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Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence Paperback – 6 Jun. 2019

by Kristen Ghodsee (Author)

4.6 332 ratings

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'Funny, angry, urgent. Ghodsee is going to start a revolution' Daisy Buchanan, author of The Sisterhood

A witty, fiercely intelligent exploration of why capitalism is rigged against women and what we can do about it.

Unregulated capitalism is bad for women. Socialism, if done properly, leads to economic independence, better labour conditions, better work/family balance and, yes, even better sex.

If you like the idea of such outcomes, then come along for an exploration of how we can change women’s lives for the better.

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Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vintage
Publication date

6 Jun. 2019
Dimensions

12.9 x 1.5 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

1529110572
ISBN-13

978-1529110579
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Product description

Review

Wonderful … Kristen Ghodsee doesn’t wear rose-tinted spectacles … but she seeks with great brio and nuance to lay out what some socialist states achieved for women … That Ghodsee also makes this a joyous read is the cherry on the cake -- Suzanne Moore ― Observer

Ghodsee’s book could not have been published at a better moment ... There are many reasons to revisit socialist policies in a time of widening inequality, but a feminist perspective offers some of the most powerful incentives -- Emily Witt ― Guardian

Brilliant ... engaging ... Ghodsee is not naive [and] brings the necessary scepticism to her thesis [which] comes into sharp focus when she looks at what happened after the Wall fell ... [a] valuable record of how things were and how they could be -- Rosie Boycott ― Financial Times

Convincing, provocative and useful ― Times Higher Education

Capitalism’s triumph is a calamity for most women. Kristen Ghodsee’s incisive book brilliantly reveals their plight -- Yanis Varoufakis

From the Back Cover

Unregulated capitalism is bad for women. Socialism, if done properly, leads to economic independence, better labour conditions, better work/family balance and, yes, even better sex. If you like the idea of such outcomes, then come along for an exploration of how we can change women’s lives for the better.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st edition (6 Jun. 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529110572
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529110579
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 1.5 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 256,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer reviews:
4.6 332 ratings

About the author

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Kristen R. Ghodsee

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Dr. Kristen R. Ghodsee is professor of Russian and East European Studies and a member of the Graduate Group in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. An award-winning author, she has written seven books on gender, communism, and post-communism in Eastern Europe, examining the everyday experiences of upheaval and displacement that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Ghodsee’s 2018 book, Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence, has already had fourteen foreign editions, including five translations into the languages of former state socialist countries in Eastern Europe. Her articles and essays have also been translated into over twenty languages and have appeared in publications such as Dissent, Foreign Affairs, Jacobin, The Baffler, The New Republic, Quartz, NBC Think, The Lancet, Project Syndicate, The Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique and the New York Times.

She is the host of the episodic podcast, A.K. 47, which explores the life and work of the Russian Bolshevik, Alexandra Kollontai.

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4.6 out of 5

332 global ratings

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ST

Excellent and informative book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2021

100% recommend

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Signe

Sharp, witty, important, and one of the best books of 2018

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2018

As frustrating as it may be that in 2018 we still need a book on women’s emancipation and labour rights, Ghodsee’s work is an equally inspiring answer to this, as it tackles the subject matter sharply and with great wit.

'To move forward, we must be able to discuss the past with no ideologically motivated attempts to whitewash or blackwash either our own history or the accomplishments of state socialism.'
Ghodsee's book sets out and archives exactly that, and with great nuance - she looks at policies, and many inspiring socialist women who were at the forefront, but are largely unknown in the West (and in their countries of origin, for that matter) - without shying away from the uncomfortable facts of flaws of the political systems they were a part of.

She looks equally critically at capitalism ('We conflated freedom with free markets.') as well as socialist (or, allegedly, communist) states ('Leftist millenials might not know (or prefer to ignore) the real horrors inflicted on citizens in one-party states.')
She looks at various policies and actions pioneered (if not all particularly long-lived) in socialist states that allowed women more freedom from the typically assigned gender expectations (I had no idea that in Bulgaria in the ‘70s women had fully paid maternity leave, and legislation that allowed fathers and grandparents to take out paternal leave in the place of the mother. In the same time, US in 2018 remains one of the last countries that do not provide maternity leave pay. Point made - stop reading this review and read this book instead!)
It illustrates how within capitalism, as a direct consequence of the free market forces, women are all too often left, knowingly or less so, to exchange their service (caregiving) and sexuality (‘marital duty’, to put it in a horrifying term) for a shot at financial security (if not survival), also known as marriage.

