The End of Woman
Carrie Gress, author of the highly-recommended-by-us The Anti-Mary, has done it again. Gress’s latest work is an in-depth look at feminist ideologies throughout history and how its origins are still felt strongly today. Gress makes the bold claim that feminism has never and will never empower women; rather, it will destroy them.
In 2023, feminism—the ideology dedicated to “smashing the patriarchy”—has subversively made male lives the norm for everyone. After fifty years of the most recent wave of feminism, many people can’t even define “woman” anymore, including (as Gress writes), one of our supreme court justices.
One of the most rattling chapters is on the first feminist herself, but a few pages later her daughter (who is arguably more well-known in mainstream media), bursts on the scene. Her name? Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and the focus of the new biopic of the same name. But she’s counted amongst the other thirty-nine other well-known women that Gress writes into this long and twisted narrative throughout history. Another oddly timely cinematic tie-in is the cover of Gress’s book. This Picasso painting takes center stage in one of Oppenheimer’s opening scenes, preparing the viewer for the new and contorted reality we’re about to face.
Chillingly true, Gress tackles a history that has wrestled us into the current conundrums we find ourselves in today. In The End of Woman, Gress breaks down how we’ve arrived at current feminism:
By exploring the early development of feminism following the lives of the most influential women (cue Mary Shelley)
How feminism became the identifying narrative of Western women
How the women’s movement led directly to the gay rights and trans movement
And what the broader ramifications are of feminism’s rise, resulting in the undefined “woman”
It’s one of the most important books we wish we didn’t have to read, and it’s a vital contribution to the dialogue we need to take part in today. Pre-order your copy of The End of Woman here.
