Paisely). However, after reading Kate Millett classic, I am not all that thrilled with the male-dominated account of the West, neverthelessit appears that Millett is projecting too much of her own anger onto those most unworthy, and her concepts are often stifled by her pureabsence of personality.
Kate Millett classic appears to be written in way that makes it hard for a male reader to see it as something that is positive, but women like Millett, with frequently inconsistent ideas, a clear bias against any achievement which has been attained by men, could strike some males as to what they most detest being thought of as: vicious weaklings! Bitter weak men with too little appreciationfor distinction, wit, and actual human empathy. For someone that is so steadfastly ready to believe that alterations among womenand men are anatomical simply, she surely suggests an air of "uniqueness" when it comes making men look like they are the bad guys.
If women and men are just "human beings" with dissimilar plumbing, how to reason for what Millett understands as the terrible cruelty of women by men? Many reading her book probably would argue that women and men are not the same, nor do they need to be, and the extreme anxiety of so many feminists to try to demonstrate otherwise (by close-fitting to cold, uninspired scientific inquiries) is borderline wretched in some ways, as is their incapability and reluctance to speak to why cultural androgeny is considered to be some kind of indisputable good.
Sexual Politics clearly a book that discusses Freudian notion and then goes on to critique the sexism of other important authors about feminism and the economy. For instance it makes the point that numerous of feminists have been calling attention to price decisions in economic analysis. This knowledge is opposing to the usual origin of economics as a positive science held by countless practitioners. For instance, Julie Nelson makes the point that "the substances that economists pick to study, the types of queries they are asking, and the kind of analysis assumed all are a produce of a belief system which is prejudiced by many influences, some of them philosophical in appeal."
In general, Sexual Politics is a great book on the subordinate association women have with a male dominated society and would need to be read (or at least philosophies be taught) by all college student, man or woman. Education is the first step in overcominga male dominated society once and for all(Millet).This is a feminist text that is classic, and I'm that is an important read to understand the plight of how feminist women think and feel about a male controlled society. Even though written twenty years ago, Kate Millett classic is incredibly applicable today. Some of the statistics Kate Millett sites may be different now, but, unfortunately, little else is. This book was able to dive in and examine the societal principles, theories, and philosophies that dominate women, and how these ethics are both reverberated in and covered by works of literature(Millet). As talked about before, it was her doctoral dissertation, so it is intellectual and theoretical, but it is still a book that is purely fascinating. Kate Millett classic could be considered the book that started the second movement of women's liberation, and it is still just as significant for today's women's libber as it was then. It is clear that in the end, Kate Millett has had a very strong impact on American literature. In fact, it still resonates today.
Works Cited
Cohen, Mirelle. "Feminism with Men: Bridging the Gender Gap." Teaching Sociology 34.2 (2006): 191-3. ProQuest.
Dànielle, Nicole DeVoss. "Feminism and Composition: A Critical Sourcebook." College Composition and Communication 56.1 (2004): 157-61.
Drakopoulou, Maria. "FEMINISM, GOVERNMENTALITY AND THE POLITICS OF LEGAL REFORM." Griffith Law Review 17.1 (2008): 330-56. ProQuest.
Knop, Karen, Ralf Michaels, and Annelise Riles. "FROM MULTICULTURALISM TO TECHNIQUE: FEMINISM, CULTURE, AND THE CONFLICT OF LAWS STYLE." Stanford law review 64.3 (2012): 589-656.
Millet, Kate. "Sexual Politics." New York City: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. , 2009. 1-499.
Paisley, Fiona. "Evolutionary Women: "Race" and Modernity at the Heart of White American Feminism, 1870s to 1930s." Journal of Women's History 12.3 (2000): 218-26.
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Thompson, Becky. "Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism." Feminist Studies 28.2 (2002): 336-60.
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Book Review: Sexual Politics by Kate Millett
Introduction
Why was Kate Millett book so controversial?
The book was known to be a master piece
very much successful and notorious during the time in regards to economics
women are being oppressed by a society that is patriarch since the start of mankind
What did Millet want to show?
- women are being oppressed by a society that is patriarch since the start of mankind when it comes to economics
Restriction in the way women spend money.
What is Theory of Economics Feminism?
- organization of patriarchy and its origins
- for a long time and that patriarchy is predominant in nearly every culture on the planet
provides a viewpoint of how a male dominated society has been able to apply its control over women in a cross-cultural setting
Recognize sexual objectification of women by a male dominated society
- The amount one offender of this is the nuclear family.
exemplifies the omnipresence of patriarchy in all surfaces of life and how deep entrenched male-controlled opinions are in our culture
What was the Counterrevolution with feminism and the economics: 1930-1960?
- The progression of women movement
- Women became more discriminated against
start of a sexual revolution previous to 1930
What were Sigmund Freud and other Post-Freudian philosophers?
Together Soviet Union and Nazi Germany policy deprived women the human rights over their bodies and heartened women to be house slaves to men
Works Cited
Barron, Anne. "Feminism, Aestheticism and the Limits of Law." Feminist Legal Studies 8.3 (2000): 275-317.
Dànielle, Nicole DeVoss. "Feminism and Composition: A Critical Sourcebook." College Composition and Communication 56.1 (2004): 157-61. ProQuest.
Esack, Farid. "In Search of Islamic Feminism: One Woman's Global Journey." The Muslim World 91.1 (2001): 257-9.
Gilmore, Stephanie. "Looking Back, Thinking Ahead: Third Wave Feminism in the United States." Journal of Women's History 12.4 (2001): 215-21.
Knop, Karen, Ralf Michaels, and Annelise Riles. "FROM MULTICULTURALISM TO TECHNIQUE: FEMINISM, CULTURE, AND THE CONFLICT OF LAWS STYLE." Stanford law review 64.3 (2012): 589-656.
Marinucci, Mimi. "Television, Generation X, and Third Wave Feminism: A Contextual Analysis of the Brady Bunch." Journal of Popular Culture 38.3 (2005): 505-24.
Paisley, Fiona. "Evolutionary Women: "Race" and Modernity at the Heart of White American Feminism, 1870s to 1930s." Journal of Women's History 12.3 (2000): 218-26.
Paper, Jordan. "Feminism and World Religions." Philosophy East and West 51.1 (2001): 118-20.
Pearson, Kyra. "Mapping Rhetorical Interventions in "National" Feminist Histories: Second Wave Feminism and Ain't I a Woman." Communication Studies 50.2 (1999): 158-73.
Whelan, Emma. "Feminism in Twentieth-Century Science, Technology, and Medicine." Contemporary Sociology 32.3 (2003): 387-9.
Zine, Jasmin. "CREATING A CRITICAL FAITH-CENTERED SPACE FOR ANTIRACIST FEMINISM: Reflections of a Muslim Scholar-Activist." Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 20.2 (2004): 167,187,196.
