Journalist Rebecca Traister’s New York Times bestselling exploration of the transformative power of female anger and its ability to transcend into a political movement is “a hopeful, maddening compendium of righteous feminine anger, and the good it can do when wielded efficiently—and collectively” (Vanity Fair).Long before Pantsuit Nation, before the Women’s March, and before the #MeToo movement, … March, and before the #MeToo movement, women’s anger was not only politically catalytic—but politically problematic. The story of female fury and its cultural significance demonstrates its crucial role in women’s slow rise to political power in America, as well as the ways that anger is received when it comes from women as opposed to when it comes from men.
“Urgent, enlightened…realistic and compelling…Traister eloquently highlights the challenge of blaming not just forces and systems, but individuals” (The Washington Post). In Good and Mad, Traister tracks the history of female anger as political fuel—from suffragettes marching on the White House to office workers vacating their buildings after Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Traister explores women’s anger at both men and other women; anger between ideological allies and foes; the varied ways anger is received based on who’s expressing it; and the way women’s collective fury has become transformative political fuel. She deconstructs society’s (and the media’s) condemnation of female emotion (especially rage) and the impact of their resulting repercussions.
Highlighting a double standard perpetuated against women by all sexes, and its disastrous, stultifying effect, Good and Mad is “perfectly timed and inspiring” (People, Book of the Week). This “admirably rousing narrative” (The Atlantic) offers a glimpse into the galvanizing force of women’s collective anger, which, when harnessed, can change history.
more
The author is definitely a feminist but is well-balanced in her analysis and solution recommendations. She sounds like a Democratic Party fan but calls out the party and other feminists for their errors. SO often I read from Democratic Party members or fans and they blame the GOP or other parties for their conditions instead of seeing and trying to rectify their own failings. As a man I did not feel threatened by this book but motivated and if I did feel threatened then maybe I am guilty and need to change. Yes! That’s it. This book motivated me to change. Like Melvin in the film “As Good as It Gets”; “It makes be want to be a better Man.”
The title of this book, GOOD AND MAD, drew my attention like a moth to a flame. Yes, my name is Madelon, and I answer happily to Maddy, but more often than not I hear “Hey, Mad.” I have embraced the moniker as a statement of who I am and not necessarily my emotional state. And, I have been called an ‘angry little woman.’ How could I not read this book?
Women have been trained for centuries (maybe even millennia) to suppress anger and rage. Who is doing this to women? Mostly men, but other women as well. How many times, while growing up, were you told to be “ladylike?” The Women’s March was a singular, worldwide, demonstration of female anger. It took this book to tell me that white, male, American journalists were belittling the effort the very next day. How did I miss that? I was one of those very angry women. I would have marched except for the fact that I had had knee replacement surgery just 23 days prior. My sister traveled to Washington, DC and came home saying it was a life-changing experience. Maybe I missed the denigration of the women who marched because I watched more AM Joy and The Rachel Maddow Show than I did those cable news programs hosted by white men. I was angry on November 9, 2016, angry and in shock. Now, in 2018. I am as angry, if not more so, than that awful day after the election.
This book is not a page turner. It evokes anger at known injustices by their very telling. It is not only a contemporary work, it is up to the minute. However, it is not just a rehashing of current events, it delves into the history of the suppression of women. If you look at the labor movement, it was started by angry women. Did they get credit for this? No. Were the black women who worked tirelessly on behalf of the march on Washington, DC, the march where Martin Luther King, Jr. made his iconic speech, allowed to address the throng? No. Were they even allowed to march with the leadership? No.
Think back to 2017, January 21st to be precise. News coverage of this event did not emphasize the way women (and men) of diverse backgrounds came together to change the world. Instead, the media put forth a story of behind the scenes divisiveness within the ranks. What better way to prevent needed change than to say that those seeking reform can’t even get along with each other. It is this kind of division that has allowed one-third of this country to maintain power since the writing of the Constitution. The white male minority rules because that is the way our government was formed. White women enjoy a certain supremacy by proxy so they support white men against their own better interests. When a diverse group of women come together to discuss what must happen to create a more diverse leadership in government, from municipal all the way to the White House, and the result is white women remarking that their non-white sisters are finally starting to understand them, the whole point of diversity is lost.
This book will push ALL your buttons, and that is EXACTLY why you need to read it. Those pushed feminist buttons will inevitably change the world. And to Rebecca Traister I extend a hearty, and heartfelt, thanks for acknowledging that I, as a woman, have every right to be angry, and have every right to express that anger.
A 5-star scale does not do a book like this justice. On a scale of 1 to 10. this book is an 11! It is a must read for women to show them that their anger is not only justified but necessary. Use that anger to fuel the big changes needed. This is a must read for men who seem clueless, who want to promulgate the notion that women only have worth if they are producing children and cooking dinner. And, this is a book for men who are ingrained with the need to join feminists, to be feminists themselves, in the fight for absolute equality. Once you have read it, I hope you will feel compelled to pass on the need to read this book to your daughters, your sons, family and friends. I know I will.
Finally, you just might want to read this as an eBook. The notes contain links – very long links – to articles online. Clicking the links will take you to source material. Typing those links will try your patience.
There is much to unpack here and the author, unfortunately, doesn’t quite do much more than dump the whole suitcase out. There is some informative historical sketches that make early suffragettes better understood. But for each of these there is some inane example of Madonna, or some other contemporary screecher, to weaken the argument being advanced. The author clearly feels cheated by her lot. Tragically, for her, she is cheated of the writing talent needed to provide coherence to a circular argument of exploitation.
This book was such a good read, it’s one of my favourite books I read in 2020. The author’s ability to speak of women as a group, while still acknowledging their differences is so critical. I felt as if the book was both giving me permission to feel the anger I feel living / surviving in a world that wants me to be quiet and play nice, but also holds me accountable for not only recognizing my privilege and acknowledging how women of color are further oppressed, but doing something about it – and listening to their anger even when it’s directed at me.
It was refreshing to read something about women’s anger that wasn’t about suppressing it or holding it back, rather just about feeling it and sharing that feeling in order to connect with other women and affect change. I’m angry, I’m angry at the men that have made me feel uncomfortable throughout my life (starting when I was way to little) because they felt entitled to my time / attention / smile / body, I’m angry that every women I know has a story of sexual assault in some form, and I’m angry that most of the men in my life refuse to think to much about that because it would mean they’d have to face the reality that one of their buddies did the assaulting, or maybe that they did it themselves. These are things it makes sense to be angry about.
I also appreciated the author’s acknowledgement that women’s anger has the power to transform. It’s not just something to be felt individually or collectively and then released / forgotten about. It has fuelled changes, significant movement-shaping changes in the past (although it often went unrecognized) and will continue to do so, and hopefully it will be recognized for what it is – angry women changing the world.
This is a non-fiction book about the power of women’s anger to bring about social and political change. I needed to read this book to help me address my own anger and helplessness.
It takes a writer of incredible personal strength to tackle topics as enervating as sexism and misogyny, feminism, female rage, intersectionality and movement-making in this, surely America’s darkest timeline. But Rebecca Traister not only produces a compelling, deeply researched read that demonstrates how sexism and racism have undermined collective action through the ages, but she does it with humor and a self-reflection that keeps the book surging forward instead of spinning out in a furious rage.
Don’t get me wrong: there is plenty in this book, and in the world, to make you angry. But I emerged from it feeling informed, resolute and in solidarity with other women fighting for the things we know are right.