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Am I A Woman: A Skeptic's Guide to Gender Hardcover – January 1, 2003

by Cynthia Eller (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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An accessible and provocative look at how we decide who is a woman—and why we find it important

Let’s face it: we live in a time that is highly ambivalent, if not downright schizophrenic, about what it means to be a woman. On the one hand, most women claim to be committed to sexual equality. On the other, feminism has become the new f-word, we venerate the impossible domestic vision of Martha Stewart, and the government invests our tax dollars in science aimed at discovering intrinsic biological differences between men and women.

In this smart, intimate, and conversational book, Cynthia Eller asks what it is that really makes a woman a woman. Is a woman defined by her anatomy? Does she perceive the world differently from men? Is it her behavior that somehow marks her as inescapably female? Or is it a matter of how others evaluate her? Eller’s answers demonstrate that the whole business of deciding who is a woman and who is not—and why—is far more complicated than it at first appears.

Cynthia Eller, an apparently textbook-case woman, is author of The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory (Beacon / 6793-8 / $16.00 pb) and Living in the Lap of the Goddess (Beacon / 6507-2 / $20.00 pb). She is assistant professor of women and religion at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

“In this breezy, funny treatise, Eller draws from her own ‘normal’ life to demonstrate the myriad mundane ways in which gender is not cut and dry. Behind this provocative inquiry is her hope to bridge the gap between women who call themselves feminists and the ones who (believe in dignity, independence, and equality, but...) don't.” --Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, co-authors of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future

“This is the perfect book to give to your cousin, grandpa, or childhood friend who's not quite convinced about feminism, or who otherwise doesn't quite get it. Am I A Woman? is a compelling, engaging, and witty primer on gender--and its uses and misuses--that demystifies exactly what's in those boxes marked ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine.’” --Lisa Jervis, publisher, Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    144 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Beacon Pr
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0807075086
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0807075081
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After 121 pages of Eller mining her life for examples of how she is or isn't a "real" woman, she finally concludes, "It doesn't matter. Because whether gender is biological or socially constructed, absolutely determinative or a barely self-consistent fiction, it's reasonable to both want and expect social change where sex inequality is concerned." What begins as a self-focused, slightly academic look at the truth about gender eventually evolves into one more book by a feminist scholar trying to prove that we still have work to do. Boiled down, Eller argues that human sexual dimorphism (the belief that anatomy defines women and men) is law, but that all the nasty little rules that go along with the labels "man" and "woman" are limiting. Women may have the right to cast a vote and grow old and disgruntled in a boardroom, but they still suffer disproportionately from sexual abuse, violent attack and unrealistic social expectations, says Eller. Although the message isn't particularly fresh, it is told, as are Eller's other books, including The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory, in a bright, conversational way. Eller is a self-described "veritable stereotype of normative femaleness," with a husband, a suburban home and even a carpool. So hearing her go on about the daily manifestations of gender construction-e.g., her zealous sex drive and constant fashion failures-feels a little less stale than the overexposed transgender perspective.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"'Femaleness is in the eye of the beholder'... but it follows a thought process so unconventional the conclusion hardly matters." -- LA Times, July 20, 2003

"...warm, informal text." -- Bust, Fall 2003

"Chatty, humorous, angst-driven... Eller also hits the bull's-eye with brilliant, amusing truisms about the sexes." -- Library Journal, July 2003

"In this chatty, humorous, angst-driven book, Eller asks the titular question and circumnavigates theories and personal experiences to arrive at an answer, which, by the way, is "yes"- and "no."... Eller also hits the bull's-eye with brilliant, amusing truisms about the sexes." -- Review

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beacon Pr; First Edition (January 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807075086
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807075081
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

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Cynthia Eller

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
6 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tom McGee
5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh, Funny, Informative...
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2003
The writing is breezy and funny, often hilarious, yet constantly well-informed and authoritative. As for myself -- a guy -- this goes a long way towards explaining these strange creatures called "women" that live in my house. What's more, it sheds light on us men as well, by spelling out how things aren't so black-and-white after all.
4 people found this helpful
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Debra Hunter
2.0 out of 5 stars A Difficult Read
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2017
This sounded quite interesting, so I wanted to check this out. (To be fair, I almost spent money until I found out the library put this on hold for me.) I waited a month or so just to be disappointed. I knew that I would be let down the moment I read that the author has a degree in women's studies. (I've learned that not's a field that leads to good jobs.) Of course, it wouldn't be just that.

