Rating: 
Summary: This book is awful
Review: This book was pure drivel. It was the biggest waste of time I have ever had to endure. It is a load of ultra-feminist crap. I don't know what that mac840 person was thinking when he/she wrote her review.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: This was one of the greatest books I have ever read. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me very angry at times. It has to be one of the most thought provoking pieces of literature ever written.
Rating:
Summary: the only thing striking about the book is the title
Review: the book seemed promising at first, but it turned out to be an immature angry rant that regurgitated every paranoid consciousness-raising session i had with my gal pals in high school. it offers no solutions, and puts forth a paranoid, unrealistic view of gender relations. additionally, she seems to be rather down on anyone who has a Real Job and doesn't sponge off feminist friends by living in their basement.her thoughts on the birth control pill and abortion strike me as utterly obnoxious. to wit: if you're a *real woman*, you should be able to spur a miscarriage with your mind. and, the Pill is evil and wrong because it disconnects women from their cycles. that this diatribe is coming from a woman who has had three abortions strikes me as ironic, to say the least. if she used the damn Pill, she wouldn't be in that spot to start with. the bad grammar is rather disempowering too, i might add. and, perhaps most obnoxiously, the entire book is largely about writing the book, a bit of solipsism that indicates the writer has few original ideas. if you're a high school student, this book might be on your level. if you're a more mature reader, there are many feminist authors out there who do a much more cogent and in-depth analysis of patriarchy, gender relations and power.
Rating: 
Summary: Fishing for infectuous enthusiasm
Review: A stellar work of misogynistic feminism that finally portrays women in the light of neomodernistic nihilism. The essential arguments favoring transgender equity collapse under the pseudo-descriptive text, which follows the title in both style and content.
Rating:
Summary: Encourages Women to Support One Another
Review: When the book first came out and Inga would find herself in social settings accosted by "So, what do you do?" questions, how she'd answer would pretty much be determined by her impression of the person asking. Usually, it was something like: I'm a writer of a women's studies book rather than blurting out, "I wrote a book about c*&^s. And you?" I found the same to be true when asked "So, what are you reading these days."
Now that I've finished reading Muscio's book, I'm quite happy to tell people about it and freely voice the title. It's not because of any one thing she's said. The book as a whole is a gem once you get past the F-word in every second sentence. It was a distraction in the beginning but not anymore so than the title of the book.
The book gives some biology, some current state of affairs, and some history on the weight women have had to bear because they have c-word(s). Muscio wants women, transgenders etc.. to reclaim the word from men. The word is just a metaphor for a bigger picture. C-word(s) haven't been important to women in the last 200+ years but they have earned men an awful lot of money, among other things. Although the bold Muscio is not so gentle with the terminology.
Muscio wants women to start regaining their power, not as men bashing feminists but as the intelligent and beautiful goddesses we are. Doing this requires some responsibilities of us. Beginning with taking back the language. Learning about our bodies, self protection. Providing a support network. Muscio covers all these things. I found the passages on bleeding and rape to be especially effective, moving and educational. I wish I had read this book as a teenager.
To say some of what Muscio has to say is eyebrow lifting is an understatement. I didn't agree with some of the things she said, especially her idolization of prostitutes into goddesses serving an important role in society. In fact, I found most of what she had to say about whores to be garbage. The profession of prostitution is just one more male dominated form of women abuse. I also refuse to smash my teevee to bits as I'm quite content to be deluded by my one channel.
If you are sensitive to swear words and church bashing, this book probably isn't for you. But if you can get past it you might just learn something about your c-word and women as a whole.
Serious stuff? Can be at times but Muscio's little life antidotes lighten things up and give perspective on her choices and thoughts. I like how she doesn't claim to know everything but encourages women to discuss the topics in their own circles.
