Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World by

Abstract

Hirshman’s “manifesto ” is reminiscent of a number of feminist critiques of the conservative backlash (See Faludi, 1991) articulated by Schlafly and others in opposition to earlier waves of feminism. The backlash, “choice ” or “opt-out ” conservative response to feminism was operating “full throttle ” by the 1980s. Hirshman suggests that “choice feminism ” bears only “the shadowy remnant of the original movement, tells women that their choices, everyone’s choices, the incredibly constrained ‘choices’ they made, are good choices ” (pp. 1-2). While some claim that feminism “failed ” because it was too radical, Hirshman argues that the feminist movement was not radical enough. “A movement that stands for everything, ultimately stands for nothing ” (p.2). After this bold beginning, I expected a critique of feminism and the development of a platform that could become the rallying cry for the next wave of the movement for women’s liberation. Hirshman sees Friedan’s classic, The Feminist Mystique, as radical man-hating that easily lost its focus in favor of “the confrontation- averse Gloria Steinem ” whose “uncritically accepting eye ” led to consensus building with feminism expanding to “embrace every oppressed group ” (pp.18-19). The author views women working outside of the home as the major route to liberation, suggesting that we must dare to achieve a “full human life ” through the “love of work ” (p. 3). I was immediately