Reading Gloria Steneim's "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions (2nd Ed)"

Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions: Second Edition by Gloria Steinem

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I bought my copy from a thrift shop because I was curious to know how Ms Steinem did a gig as a Playboy bunny in order to come up with an article that has at least 43 pages of this book. I was way more than satisfied by that article, and learned a lot from her. Imagine her doing the gig, and living to tell the story to all curious readers like myself.

And continuing with the reading of the book after putting it down in the meantime, so as to focus on my other readings, I rediscovered my copy again after over a year. I decided I have to complete reading her book. And it was certainly worth the continuation. I discovered more. Took more than curious interest about the essay on female circumcision, which, we must have heard about to be still ongoing anywhere else in the world today. Imagine also what the late Linda Lovelace of the "deep throat" notoriety had to undergo just to be paid attention that she was a slave by her handler-husband then when those 70s vids were being shot. Well, I read all about these from Ms Steinem's book.

Writing as a way of life, she goes on to share a lot of her ideas and stories from a perspective of someone who has done a lot of research works, and did active participation in events that would have certainly eaten so much of her time just as to come up with articles as clearly written and included in this book. I told myself, "If only all writers would just write like her, or at least, be inspired by her, there would be better writing in the world these days." I meant, Ms Steinem's a writer who writes solidly from her experiences. She's never a boring writer, based on what I read in her book. These are all non-fiction works that she added in the book (except for the article on "Campaigning" which took me a while to appreciate---maybe because it's kinda dated, the rest of articles read marvelously before my eyes).

I remember tears welling in my eyes while reading her ode to her dear Mom Ruth (which is one of the best short memoirs I've read todate). "Erotica and Pornography" was certainly another one, that got me into thinking why I myself is pretty excited when I see subtle and in-your-face depiction of violence and humiliation in all kinds of pornography in the usual media around us----it's simply really dehumanizing, but nothing much being done against it, as it's really big business. Also, it functions as a money generating venue for the very structure that continues to advocate inequality among the sexes, in all realms out there. And on the other hand, everything Erotica, indeed, actually soars! Know why after reading this book.

Whew! I'm convinced I must have turned into a feminist myself after reading this book.

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