‘Why women have better sex under socialism’ makes for a great read - it is engaging, accessible, and will teach you a great deal. And, if all of the above fails, it makes for an excellent prop to intimidate sexist men on your morning commute (you will know them by the nervous looks they’ll steal at your book as they try to figure out if you’re ‘one of those man-hating femi-nazis’)

I couldn't recommend this book more

3 people found this helpful

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Lark

Interesting presentation for anyone unfamiliar with the topic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 December 2021

Verified Purchase

First, I own the CD audio-recording of this, it is a number of discs in a plastic case, with an additional disc of PDFs content as a bonus. The recording is good, pace, tone, inflection of the voice artist is fine and it moves along well, nothing causing one chapter or some content to be more dull or interesting than the next, consistent presentation one disc to the next.

With regard to the content, this is a pretty detailed and in depth, although I would consider it more a popular book, with more polemical material, than an academic work recounting history in the USSR, Eastern Bloc nations or Soviet spheres of influence. There is a lot of biographical material and some anecdotes from the author's life herself, such as discussions of recruitment and selection policies with friends, or participation in model UN discussion groups.

The author does a good job at the outset of defining their terms, explaining what is meant by "state socialism", "socialism", "communism", "capitalism". I appreciated this and it should be more commonplace, although I remain of the view that what is being discussed is residual vs. institutional models of welfare services, with a particular view of services for women and children.

A lot of the points about integration of women into the workforce, maternity and paternity leave, child care, availability of abortion and pro-natalism or anti-natalism where familiar to me, to the point that some of it seemed cliched, although I am aware that I have read a lot on the topics of social policy and feminism already. As an introduction to these topics this book would be great, especially for a first year student level of study perhaps.

The focus is mainly upon the Eastern Bloc and USSR, which is explained with reference to biographical information about the author's time participating in model UN, and I would have liked to hear more about what other self-proclaimed socialist regimes had instituted, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua would all have proven interesting I believe.

I do think it is fair, as the author does, to attempt a balanced survey of the states that they do, many of the ideas, when they take the historical view, which where yesterday's radicalism do constitute today's moderate or mainstream, such as maternity leave.

Unfortunately, some of the everyday sexism has persisted too. Since post-communist capitalism became the norm there have been many reversals of fortune. I think that some of the regimes, while the author is no apologist, such as Romania, are not treated nearly critically enough. Also, reading some of the early socialist feminist thinkers, like their male cohorts, it was a pretty authoritarian doctrine they professed which may not be considered liberation by many contemporaries today. A kind of "bean counter" compulsion called inclusion.

Something else that I disliked, although it may not be a deal breaker, is the emphasis the author applies to some transgender politics. A lot of the time this script is deployed in books of this kind in what appears to be an assumption that the perspectives involved are "self-evidently" progressive, feminist, otherwise "good", which I really do not think is the case. There is nothing like the consensus on this topic within feminist circles as this content would have the reader/listener believe to be honest.

Besides this point, the content is a little "pop feminism" at times, perhaps its intended for a younger audience, and I think the title of the book/audio-book reflects that. Also some of the content I thought was more than a little "nostalgic" for something which had not existed in reality how it was thought of in theory. For instance the positive light that Job Guarantee policies are presented in, when the sort of security this provided is considered by many people in former soviet states, such as Poland, for have played a part in an epidemic of alcoholism and moonshine vodka production.

Universal Basic Income gets a mention, although very briefly and really only as something which will potentially achieve the aims of Job Guarantee. So, on that point, I can say the author could have done a better job, UBI has the potential to be an institutional reform as significant as the post-war settlements giving rise to welfare states per se.

I would say this book was better than others of its kind but I really struggle to think of many rival or similar publications at present. As political writing goes it is good and an attempt has been made to elaborate some perennial thinking and values as opposed to being journalistic and producing something no one will find a worthwhile read a year later. Give it a chance and see what you think.

One person found this helpful

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Hera

I thought this book was great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 January 2020

As an American woman who has lived abroad in many countries, including both communist and socialist countries I found this book to be written by an American refreshing and informative. My husband gave me this for Christmas because this is something I have always said myself, having actually lived the differences and I feel more people need to talk about it.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Don't let the title fool you...

Reviewed in the United States on 15 March 2024

Verified Purchase

..this is an actual great read, one that discusses the way society functions both in our hyper capitalist reality, and how it functions under socialism.

Hortencia Soares

Rapidez e qualidade

Reviewed in Brazil on 1 June 2021

Verified Purchase

O livro chegou com 19 horas após o pedido ser pago, super rápido, antes do prazo. Veio muito bem embalado e a qualidade das páginas é ótima.

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msvg

Great book

Reviewed in Germany on 13 January 2022

Verified Purchase

If you are interesting in getting a general perspective abiut woman emancipation read this book

Lorena

Muy bueno

Reviewed in Mexico on 17 August 2020

Verified Purchase

Muy buen libro

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Juan

buena relación calidad/precio

Reviewed in Spain on 23 February 2020

Verified Purchase

No puedo opinar sobre el contenido porque lo compré para regalar pero, me ha parecido una bonita edición de tapa blanda. La entrega fue super rápida y sin duda destacaría la relación calidad/precio.

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