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Jenny (Reading Envy)'s Reviews > Herland
Herland (The Herland Trilogy, #2)
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Jenny (Reading Envy)'s review
bookshelves: sff-audio, read2013, sci-fi-fantasy, novella
Nov 20, 2013
bookshelves: sff-audio, read2013, sci-fi-fantasy, novella
For a feminist tale, this book spends an awfully disproportionate amount of time focusing on how the three male visitors to Herland view the women there. They deal with their misconceptions about women and allow the women to experiment with them in considering moving back to a bi-sexual society (they have been reproducing with the air, apparently, birthing babies without men.)
The problem with utopias is that there is little conflict. The women have a fully-functioning society with brilliant achievements in food production, education, and health. They make changes when things aren't working, their religion is unifying instead of divisive, and everyone has a place and a value.
The only conflict are the annoying men who don't belong, and they don't have any power in the world, so they are easily disposed of. Or could be, if necessary.
The culture revolves around motherhood. Motherhood is almost divine. To me, this is the opposite of feminism. It surely isn't the only reason women are placed on the earth, and I don't even believe the author thinks so. It seems short-sighted. Is it feminism to focus on motherhood? Or is it feminist because the motherhood is a shared, community-based venture? Perhaps she is Hillary Clinton taking a village?
The problem with utopias is that there is little conflict. The women have a fully-functioning society with brilliant achievements in food production, education, and health. They make changes when things aren't working, their religion is unifying instead of divisive, and everyone has a place and a value.
The only conflict are the annoying men who don't belong, and they don't have any power in the world, so they are easily disposed of. Or could be, if necessary.
The culture revolves around motherhood. Motherhood is almost divine. To me, this is the opposite of feminism. It surely isn't the only reason women are placed on the earth, and I don't even believe the author thinks so. It seems short-sighted. Is it feminism to focus on motherhood? Or is it feminist because the motherhood is a shared, community-based venture? Perhaps she is Hillary Clinton taking a village?
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Reading Progress
November 20, 2013
–
Started Reading
November 20, 2013
– Shelved
November 20, 2013
– Shelved as:
sff-audio
November 20, 2013
–
Finished Reading
November 21, 2013
– Shelved as:
read2013
November 21, 2013
– Shelved as:
sci-fi-fantasy
November 21, 2013
– Shelved as:
novella
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Hanne
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Nov 21, 2013 01:50PM
Huge agreement on your last paragraph here! Doesn't sound like much of a utopia to me when motherhood is all there is!
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Hanne wrote: "Huge agreement on your last paragraph here! Doesn't sound like much of a utopia to me when motherhood is all there is!"They have made huge advances in other things but it is all to pave the way for the goddesses bearing and raising the daughters. Siiiiigh. ;)
I like what Karen said, "who will I boss around if all the men are gone?"
Creating a society where men are irrelevant and disposable sounds more like misandry than feminism.
Casey wrote: "It sounds similar to The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper. Is it?"Similar in its elevation of women, but in Herland they don't even use men for reproduction or labor, they've figured everything out on their own. No men in sight, no male babies.
Darren wrote: "Creating a society where men are irrelevant and disposable sounds more like misandry than feminism."
But the men of this book are violent and competitive, something women could never be (please read that sarcastically.)
You may be interested to listen to the CraftLit commentary on these issues as Heather Ordover is doing the book right now. http://crafting-a-life.com/craftlit/?...
