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Brenda
Feigen was a pioneer of the women's movement in 1970s America. She
went to Harvard Law School when there were still blatantly sexist
events like Ladies' Day going on; she rallied for women as the National
VP of the National Organization of Women; she cofounded Ms. magazine
and the National Women's Political Caucus; she worked with Ruth
Bader Ginsberg on the ACLU's Women's Rights Project in 1972; and,
later, in Hollywood, she tried to produce films with brave and solid
women characters. Brenda Feigen has lived one hell of a public life,
not to mention her personal struggles, like breast cancer, coming
out as a lesbian and being a feminist mom. NOT ONE OF THE BOYS tells
this story in her own words and what a story it is.
Like a Dickens novel, our heroine travels the world, somehow alighting
at just the right places, in order to be involved in some of the
premier events of the 1970s and on --- getting involved with all
the right folks in all the right places at all the right times.
She speaks clearly and concisely, in a historian's voice, about
the ins and outs of the movement, its successes and failures. Clearly,
she has seen her share of both, but does not discuss them with bitterness
or an overarching sense of failure. Instead, she saves the harsher
tones for her own disillusionment, her medical problems, her relationship
problems. NOT ONE OF THE BOYS is remarkably candid and refreshing
without being annoying.
It
may be the historical periods covered that make this book compelling,
but I think it's Feigen's sense of right and wrong and how far she
has always gone to support it that makes it so. Even in this day
when "feminist" is considered, on occasion, a dirty word, Feigen's
exploits and endeavors make inspiring and fascinating reading.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
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