Title: The F Word: Feminism in Jeopardy

Author: Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Publisher: Seal Press 2004

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 332

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); Feminism; Mount TBR; 52 Books - W30

Many young women today consider "feminism" a dirty word, an antiquated term that hasn’t expanded to accommodate the diverse needs of a new generation. In addition, decades of negative campaigns, excessively "messaged" issues, and hanging chads have all combined to make political apathy appear not only smart, but sexy. The result is that while they still bemoan the state of gender politics, gender equity, and the agendas of their local, state, and national politicians, nearly 19 million young women chose not to vote in the last presidential election. Yes, the face of feminism is changing, but to what end? Is a new generation taking for granted the rights hard-won only a generation before? And by focusing on cultural–not electoral–politics, are young women giving their power away? In this pivotal book, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, political and environmental consultant (and wife of Washington State’s Republican senate majority leader), asks these critical questions, tracing feminism’s distinguished past and asking what can be done to protect and further women’s rights and freedoms.

My main reason for giving the book 3 stars was because it felt very dated to me. To be fair, it was published in 2004, so a lot of her examples are dated. I felt that for someone who reads a lot of current events, social politics articles and books, the information was a repeat of what I already knew. I would recommend this book for someone who is interested in learning more about third wave feminism and an overview of the sociopolitical situation. Just not going to be the best book for someone like myself.