Rating: 
Summary: Wow! What an incredible book!
Review: Having grown up in the 60's, I used to believe all of the feminist rhetoric regarding the so called oppression of women. It wasn't long though before I figured out that feminists were anything but, since their basic premise was "You are only good inasmuch as you are like a man." Carolyn Graglia courageously points this out in a masterful analysis of feminism. Thank goodness that someone of the female gender has finally had the guts to say what totalitarian feminists would love to have squelched! Notice the deafening silence regarding this book? It is an absolute must read for everyone who is ever so weary of militant feminism's poison promises. As I slog through yet another day as a nurse in Labor & Delivery (where the rooms are occupied by 14, 15 & 16 year olds no doubt very fulfilled by the practice of the uninhibited sexuality promoted by feminists, leavened with the sheer terror of a child not prepared for the experience of labor and delivery) I do my best to be an excellent nurse while trying to do the impossible: balance work, running a home and raising children. Although I am fortunate to have a devoted husband to share the work load, he too is overworked. Thanks to all of the feminist improvements in our society, we are taxed at a ridiculous rate while both of us work ourselves to death! Mrs. Graglia's book is not easy reading, but it is very worthwhile. I am especially pleased that she quoted directly from feminist writings which allow the reader to see for themselves just what feminists say and stand for. It is my ardent hope that Mrs. Graglia's book will serve as a catalyst for women who are tired of the poison apples that feminists tirelessly peddle. At long last, those of us who would much rather be at home with our precious children have someone to stand up for us, having been betrayed for far too long by feminists who purport to represent the best interests of women. With "friends" such as these, who indeed needs enemies? After enduring the "benefits" of feminism, all I can say is "It's about time someone of our gender had the guts to stand up to the vicious, virulent attacks against homemakers by feminists!" Thank you, thank you Carolyn Graglia.
Rating:
Summary: Must read for people trying to raise a family today.
Review: I found the book extremely useful to understand the conflicts between what my family needs and what the "experts" in the media think the roles of the members of the family should be. The influence of feminist thinking has permeated every fiber of our existence and we find ourselves fighting within our families the wars of persons whose intentions were not clear to me until I read this book. The world would be an easier place to exist for families if these persons didn't try to impose their values and preferences on others. The answer to the question in the song "Where have all the cowboys gone?" is in this book. The feminists and the politicians that cater to them got to them. The person from Baltimore on the June 17 review has either not taken the time to read the book or is blindly following the feminist party line.
Rating:
Summary: It's hard to face the death of your social philosophy
Review: I have sympathy for the angry reviewers who reject Graglia's view out-of-hand. They react like snarling animals in a corner -- threatened and desperate. Why? Because their lifestyles ARE threatened by what Graglia has to say. It takes a lot of courage to look at oneself and admit you've had it wrong for a long, long time. Change hurts, just like the healing of a wound. So, maybe with time the readers of this book who hated it so much will mull Graglia's assertions over and slowly come to realize that surrendering to the truth of her arguments does not mean disaster. On the contrary, it can free many a woman to be her true SELF: the awakened Brunhilde.Like it or not, feminists, we're out there in droves, and we're never going to be like you.
Rating: 
Summary: Domestic Tranquility isn't
Review: I made it through the introduction and most of the first chapter of this book. By that time I had smoke coming out of my ears and my blood pressure had gone way up. This woman managed to trash working women, ethnic groups, women who choose not to have children, and women who, because of economics, have to work. But when she said that children of working mothers always turn out bad I had to quit reading. She managed to quote that old standby that working women were "taking jobs away from men". And she brought up the person that she sees as a purveyor of evil, Hillary Clinton. She should read Proverbs 31:10-31.
Rating:
Summary: Domestic Tranquility isn't
Review: I made it through the introduction and most of the first chapter of this book. By that time I had smoke coming out of my ears and my blood pressure had gone way up. This woman managed to trash working women, ethnic groups, women who choose not to have children, and women who, because of economics, have to work. But when she said that children of working mothers always turn out bad I had to quit reading. She managed to quote that old standby that working women were "taking jobs away from men". And she brought up the person that she sees as a purveyor of evil, Hillary Clinton. She should read Proverbs 31:10-31.
