Entertaining the Alien

35. The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

I grabbed this book at work because the title intrigued me--and because I've joked before that feminism has become the new f-word. Overall, it's a good book. Rowe-Finkbeiner starts with a brief overview of the history of feminism, and spends a lot of time defining the differences between the first wave, second wave, and third wave. I hadn't spent a lot of time exploring that particular generation gap before, and--coming from a family where I'm the first self-defined 'feminist'--it was really informative.

The author spends the rest of the book tracing exactly how and why young voters (especially young women voters) have become so reluctant to vote--particularly at a time when more young women are involved in volunteer work and social causes. By exploring this disconnect, she presents a solid case as to why it's absolutely vital that young women vote.

One thing that she absolutely convinced me of was the need to pay more attention to local politics. So that's my resolution for this election year.