Book Reviews
Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, By Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards
April, 2009
Want a no-nonsense guide to feminism? Here it is. Manifesta, by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards is packed full of information and evidence that hope to define feminism. The two authors begin the book with a look at a world without feminism. Not only is this an enticing way to start the book, it sets the scene for the movements Baumgardner and Richards profile, and the events and organizations they describe. For a younger feminist, while some parts of the scene they set may seem from a generation ago, certain parts are shockingly relatable. Manifesta grabs the reader from the first page to the last, leaving them full of information and ideas, two of the most valuable things for a young feminist.
From Bring Your Daughters To Work Day to Katie Roiphe, Manifesta tries to touch on everything associated or in conjunction with the feminist movement. Every chapter presents a different fascinating story, and any reader will leave the book with a head full of facts. Hopefully the reader will be able to decipher these facts, or pull some sort of collective idea out of them, but that may prove tricky. Some readers may find it hard to uncover the overarching thesis as the books spans so many different topics. It may be difficult to understand the authors’ main argument, simply because they describe so many. For example, the authors talk about “girly feminists,” feminists who feel comfortable with their sexuality and dress to accentuate that. The point being that a feminist can still be sexy. However, the authors never clearly state whether they are in agreement with this movement, or find that it undermines the ideals of feminism.
But maybe that’s the point of Manifesta. The thesis isn’t spelled out clearly, because every person reading it is supposed to make of it what they will. I found Manifesta to be an extremely useful book for someone who wants to learn more about feminism, and hasn’t quite formed all their opinions about the movement yet. It educates, and allows the reader to disagree or agree quite easily and readily.
The book’s cover says, Young Women, Feminism, and the Future. While we all know it is important to look to the future of feminism, we can’t do so without acknowledging the past. Rather than bringing feminists together, this book could make older and younger feminists feel more isolated from each other. Although Manifesta may actually be an attempt to bridge that gap, it does not fully achieve this goal. For many of the movements and events Baumgardner and Richards write about, they describe the attitudes second wave feminists might have toward it, and then the attitudes third wave feminists might have toward it. It is interesting to see the comparison, but it does make it seem like the two waves are quite separate, incompatible, and even feel animosity toward one another.
What Manifesta does do well is abolish the myth that feminists are mean, old women from a generation that will soon be gone. Baumgardner and Richards make feminism current and relevant, through their mention of third wave feminists and even the “girly feminist” movement. The book may be nine years old, but it doesn’t lack significance.
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