Rating: 
Summary: A Great Snapshot of Current Young Feminist Thought
Review: A recharging, thought-provoking, out-loud collection that proves that feminism and "Generation X" aren't like oil and water. This book was instrumental in my discovering of new aspects of my own feminism, as well as providing assurance that there are, indeed, others out there who think like I did. A really great read.
Rating:
Summary: Girl Power!
Review: All I have to say is girl power! The minute I opened this book I could not put it down. I wanted to know more and more of what these intelligent, and sometimes angry women wanted to say. I managed to reflect on many aspects of my own life and better myself. The essays chosen were essential topics for young women everywhere and all women of any age should read this, including non-feminists, maybe it will change their minds!
Rating: 
Summary: A collection of whines by self-righteous 'revolutionaries'
Review: As a male foolish enough to have taken a Women's Studies class, this book reminded me how I was made to feel so very uncomfortable in that class. This is more of the same old rhetoric that puts the blame on me, a white male who would like nothing more than to see fair and equitable gender relations. Please tell me how I contribute to what these authors describe variously as the 'phallocracy', the 'phallocentric patriarchy', the 'Whiteboysclub'. Most males feel supportive of gender equality, much as they do about racial equality. This book picks a fight with me and tells me that I am the one to blame. My used copy is particularly charming in that it's previous owner has highlighted key phrases like 'rape culture' and has written brutal notes that pull no punches in their hatred of men. When the professor in the Women's Studies class asked the room what a good solution would be for the 'male problem', one woman very angrily and seriously said "EXTERMINATION!" How was that supposed to make me feel? If I had been Jewish and or Black, and someone had suggested the 'solution' to the Jewish problem or the race problem were "EXTERMINATION!", how would that make them feel? This book strikes me as a book of whines, of poses (the 'punk-rock scene', please), and trite little embarrassments to haunt the authors later in life when they look back and say 'I was part of the problem back then, not part of the solution.' Feminists need to keep in mind the words of Nietzsche: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." That goes for women as well as men.
Rating:
Summary: A collection of whines by self-righteous 'revolutionaries'
Review: But you must be interested in women or social politics . . .Even if you think you know what feminism is all about, one of this book's essays should give you a new perspective. It consists of collections of essays from the many different women that call themselves feminists. From lesbians, straight women, bisexuals, african-americans and caucasians, aerobics instructors to full-time writers . . . there is a lot of variety. One section made me cry and I can't forget what I read in there. Another section made me understand a feminist perspective that I had never understood before. If you are a feminist, some of this book may be self-affirming. If you are not yet a feminist, maybe you will learn that you can be one without losing any of your ideals. There is room for everyone in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: a good read for feminists and non-feminists alike
Review: But you must be interested in women or social politics . . . Even if you think you know what feminism is all about, one of this book's essays should give you a new perspective. It consists of collections of essays from the many different women that call themselves feminists. From lesbians, straight women, bisexuals, african-americans and caucasians, aerobics instructors to full-time writers . . . there is a lot of variety. One section made me cry and I can't forget what I read in there. Another section made me understand a feminist perspective that I had never understood before. If you are a feminist, some of this book may be self-affirming. If you are not yet a feminist, maybe you will learn that you can be one without losing any of your ideals. There is room for everyone in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh voices for feminism!
Review: Every Feminist knows one of the biggest internal and external criticisms of the movement: it is too exclusive. Too white, too middle-to-upper-class, too limited to past decades when Feminism was "needed". In short, the argument runs something like this: if Feminism is not indeed dead, it is too exclusive to attract most people. Listen Up blows this criticism away with its wide range of voices coming from its essays written by all different types of people. In fact, the only thing that all the writers have in common is that they all call themselves a Feminist. They also call themselves everything from white, black, Asian, Hispanic, Indian, Christian, Jewish, Atheist, single, married, straight, lesbian, pro-life, pro-choice, mother, daughter, and much more. All of these descriptions come together to form one anthology that shows that no one has to subscribe to a majority's opinion of what Feminism entails in order to be a Feminist. Most of the authors in this collection of essays are unknown, but they are all budding Feminists, and they all belong to the "Baby Boom" generation, those who are reshaping and redefining Feminist, proving that it is anything but dead. The authors are a funky collection of brilliant and diverse individuals, and each essay gives an important insight to modern Feminism. This unique book can be read in chronological order, or by picking and choosing the ones that appeal to you the most from its helpful table of contents, which gives an intriguing quote from each of the essays. Read this book yourself, because it will inspire and motivate your Feminist views and actions. And then give it to a skeptic of Feminism, anyone who claims it is too narrow-minded and exclusive. Feminism is not dead just becuase the war was fought decades ago; rather, it is a war that needs to be continually fought until true equality is reached. As Ellen Neuborne writes in Listen Up in her essay "Imagine My Surprise","It is a dangerous thing to assume that just because we were raised in a feminist era, we are safe. We are not." And as JeeYeun Lee writes in her essay "Beyond Bean Counting", "Women of color do not struggle in feminist movements simply to add cultural diversity." These are just two of the many writers in Listen Up who assert the truth about Feminism: that every woman needs it, that every person should fight for true equality in issues of gender, race, and orientation. Listen Up is a fresh collection of voices by writers that will keep Feminism alive and well during their own generation, and spread the enthusiasm to those to come.
Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book for a Young Girl You Know
Review: Honest, emotionally charged, inspiring, and well-written. This is the first time I've found an enjoyable, truly feminist book that grabbed me. This book should be in school curricula. BUY IT--if not for yourself then for the neighbor girl next door.
Rating:
Summary: *right-on shifting growth-tales of young women*
Review: I didn't agree with all the writers compiled in _Listen up_ and some of them pissed me off.
But that wasn't the point; there's enough preaching to the choir around here as it is. As a feminist (whatever that means to you) I got angry with the woman who talked about her "quest
for the perfect body" and shook my metaphorical fist in the air in support of Nomy Lamm's
essay on fat oppression. Looking at this broad spectrum of women who consider themselves
"feminists," I was pleased with the diversity; readers of Listen Up will probably find their preconceptions challenged. But as a personal support I feel it has the most value; despite the goofy
pink cover, it felt like my life. Right on.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful and insightful
Review: I read this book in my feminist theory class and it was the favorite among all of us. It touches on a variety of subjects each written by a different article. The content of all the essays was incrediablely insightful of the new faces and theories of the "next wave of feminism". It was also a great opportunty to get acquainted with the new great feminist writers of OUR time. I would recommend it highly to anyone--especially young up and coming feminists.
Rating:
Summary: Angst-driven mewling
Review: I read this book in my Women's Studies class last semester. I actually found it rather amusing, because all this book really contains is a collection of man-bashing or angsty calls for a social revolution. The various essays in the book draw from one of four areas: why lesbians are great, why men are oppressive beasts, why women deserve special treatment from society and rape. Virtually all the authors in the book pursue a narrow, extremist agenda that they unilaterally denounce others for not adopting. Many of these authors aren't terribly gifted writers, either - giving the book an attitude akin to that of a teenybopper girl's diary. Do yourself a favor and don't read this book - or if you do, merely for amusement. Read something a little more substantial, like "Women: Images and Realities," by Kesselman, McNair and Schneidewind, or something by Gloria Steinem. I don't agree with many of the views of these authors, either - but at least they present their views in a less personally offensive and tasteful manner.
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