Shulamith Firestone's The Dialectic of Sex presents a surprisingly timely (it was first published thirty-four years ago) argument for the similarities between the feminist and racial revolutions and the feminist and Freudian theories.
The chief obstacle of the feminist revolution remains the patriarchal society. Since men are still in control, they will vehemently oppose changes that threatens their stranglehold on society. Despite the intervening years, many of the spirit-crushing consequences of a male-run society still adversely affect women. Average people still consider those women who chose to have a career instead of marriage and/or children abnormal. Although there are birth control choices, they still put the onus only on women and connote a stigma.
The stereotypical family is still firmly entrenched. Firestone’s idea of a “household” has enormous potential. It operated on the “it takes a village to raise a child” long before that became en vogue.
Some of the ideas expressed (abolition of traditional schools) would still shock many people (including the reviewer’s mother), but others will see the simple beauty of the “blueprint” for getting out of the mess the world is in.
This book should be required reading for those sophisticated enough to think for themselves and for those who need to be shaken up to do so. Shulamith Firestone created a classic more than thirty years ago, this book is just as enlightening nay even liberating today as it was then.