Women and Power

WOMEN & POWER: A MANIFESTO

Renowned British classicist Mary Beard explores gender issues through the lens of cultural narrative, revealing the deep cultural structures that exclude women from power and exploring the cultural roots of misogyny. ◎ Editor's Recommendation: "You can't simply place women into a structure that's already coded for masculinity; you have to change the structure itself."
"Women and Power" includes two speeches by Beard on the subject. In these speeches, the author selects examples from historical literature and real-life situations to explain how the relationship between women and power is culturally constructed, pointing out that the very definition of power excludes women. In this context, successful women in politics and business are viewed as strong women, unconsciously or intentionally playing a masculine role while simultaneously rejecting this role. Beyond this small number of elite women, the majority of women in everyday life face the same problem: their voices are consistently ignored, and society has a lower tolerance for them. The author highlights this problem and questions the current cultural structure surrounding power, hoping to spark deeper reflection.
◎ Introduction: Renowned British classicist Mary Beard, with her brilliant mind and poignant prose, revisits gender issues, revealing how powerful women have been treated throughout history. Drawing on numerous case studies from the classical era to the present day, she explores the cultural roots of misogyny, directing the discussion to the voices of women in public spaces, the social and cultural assumptions about the relationship between women and power, and the efforts of a few "successful" women to refuse to be pigeonholed into male stereotypes.
Beard herself has experienced discrimination against women and gender-based attacks online. In reflecting on these personal experiences, she raised the question: If people believe that women have no place in the power structure that has been coded by masculinity, then doesn’t power itself need to be redefined?
◎ Media Recommendation: With a sharp eye and a sharp wit, this self-proclaimed "loud woman" proves that public discourse is no longer solely in the hands of men. May she have more power.
—Laura Gameson, Financial Times
This is a heartfelt plea from a dedicated feminist that women who “dare to speak out in public” should actually be heard, and it’s a perfectly reasonable and valid plea.
— Kirkus Reviews
Particularly eye-opening... explains the mechanisms of "misogyny" and why it is so dynamic.
— Elif Shafak A dazzling and powerful manifesto.
—The New York Times
Lucid, informative, subversive and witty.
—San Francisco Chronicle

2019-02-01

天津人民出版社

the new wave

128

9787201142722