The Good Girl Revolution
Young Rebels with Self-Esteem and High Standards
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Across the country, there’s a youth-led rebellion challenging the status quo. In Seattle and Pittsburgh, teenage girls protest against companies that sell sleazy clothing. Online, a nineteen-year-old describes her struggles with her mother, who she feels is pressuring her to lose her virginity. In a small town outside Philadelphia, an eleventh-grade girl, upset over a “dirty book” read aloud in English class, takes her case to the school board. These are not your mother’s rebels.
Drawing on numerous studies and interviews, the brilliant Wendy Shalit makes the case that today’s virulent “bad girl” mindset truly oppresses young women. She reveals how the media, one’s peers, and even parents can undermine girls’ quests for their authentic selves, and explains what it means to break from the herd mentality and choose integrity over popularity. Written with sincerity and upbeat humor, The Good Girl Revolution rescues the good girl from the realm of mythology and old manners guides to show that today’ s version is the real rebel. Society may perceive the good girl as “mild,” but Shalit demonstrates that she is in fact the opposite. The new female role models are not “people pleasing” or repressed; they are outspoken and reclaiming their individuality. These empowering stories are sure to be an inspiration to teenagers and parents alike. Join the conversation at www.thegoodgirlrevolution.com
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this follow-up to her 1999 A Return to Modesty, Shalit takes a second stab at getting the women of the Western world to stand up and take notice of their rampant objectification. Using letters, interviews and various studies, this new book examines current attitudes toward sexuality, "empowerment" and childhood among parents, teachers, kids and the mass media. Like her last, this volume is dense with anecdotes designed to shock and dismay (a mother who tells her 25-year-old that she is going to lose her boyfriend if she doesn't sleep with him, a teacher who tells a 14-year-old that you might as well call it over if you haven't had sex by the third date), and to report on the women and girls who aren't giving into the pressure of hyper-sexualized society-including the harassment they routinely face because of their stand (Shalit answers with admirable bonhomie her own critics, who dismiss her as a backward-thinking " 'professional virgin,' " "a seat that I believe is already occupied by Madonna"). This book takes a hard look from the traditional family-values perspective at how we got to where we are and what progress can be made, and does so with a conviction that will resonate with and bolster many parents.