This is the book's second edition. It includes a huge afterward of updates on Muscio's previous thoughts not because she feels anything is wrong or out of place but because ideas have evolved. She loses me a bit here when she goes off on politics and Bush (could be because I've been over-Bushed lately). At the end is an incredibly huge section of recommendations for surfing the net. Everything from alternative women's magazines and sex toys to educational resources and all natural pads.
So go pick up your book today. Read it and then start talking about it to the women in your life. Share your book with others. Encourage discussion. Only through discussion and understanding can we reclaim our C-word(s) along the other aspects of our lives.
[...]
Rating:
Summary: Cunt
Review: Every woman should read this book. Maybe you won't do all the things in it, maybe you'll only do one. Maybe none. But it will change you and the way you see yourself and your place in this society. You won't like it and it hurts a bit at first. But everything she says is true.
I'm buying a few copies for Christmas to give to my female relatives. I suggest you do the same.
You'll laugh and cry and come away from it feeling empowered. Thank you, Inga.
Rating:
Summary: What are you gonna do?
Review: I couldn't put this book down. I carried it with me everywhere -- to the grocery store, to work, to a local coffeeshop. And if I had to go in somewhere and leave the book behind, I left it on my dashboard so passersby could plainly see the title. Heehee.
I can't say I'm going to go out and start doing everything Ms. Muscio suggests, but she's certainly planted some seeds. I do wish I had a young niece so I could throw her a menarche party; all my nieces are past that stage now.
Here's my advice to you about this book: Yes, the name is shocking and might even be offensive to you. Before I read this book, I was offended when I heard that word too. But it's just a word. A benign combination of 4 little letters to which humans have added meaning. If a few humans gave it a specific meaning, then other humans can certainly give it a new meaning.
And yes, some of the items Ms. Muscio suggests in this book might seem bonkers to you. I know I can't see myself ever doing some of the things she suggests. But that's not the point. Take a step back and look at the big picture of what she's saying. Our bodies are nothing to be ashamed of. Our bodies deserve to be respected and loved. Respect, love, and protect yourself. Respect, love, and protect your fellow womankind. Rid your life of purposeless jealousy, cattiness, and suckass vibes towards other women. Invest in the women in your community -- spend your time to help single moms learn to read or find a job (and thus daycare); spend your time to teach young girls in your community that their bodies are nothing to be ashamed of; spend your money supporting local woman-owned and woman-positive businesses; give your money to organizations that teach girls self-esteem.
You might feel as if what you're doing is pointless and isn't making a dent in the overpowering sadness in the world. You're right that you're probably not making a huge dent. One person rarely does. But you are changing the world, if only in a small way. Join up with your friends, family, and others and put your heads together and make an even bigger dent. And besides -- how could you live with yourself if you just sat back and watched all this sadness and did nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop it?
Rating:
Summary: the only thing striking about the book is the title
Review: I wanted to make one more comment about this book... after having some time and space away from the book, i must say that the diatribe about the evil conspiracy of the men owned maxi pad and tampon manufacturers to keep women down and in their place as consumers was INSANE. They have padded cells for people like this. First of all...when these wonderful conveniences were created, I seriously doubt some man was sitting around going: "hmmmm i wonder how i can disconnect women from their bodies, keep them in their place, while making a fast buck off of them." (which you really have to remember when these things were created, most women did not work outside the home, so they didn't have their own money, so ultimately it was the husband's or father's money...oh yeah...big conspiracy here.) It is FAR more likely that the man had a wife, daughter, mother, etc. that complained about the fact that nothing existed for them and he felt for them and so created this product. Also, are you aware that while these companies are primarily man-owned, women are designing these products for the most part? There is no conspiracy. YOu don't have to buy them if you have such a bug up your back orifice, you can use rags and sea sponges and just knock yourself out with that, but i sure as hell will continue to buy feminine hygeine products because they are CONVENIENT and it's stupid to go backwards in time like that to a LESS convenient approach. also...it's called feminine HYGEINE...because NO ONE even the most rabid feminist thinks that bleeding all over your couch and clothes and bed is a hygenic or clean activity.
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