Reviews the scope, nature, and applications of the philosophical discipline, focusing on methods for distinguishing between valid and fallacious arguments and inferences.

"Catharine A. MacKinnon, noted feminist and legal scholar, explores and develops her original theories and practical proposals on sexual politics and law. These discourses, originally delivered as speeches, have been brilliantly woven into a book that retains all the spontaneity and accessibility of a live presentation. Through these engaged works on issues such as rape, abortion, athletics, sexual harassment, and pornography, MacKinnon seeks feminism on its own terms, unconstrained by the limits of prior traditions. She argues that viewing gender as (...) a matter of sameness and difference--as virtually all existing theory and law have done--covers up the reality of gender, which is a system of social hierarchy, an imposed inequality of power"--Back cover. (shrink)

In dit spraakmakend boek wordt het Amerikaans feministische discours over geweld op vrouwen en over 'date rape' op de korrel genomen. De auteur beschuldigt orthodoxe feministen ervan vrouwen te beroven van hun eigen seksualiteit, alsof zij geen verlangens zouden hebben, maar weerloze wezens zijn, die zich moeten hoeden voor verleiding en misleiding. Het boek vormt een kritiek op het zogenaamde 'slachtofferfeminisme'.

Reviewers of this book have praised Christina Hoff Sommer's well-reasoned argument against many feminists' reliance on misleading, politically motivated 'facts' about how women are victimised.