Rating: 
Summary: Disgusting
Review: I must, of course, preface this review by saying that I am a feminist. However, my mother was a homemaker, and my older sister is also a homemaker. That being said, I can also understand why Graglia would be so offended by the things that feminists have said about homemakers in the past. I think my sister and my mother are both hard workers and my sister is, as my mother was, devoted to raising her children in a traditional setting and being a full-time mom. However, the context in which these comments were made cannot be denied; these overzealous women made generalizations about homemakers just as many blacks, when they were the victims of oppression, must have made hasty generalizations about whites. This is something that just happens, right or wrong, when you are so passionate about an issue, idea, or belief. There are several parts of this book with which I take exception. They are, but not limited to, the following: 1) She blames women whose husbands molest their daughters because the wives should be sexually satisfying their husbands. This does not address the issue of pedophilia and the perverseness of a man who would sexually abuse his own daughter. In no way should the woman be blamed when her husband obviously has more serious problems than an unsatisfactory sex life. If the mother is ever to blame, it is in those instances in which she knew it was going on and allowed it to continue. 2) She presents what I view as flawed statistics. Graglia states that 90% of all births to black mothers aged 15-19 are illegitimate. This obviously makes perfect sense, since the average age of marriage is currently 24 for women and 26 for men. A married eighteen- or nineteen-year-old is rare and surely most women younger than this are not married. Graglia also discusses rape and sexual abuse statistics which show a veritable explosion in occurrence of these crimes over the past forty years. However, rape and sexual abuse are not as taboo or ignored by the police as they once were; this explains why these statistics have risen so alarmingly, despite the fact that both are still widely underreported. 3) Graglia acts as though a declining birth rate is a huge problem, although Earth is projected to reach her carrying capacity--the maximum amount of people Earth's natural resources can support--in the not too distant future. Overpopulation, not underpopulation, is a bigger concern for scientists, unless my Geology professor had no idea what he was talking about. Lastly, Graglia uses the one reason that disgusts me the most as to why women should stay home--that women who dare work in the marketplace are taking away jobs that men who are the solitary breadwinners need. Propaganda, anyone? This argument was used to get women to give up whatever employment they held during the Depression...and then, during WWII, free child care was made available in the workplace so Rosie the Riveter could do her patriotic duty. Naturally, Graglia is against this child care. I do not have a problem with the fact that she does not support child care that one-income families must pay for, but it frustrates me to no end that our government has manipulated women in this way, and Graglia has bought into the brainwashing. I like to read both sides of the issue, but I found this book absolutely infuriating. The writing does not flow well and I found it difficult to concentrate and, when I did, what I read just made me mad. According to other reviews, it looks as though other people really liked it. If you are homemakers, that's great, but I, for one, want to have a profession and a family, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. So if we can just learn to live and let live, that would be perfectly wonderful. I support your choice to stay at home, and all I would ask is that you support my choice to work outside the home without thinking I must be a terrible mother.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusting
Review: I must, of course, preface this review by saying that I am a feminist. However, my mother was a homemaker, and my older sister is also a homemaker. That being said, I can also understand why Graglia would be so offended by the things that feminists have said about homemakers in the past. I think my sister and my mother are both hard workers and my sister is, as my mother was, devoted to raising her children in a traditional setting and being a full-time mom. However, the context in which these comments were made cannot be denied; these overzealous women made generalizations about homemakers just as many blacks, when they were the victims of oppression, must have made hasty generalizations about whites. This is something that just happens, right or wrong, when you are so passionate about an issue, idea, or belief. There are several parts of this book with which I take exception. They are, but not limited to, the following: 1) She blames women whose husbands molest their daughters because the wives should be sexually satisfying their husbands. This does not address the issue of pedophilia and the perverseness of a man who would sexually abuse his own daughter. In no way should the woman be blamed when her husband obviously has more serious problems than an unsatisfactory sex life. If the mother is ever to blame, it is in those instances in which she knew it was going on and allowed it to continue. 2) She presents what I view as flawed statistics. Graglia states that 90% of all births to black mothers aged 15-19 are illegitimate. This obviously makes perfect sense, since the average age of marriage is currently 24 for women and 26 for men. A married eighteen- or nineteen-year-old is rare and surely most women younger than this are not married. Graglia also discusses rape and sexual abuse statistics which show a veritable explosion in occurrence of these crimes over the past forty years. However, rape and sexual abuse are not as taboo or ignored by the police as they once were; this explains why these statistics have risen so alarmingly, despite the fact that both are still widely underreported. 3) Graglia acts as though a declining birth rate is a huge problem, although Earth is projected to reach her carrying capacity--the maximum amount of people Earth's natural resources can support--in the not too distant future. Overpopulation, not underpopulation, is a bigger concern for scientists, unless my Geology professor had no idea what he was talking about. Lastly, Graglia uses the one reason that disgusts me the most as to why women should stay home--that women who dare work in the marketplace are taking away jobs that men who are the solitary breadwinners need. Propaganda, anyone? This argument was used to get women to give up whatever employment they held during the Depression...and then, during WWII, free child care was made available in the workplace so Rosie the Riveter could do her patriotic duty. Naturally, Graglia is against this child care. I do not have a problem with the fact that she does not support child care that one-income families must pay for, but it frustrates me to no end that our government has manipulated women in this way, and Graglia has bought into the brainwashing. I like to read both sides of the issue, but I found this book absolutely infuriating. The writing does not flow well and I found it difficult to concentrate and, when I did, what I read just made me mad. According to other reviews, it looks as though other people really liked it. If you are homemakers, that's great, but I, for one, want to have a profession and a family, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. So if we can just learn to live and let live, that would be perfectly wonderful. I support your choice to stay at home, and all I would ask is that you support my choice to work outside the home without thinking I must be a terrible mother.
