The Equality Illusion

This book, by Kat Banyard, is a broad but detailed overview of the key issues facing women in the 21st century; an introductory catalyst for making feminists. I bought in efforts to try to brush up on my understanding of the topic before embarking on a module in the social philosophy of feminism, and while I consider myself a fairly well-informed man when it comes to this* there's always room for improvement, especially when the lecturer is one of the world's best-known feminist thinkers, plus the fact that I'm male, means some extra initiatives are probably worthwhile. I read it too slowly though and so have now only just finished it while halfway through the course, but I'm still glad I read it. Note, that's different to enjoying it. I didn't enjoy reading this book, nor (but for brief parts of the last chapter) do I think anyone reasonably could - it's the kind of book that shocks, upsets, infuriates and spurs the reader into deciding to try to be more active and aware.
   Topics are organised loosely around six main areas where women's rights are still much too far from proper liberation:

• Socially-internalised norms and expectations of gender identity, especially female body image, which are propagated and enforced by the media, resulting in widespread insecurity, mental illness, bullying, eating disorders, and so on.
• How these norms, now with main regard to gender identity and roles, are propagated in social education systems; children grow up constrained into their roles in the patriarchy, which from a very early age comes off worse for women.
• Difficulties in entering and progressing in normal working life for women, because of systemic inequalities in childcare expectations, and employer discrimination.
• Realities of domestic rape and violence, which far outnumbers cases of serious abuse from strangers; the problems of responsibility and victimisation in both are examined.
• Truly abysmal facts about the sex industry, from porn to prostitution to lap-dancing clubs, and how the 'empowerment' that these enterprises often claim to give women is utterly bogus.
• Problems of reproductive rights, and the importance of access to contraception but moreso the importance of making men approach the issue sensibly and receptively.

Each of these topics is covered by a mixture of interviews with over a hundred real women from diverse backgrounds, backed up by statistics and figures demonstrating the scale of each problem. It's an excellent way to introduce someone to the issues: the stories make them human and understandable, the numbers give you a sense of the (too often jaw-dropping) scope and magnitude on which similar stories occur. The perfect way to discuss the need for feminism, in the dichotomy of personal and political; it makes for a very upsetting read. I was basically a proxy misandrist by the end.

   Consistent throughout her discussion ran the rejection of the liberal stance taken by many contemporary feminists. You know, for example, how some may support a woman's right to be a stripper because they're making those choices autonomously, and therefore allowing her to do so is 'empowering'. Banyard disagrees:** these choices, though made individually and arguably even rationally, are not made in a vaccuum; they are made in a context where women's autonomous capabilities, especially for disadvantaged women who do generally tend to be the ones staying in abusive relationships or becoming sex workers, are hindered and quashed by patriarchal systems of oppression. For example, when a prostitute has sex with a man who hired them, should feminism approve? Many liberals would say yes; she is autonomously choosing to offer bodily services to him, and so as a woman she has power in doing do. However, her choice to do so is probably not the thing she would primarily choose if other normal options were available to her. I'll leave this discussion here lest it veer from feminism to an all-out plummet into the depths of moral-political philosophy. What even is freedom, dude?

   One aspect I was disappointed didn't get more discussion was feminist issues in global economic context; there are so many more broad and depressingly deep problems facing women in developing countries, but the author is drawing mainly on experience in working to help disadvantaged women in the UK and her factual research is in support of this too. No worries then; there are plenty of other interesting-looking books about global feminism on my list. The focus on our own country drives the issues too I think; it brings both story and statistic closer to home.

   Another thing I was slightly disappointed she didn't much discuss was the changing conception of gender under third-wave feminism; though I can't really complain as the blurb does say it's more about achieving sociocultural equality for men and women rather than contributing to the altogether more philosophical discussion on sexual identity. Again, there are loads of other books for that on my list, but I'd expected a brief introduction to the topic in this one as it seemed a good thing to include in a 'welcome to feminism' manual.

   That's actually a really good way to describe the book; a 'welcome to feminism manual'. It doesn't tell you exactly how it works (i.e. sociology, philosophy, psychology) but it does tell you what it's for (tackling the issues outlined) and how to use it: the final chapter is an overview of various grassroots movements and institutions working for betterment of women's rights, and how readers can get involved in the struggle against the patriarchy. Glimmers of hope are seen in this closing section; real change properly empowering real women's capabilities is taking place as oppression is increasingly challenged. Like No Logo in the anti-capitalist surge last decade, this is a book providing an incisive look into the heart of a social ill, inspiring the left to take heed and take action. If you at all care about the wellbeing of women, I recommend you read it and be shocked into becoming a feminist.

* Feminism is the big bandwagon for lefty activists at the moment, especially at the University of Sheffield - where our SU has a bit of a reputation - so naturally I'm a passionate advocate of it. Several women from our alternative economics society (okay, and some of the ones from the actual EconSoc too) helped organise seminars about feminist economics, and upcoming there's a full week of similar events. And being part of the students' union's newspaper, particularly the comment and opinion section, has inevitably yielded far more than its fare share of gender-shattering polemics. Forge Press do so so so so so many articles about this kind of thing.

** As do I. However, as a man, I have to take a backseat on having-feminist-opinions, at the risk of 'mansplaining' (i.e. assuming that my own opinions on gender issues, despite my white straight male privilege, are as legitimate of those of people who do experience oppression, and thus propagating those opinions without first making extensive empathetic efforts to take on board the realities of the issues from the perspectives of people they actually effect). This topic was something I was often concerned about as it was a point of unspoken disagreement between me and some (not all) strong female feminists I know, so I'm glad that Kat Banyard argues the same way I would've.