Good and Mad Review

I said I was going to be better when reviewing books and talking about how they made me feel. There is no better book to start with than Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister. 

In her third book, Traister turns her attention to the power of women’s anger throughout the last century and a half. She opts to present current events alongside historical milestones from the suffrage and feminist movements. Personal vignettes, interviews, and statistics back up her point. When women get mad, the world often looks the other way, but female anger has accomplished great things.

From the election of Donald Trump to the Me Too movement to the divisions between feminist movements, Rebecca Traister doesn’t pull any punches. Nor should she. In her introduction, she admits to frequently toning down her anger to fit into the acceptable range of female emoting. Good and Mad is her departure from that habit. She lays it all on the table in the chapters that follow.

I picked up the audiobook, and how she managed to keep a level steady voice, I have no idea. She cracked a bit here and there but overall kept her shit together. Her language, the stories she weaves together illustrate her anger instead of her inflection and tone. It was an effective way of giving an alternative reflection on how female rage ends up being expressed. Running down our red cheeks, laced with mascara. Obviously, she had the opportunity to stop rolling if her emotions got the better of her. But, that isn’t an easy feat when you are talking about something you feel strongly about. Although given center stage in the title, anger wasn’t the only emotion Traister’s narrative evoked. 

I don’t know what I expected from this book. All the Single Ladies, another publication by Traister, was a compelling read for me last summer. Her discourse on the economic and political power single women have was refreshing since so often, single women are seen as defective to some folks. I was interested in her take on the subject of women’s anger. Frustration, pride, disappointment, anxiety, hopefulness mingled in their ebb and flow as I made my way through the chapters.  

Some of those feelings probably don’t sound like a good fit given the subject of this book. We are far from a viable solution to the question of gender equity. To say we have nothing to celebrate and be proud of would be a dark and unfair assessment of the situation. Traister uses these successes to lay the framework for her argument. The heroines of the suffrage, labor, and feminist movements are discussed with anger and being fed up in mind. Hearing their struggle talked about from an emotional standpoint humanized these women and their achievements. This gets lost so often in the sterile, historical perspective used in classrooms. By forgoing the clinical take, Traister makes a persuasive case for exactly what women can accomplish when they are fed up.

Her bringing us back to the fallout from the election was where a lot of my own frustration rose up. Frustration and disappointment. I wasn’t a die-hard Hilary supporter. Of the two candidates, though, she was the one I aligned with more. That’s not really saying anything since I don’t think my views and President Trump’s agenda match on any item whatsoever. During the election lead-up, I waited for someone, anyone, to jump out from behind a corner and shout, “Just kidding!” Waking up to the result, left me dumbfounded. No one was kidding. This was not a drill. Traister echos these feelings in her narrative, and it is those feelings, which she uses to springboard into the action that tidal waved across the globe. 

There were parts of the book where I struggled. I felt uncomfortable. Not the “I need to get out of these pants and into sweats” kind of uncomfortable. The kind that makes you evaluate yourself and your beliefs.  I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to get comfortable with opinions. After you firm one on a given subject, poof, no more thinking about it, right? But life doesn’t really work that way. We are participants in as well as products of evolution. Resting on our laurels, so to speak, doesn’t do anyone any good. And, for certain brands of feminism, that’s precisely what has been happening since the seventies.

To say I agree 100 percent with the solutions Traister puts forward wouldn’t be accurate at all. She tackled substantial, systemic problems that don’t necessarily have a single, clear answer. Regardless, listening to those ideas and her perspective on these subjects is something I am glad I sought out. Traister’s intersectional take on feminism, activism, and politics offered a lot of food for thought. By listening to this book, I have started looking at my world view lens. It’s made me realize I’ve been lazy when it comes to perspective and broadening my horizons. 

Whether you count yourself as a feminist or not, I’d recommend giving this a read. Make the wheels turn a bit differently than they usually do. 

Till next time, Nerd Girls!