[lbo-talk] Uncle Tom and Gloria Steinem

info at pulpculture.org info at pulpculture.org
Tue Mar 14 17:05:20 PST 2006


I've been engaging in informal discussions of Ariel Levy's book, Female Chauvinist Pigs, to clarify my criticisms of her book. The kind of note taking on might do with a pad as I read the book. I've just kind of tossed it up there in preparation to write a more careful review.

The centerpiece of her argument is that women have our own "Uncle Toms" and she calls the Female Chauvinist Pigs. She takes pains to explain what she means and even gestures at her knowledge of what a problematic argument she's making. Nonetheless, she tells you she's going to make it anyway.

This troubled me last fall when I read this book at the bookstore (I know, that's evil!), but it really troubled me when I was in a position to carefully read it again.

On one minor, trivia point now, I'm trying to remember which black author or figure first criticized Gloria Steinem for using "uncle Tomming" to analyze women's situation. She did so in an opinion piece for the Washington Post, 1970, and in her testimony for the hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment.

Anyone know who criticized Steinem or who's criticized feminist appropriations of the phrase, a phrase which makes a facile comparison between women's condition and slavery?

If you belong to discussion lists where someone might know the answer, feel free to pass this along.

Thanks for any insight,

k

"Scream-of-consciousness prose, peppered with sociological observations, political ruminations, and in-yore-face colloquial assaults."

-- Dennis Perrin, redstateson.blogspot.com

Bitch | Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org



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