Tuesday 18 January 2011

what she didn't say

Louis Menand on how books acquire reputations for policies they never proposed from Betty Freidan to Rachel Carson.

"The Feminine Mystique" did not recommend that women pursue full-time careers, or that they demand their legal rights. It only advised women to be prepared for life after the children left home. “The Silent Spring” did not call for a ban on pesticides. It only suggested that their use be regulated. These are books whose significance exceeds anything they actually said.

(Ht: DD.)

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