The Ninja Reader

A few weeks ago, I read and reviewed Halo and decided to go easy on the author for the blatant jabs on feminism she made throughout the novel. Now, that was partly due to my long-held beleif that you're not supposed to yell at children for making a mistake, because the children themselves are going to beat themselves over that when they're older and wiser, but it was also because I didn't quite know what being a feminst meant today. In my restricted worldview (and aided by my epic laziness to read The Second Sex ), I thought that feminism was a big, complicated word that encompassed too many definitions to just pick one.I still partly beleive in that - a lot of stuff is read as feminist, but it depends on how you see it. However, [b:The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today|10901344|The Equality Illusion The Truth about Women and Men Today|Kat Banyard|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G6Fh3SABL._SL75_.jpg|15817348] reminded me that at its basis, feminism is about treating women as equals to men. It's also very eye-opening, in the sense that it points out some blatant examples of sexism in our society which I, as many others, took as just residue of Western consumerist culture - the virgin/whore complex, using sex to sell, treating women as passive and men as active - these are all things which are, on closer examination, a blatant example of how sexism still rules, and yet it's barely discussed.The Equality Illusion makes it clear that people have a long way to go before men and women are equals, yet it does end on a note of hope. For one thing, people are becoming more and more aware of how sexism is not just a problem for women, but a malady for our society. After all, if there's one thing I managed to learn from de Beauvoir, it is that unlike enthic minorities or homosexuals, women cannot seperate themselves from men - it's a biological impossibility and would be fatal for the continuation of the species. That's why it's so important for both sexes to be aware of the problem and work towards solving it, which is what Kat Banyard stresses on throughout the book.Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go rip Halo a new one.