I cannot even tell you how difficult it was coming up with a headline for this post. Seemingly innocuous phrases made me cringe upon reflection. The tamest ones:
Booklist Gives Naomi Wolf's Vagina Starred Review
Critical Attention for Vagina
Vagina Receives Acclaim
Praise for Vagina
There's one I said with ample sincerity (and zero self-awareness) a few months ago, when I was describing the book to some feminist librarian friends as "Vagina, bigger than [Inga Muscio's] Cunt."
But here's the thing, friends. I absolutely adore this book. Enough to accidentally humiliate myself nearly every time I discuss it. Really. I will do whatever it takes to make sure every woman—and man—within a 500 mile radius reads this book when it comes out this Fall. It's an incredibly necessary work, one of such insight and compassion that, once you stop snickering at the title, can only help to illuminate the female experience for those apart from it, and within. So in the interest of preventing any future puns, I'm going to turn the floor over to Booklist, and quote their forthcoming review of Vagina.
Vagina: A New Biography.
Wolf, Naomi (Author)
Sep 2012. 384 p. Ecco, paperback, $14.99. (9780061989162). 306.708.
It is often said, however jokingly, that a man thinks with his penis. Influential feminist writer Wolf contends that a woman thinks from her vagina. She is referring to the extraordinarily complex neural network that travels via the spine from the entire vaginal region to the brain. And to the fact that what a woman’s vagina enacts, sexually or reproductively, profoundly affects the way she thinks about herself and her intellectual and creative abilities. On a global plane, Wolf says, the way a culture views and treats the vagina demonstrates how much respect the society has for all women. This applies to physical assault, including rape and gratuitous intravaginal examinations, as well as psychological assault, including a collective dialogue that speaks derisively about women’s vaginas. She also holds that such treatment is a calculated attempt to subjugate women as a class. This is not pop-culture, chick magazine pseudopsychology. Although Wolf’s investigation began with her own experiences, she conducted extensive research and cites numerous expert sources and scientific studies that lend credible support to her hypothesis. Despite going a tad afield by referencing Tantric lovemaking, Wolf’s inquiry promises to be an authoritative and useful resource, particularly in view of the current highly charged political and religious dialogues regarding women’s sexual and reproductive rights.— Donna Chavez
