[lbo-talk] Uncle Tom and Gloria Steinem

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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

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