"Other Women"

A Realistic Approach to Feminism

A take on feminism that is based in the condemnation of men is exactly what Francine Prose was aiming to avoid teaching in "Other Women". The standpoint that Ms. Prose takes on feminism is strong, but far more logical. 

Francine Prose’s “Other Women” approaches a topic that is long overdue for discussion in American society: the truth about feminism. Using experiences from her own life from the feminist movement of the 1970’s, Ms. Prose describes the way that her views have evolved over time, and paints a truthful and informative picture of a highly controversial topic. Having lived through one of the most famous periods of “consciousness-raising” towards feminism and been involved in the women’s advocacy as a member of a feminist group during this time, Ms. Prose is an extremely credible source on this issue. With an wonderfully little amount of bias on the topic, Ms. Prose dispels myths about feminism and ultimately presents the facts. The author wrote this essay primarily for a female audience. However, the intended audience being female is not due to an overly zealous feminist viewpoint or any type of male- criticism within the piece. The purpose of this essay is to help women to better understand feminism, giving themselves a sense of inward empowerment based on the facts, such as gender being irrelevant in intellectual and emotional capacity. The diction of this piece was particularly noteworthy. In a manner that stayed true to her belief in women’s ability to be as stable and emotionally unaffected as men, Prose wrote with complete blunt word choices and an unabashed sense of honesty. What was refreshing about this piece was its lack of romanticized feminist ideals. Supporting gender equality is one thing, while professing men to be evil and women to be superior creatures is quite another. The rational reasoning of women’s rights by Francine Prose, conveyed by her stark and forthright word choices, helped to get across the picture of feminism as something real and logical rather than some radical movement. As a woman reading this piece, I have never been able to connect more to a viewpoint on feminism. With her levelheaded reasoning and strong but not fanatical views, the author achieved her purpose of educating women on the truth about feminism and being able to feel empowered by it.