Rating:
Summary: interesting book
Review: I really felt that this was a very good book. I feel that Mrs. Graglia took on a challenge to write about such a controvesial topic. Today it is politically uncorrect to say that women should put their children first. If you say that people take that to mean you support the opression of women. What Ms. Graglia does is show that the traditional women has no reason to hang her head down. She should be very proud of the choice she has made to put her children and family first. Ms. Graglia does a very good job of supporting the traditional homemaker. The point of her book is not to say that all women should be homemakers. She acknowledges that there are women who would rather have a career and not have children or put them in day care if they do have children. I feel that the point of her book is just to support the traditional women. These days careers are glorified (you are only somebody if you have a career, and prestigious one at that (like a lawyer, doctor, engineer etc)). Materialism is glorified. Independence and fulfillment of ones own wishes is glorified. I think that a lot has been done lately in society to support the working mother. The media has done all it can to support that choice and make women feel good about that choice. Very little has been done to support the traditional homemaker, and the things she does for her family and children. I am glad somebody wrote a book to support her choice too! In fact, I am glad to see that the popular TV comedy, Everybody Loves Raymond, shows a traditional wife caring for her young children full time. The book also points out some of the joys of caring for your own children. It talks about the joys of being a homemaker. It dicusses the benefits of being a traditional conservative women. Lot of what she writes about does not float with feminist values, but she brings up some important, and I feel valid points. She also points out that men and women are very different. I tend to agree. Feminist movement seems to think that women have exactly the same desires as men. I read the book, because I wanted to show my wife just how important the role of homemaker can be. I am glad that my wife choose that role. I enjoy taking care of my family and giving a wonderful women the oppurtunity to joyfully raise her own kids.
I understand that this is not the choice that every women should make. It depends on your own individual likes and interests. However if you do, you have no reason to feel bad. Ms. Graglia does a good job of showing this.
Rating:
Summary: To the point!
Review: I really liked reading Graglia. Her words echoed mine. Her experience somehow matched mine, even though we're of two different generation. It's true that feminism has gone too far and that it upheld irresponsible sexual behaviors for women. It's not true that the sexual revolution gave women the right to be sexual and enjoy their sexual being. If I had a choice to do it all over again, I would write on a piece of paper "sexual revolution" and scrap it and throw it back at the people who brought that "in" the first place. "No, thank you!". This book is definitely on-line when it says that women have lost a lot of bargaining power with the sexual revolution. That is what I experienced, that is what I see around me and that is what I came to understand with lots of reading and reflections on the subject. I wish I had come across such a book 10 years ago. Again, I don't think it is "enjoying your sexual being", having a couple abortions (great liberation...) and many times over your heart broken because it's true that a man doesn't fall in love with a woman "the first night". Despite some very virulent feminist that reviewed this book, Carolyn Graglia's book is very close to my experience. And to the reader from Baltimore ("why men feel they have the right to judge when a woman is behaving?"), well my answer is quite simple: men have the right to judge when a woman is misbehaving because we - women - have also the right to judge when men are misbehaving! Simple, isn't it? They are two sexes living on this earth, we can't have all the way the exact way that we want it to be; in order for us to live together, men will have to make sacrifices and compromises and women will have to make sacrifices and compromises. For me a genuine feminist revolution should have gone to great lenghts to protects our way of being and demand respect for who we are. Not, urging young women to use birth control pills to enjoy their sexuality when the majority of women very well know that what we want is romance, love and stability. Ask yourself, look around! Are women happier and more confident than they were before? Not necessarily. I find it a disgrace for young women to be educated along the feminist lines - have sex, protect yourself, be responsible...- and finding themselves on a abortion table because they were so liberated. Anyway, I'm going to pass this book to my girlfriends to see their reaction...
Rating:
Summary: This doesn't have to be a war between all women...
Review: It is so sad that this debate characterizes feminism as something one group of women is doing to destroy another group of women. Feminism isn't about destroying anyone or anything. I describe myself as a woman, mother, wife, feminist, and law student. Just as men are capable of being wonderful fathers and husbands while maintaining a successful career, so too can women! Why is there only one right way to raise a family? I applaud the women who stay home with their children, who are happy doing this. I know many women who choose to stay at home and are *also* feminists. Where do they fit into this narrow and very negative characterization of a feminist? What about conservative women in Congress? Obviously, they have not made the decision to stay home with their families... where do they fit into the conservative characterization of a feminist? This book presents a very narrow and deceptively vicious view of what feminism is. Please, read more books about feminism than just this one. There is so much more to it than this.
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