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The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today [Paperback]

Kat Banyard
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Book Description

4 Mar 2010

"Whoever says that prostitution is just ordinary work has never walked even a minute in my shoes, or any other girl that I know. Prostitution is actually a trap that most women believe for far too long." Rebecca Saffer, former 'high-end call girl', interviewed in The Equality Illusion.

Women have made huge strides in equality over the last century. And feminism is now generally considered irrelevant, or old-fashioned, or even embarrassing.

But what about the fact that today women working full-time in the UK are paid on average 17% less an hour than men? That one in three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused because of her gender? Or that there is a huge disparity in both government and corporate power (of parliamentary seats across the globe only 15% are held by women, fewer than 20% of UK MPs are women, and 96% of executive directors of the UK's top hundred

companies are men)?

In The Equality Illusion, campaigner Kat Banyard argues passionately and articulately that feminism continues to be one of the most urgent and relevant social justice campaigns today.

Structuring the book around a normal day, Banyard sets out the major issues for twenty-first century feminism, from work and education to sex, relationships and having children. She draws on her own campaigning experience as well as academic research and dozens of her own interviews and case studies. The book also includes information on how to get involved in grassroots action and a list of resources.



Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (4 Mar 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571246265
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571246267
  • Product Dimensions: 2.2 x 13.7 x 21.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 162,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'A dose of feminist commonsense.' --Guardian

'Banyard's focus on action is inspiring ... Read it. Share it. Give it to your mum, your daughter, your son, your brother, your sister, your dad.' --Irish Times

'I love this book! Name-calling, finger-pointing and factually fascinating, it seems set to throw a giant spanner into the plans of man-pleasers, woman-haters and other assorted sad-sack seat-sniffers who put around the lie that feminism is no longer needed.' --Julie Burchill

Book Description

A passionate and urgent new voice that will reclaim feminism for a new generation.


Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 61 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Do we have an equal society? 5 Mar 2010
By Damaskcat HALL OF FAME TOP 50 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Arranged in the form of progress through a typical day - the book starts with appearance and eating disorders. Anorexia and Bulimia are primarily women's diseases and over 90% of sufferers are women. Even young girls are expected to go to school wearing makeup and with their hair done properly and to diet until their bodies conform to the generally accepted ideas of beauty. For women a great deal of time must be spent ensuring they are fit to face the world. Appearances are all important and women will be judged on them throughout the day. Unlike men they can't just shower and throw on a few garments.

The book highlights the way women are still regarded as bodies first and foremost rather than people. Women are judged on what they look like, what they wear and how they behave rather than being judged on their capabilities. The author raises some of the same questions as Natasha Walter in 'Living Dolls'. Is it really empowering to take up a career in the sex industry? The women the author talks to show clearly that being a lap dancer is not glamorous or even very well paid and that most women involved do it because they have been unable to find any other work which fits in with their other commitments.

At work or school women and girls run the risk of being harassed and criticised for their appearance. I was horrified to read about the schoolgirls who suffer sexual abuse - both physical and verbal. Even if they complain they are just told `Boys will be boys'; which is hardly a constructive attitude. At work similar things happen and women are rarely judged on their ability to get the job done. Women are still in a minority in Parliament and in the top 100 companies. One fact which stuck in my mind is that Rwanda has more than 50% women in its government and that the position of women in that country is improving tremendously as a result. If they can do it why can't the First World? Anti-discrimination laws cannot change people's attitudes and even though legislation in the 1970s made overt discrimination illegal changing the law will not change people's attitudes so covert discrimination will still exist and is very much more difficult to identify.

There is no doubt domestic violence of any sort is a serious problem in modern Britain but the book fails to discuss women's violence against men and children. It concentrates on male violence against women. Obviously this is important but I would have liked to see some mention of violence where women are the aggressors rather than the assumption that where women use violence it is always in self-defence.

I thought the section on pornography and the sex industry in general was very interesting and conveys the way pornography is becoming ever more extreme. Aggression towards women is commonplace and women are treated as objects which men use for their pleasure. Lads mags are freely available - not even on the top shelf in newsagents - though their content is ever more pornographic and misogynistic. Pornography is almost exclusively heterosexual and strongly influences fashion and beauty - most notably in the way women are expected to remove all traces of body hair.

This is an extremely interesting and well written book which raises many questions about the state of gender equality today. It contains a comprehensive list of organisations fighting for gender equality, together with notes on each chapter and a short list of useful reading. There are many references which can be followed up for more information and an index. As this book has `The Truth about Women and Men Today' in its title I would have liked to see a bit more about the way stereotypes and expectations affect men as well as women but that does not detract from the overall message - the fight for equality has a long way to go.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring 12 April 2012
By cml
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I think that this is a very important book, not just for those already interested in feminisms. It questions some fundamental flaws in our attitudes towards women. Some have crticised it for being written in an angry tone. I personally believe it is the right ammount of angry considering the injustices it discusses. Not just theorising, Banyard backs up her views with scientific evidence. Essential read.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book 23 Jun 2011
By Miruna
Format:Paperback
This book was great for a bigger feminist like me. I've always been feminist, but I guess it's because of my parent's divorce. This really informed well and I enjoyed reading it and having debates with my school-mates. Those debates got very tense and fiesty, like it always gets with me. However, this book actually made me win those debates and it was great to know this much of feminism and how important it's for us girls. It was shocking to know what happens in Britain from sexual abuse in school (which I never experienced) to that there ARE male feminists. I'm very protected from the first thing (sexual abuse) so it was a good thing that I now know it happens. I loved the information about the unfairness between men and women. Also that men are effected by the society rules, which I was naive and arrogant to. I only thought us females had problems. But knowing it's also hard for men it was a good thing for me. Thank you to Kat Banyard for writing this book and I enjoyed it greatly. All young feminists should read this book, and I'm sure they'll learn from this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy for Kindle
I'm afraid this book is impossible to read. Commas, apostrophes and speech marks are missing, meaning that following the thread of the discussion is not possible, and also none of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by K. Barker
1.0 out of 5 stars The kindle edition is rubbish
I saw all the reviews and thought I'd give it a go, but when I downloaded it most of the punctuation was missing, including quotation marks and apostrophes, making it impossible to... Read more
Published 9 months ago by MemmaLou
1.0 out of 5 stars gave up after few pages
The book was moved to the Trash folder after I read the words 'the exploitative underbelly of capitalism'. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Veronica
5.0 out of 5 stars honest and unapologetic
This book is one of my favourite feminist publications. It has an interesting structure, and is so crammed full of arguments and statistics to back them up that it can be very hard... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Molly
3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat disappointing
Compared to the many 5-star reviews and the media hype appearing to surround Banyard's book, I found the contents of the book itself rather disappointing. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Alexander Sokol
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book!
This is a fantastic book. I found it very readable and spectacular eye-opener into the realities of equality in the UK today.
Published 19 months ago by Nina
5.0 out of 5 stars A timely and passionate book
This book is closely argued, well presented, and oh, so right. I can't fault it in any way, and I really think all men should read it.

A fine achievement.
Published 20 months ago by Dresden
5.0 out of 5 stars a fantastic intro for the unschooled pro-equality liberal
I finished reading this book two days ago, and I cannot begin to explain the sense of true empowerment it imparts. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2011 by jessiestella
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
It's everything you'd like such a book to be.

Well-researched and well-presented. Kat covers the spectrum of feminist issues compellingly, in great detail. Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2010 by David G. Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read all year - and I work in a library!
This book is brilliant.
I won't go into too much detail as other reviews already have covered most of the themes, I'll just say that this is an extraordinary well-researched,... Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2010 by Auoda
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