First off, this suffered from poor word choice. They used white privilege towards the end. (Her usage was correct. The issue is the fact that nobody with sense considers this with a serious word.) Also, she even used epidemic to describe eating disorders. (Again, the issue wasn't incorrect usage; the issue is the fact that word frightens people. When people get frightened, they often don't make rational decisions.) It didn't help that I thought the author sounded ridiculous and immature when nether regions were mentioned.

In addition, I questioned this once. What's wonderful about a daughter pushing other children out of the way? That's a good way to start a confrontation-provided nobody thinks that's somehow acceptable. Then again, that was her daughter she spoke about and most parents tend to overlook flaws.

Also, I found it funny how the author claimed that she trained on who to find attractive. I assumed that she wasn't aware that the brain determines that. However, I decided not to hold this against her because, I spent several years thinking the same thing. I learned the truth a few months ago.

On the plus side, I thought that her shared experiences served a purpose. They offered me a glimpse into a past that I can just speculate and inquire about from relatives. I read those and thought that our society hasn't progressed that much, if at all, in the areas covered here.

Speaking of shared experiences, she documented what was and wasn't considered feminine. I thought that she did a good job at this. However, I wondered if women being vulgar was considered improper around the time this was written. (I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case because, there are even people today who throw hissy fits for that reason.)

One last thing: the author made great points towards the end.

All that said, I found this to be a tough read, despite the short length. I even considered returning this soon after starting. I reminded myself I stopped doing that because, I realized how unintelligent I came off as. On the plus side, I finished this glad that I didn't have to pay at all.
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takingadayoff
4.0 out of 5 stars Am I a Woman? A Multiple Choice Quiz.
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2003
Am I a Woman? asks a lot of questions, the kind of questions that make you ask even more questions. Eller uses anecdotal evidence and personal experience to make many of her points, and that makes this a very readable book. In this age of cross-dressing, transexuals, transgenders, and generally confusing messages from all directions, Eller explores what it means to be a woman these days. She may as well discuss what it mans to be a human being, it is that basic.I enjoyed Eller's convversational style and sometimes alarming frankness. Her section on the gender quiz at The Spark website was especially entertaining, and of course, by the time I finished this book, I was so perplexed that I had to take the quiz just to assure myself that all was well. (It was, thank goodness.)
9 people found this helpful
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Susan P. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars drive carefully
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2003
this book will infuriate, astound, tickle, amuse and stun almost anybody who hasn't encountered cynthia eller before. i read it in manuscript -- that is, i devoured it. once i started -- even tho i understood the argument that eller was going to make -- i could not stop reading. way intelligent and important.
2 people found this helpful
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L O'connor
2.0 out of 5 stars Cynthia Eller worries about being a woman
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2004
In this book Cynthia Eller discusses what it means to be a woman today, and how much a woman's behaviour is affected by what society expects of her etc. My trouble with this book was that Ms. Eller worries a good deal about things that have never worried me at all. For instance, it had never occured to me that because I don't care for cooking or lipstick or shoes, this mad me not a woman. She frets a lot about whether a woman should shave her legs, whether it's all right for little girls to like Barbies, or for little boys to like Barbies etc. She's very anxious to tell us how boring she found being at home with her children when they were babies (feminists always like you to know this, it's the Betty Friedan effect, no woman should ever admit to enjoying being at home). She comes up with a lot of statistics to prove how awful things are for women, for instance she tells us that 683,000 rapes occur each year in the USA, though not more than 16 percent are ever reported. I can't help wondering how, if they're not reported, we can possibly know that they have occured? I'm sure a lot of women will find this book interesting, even helpful, but I'm afraid it bored me. I thought her previous book "The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory" was brilliant, but this I found tedious.
6 people found this helpful
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