Helen B. Andelin (1920–2009)

Despite the low rating I give it, I actually recommend everyone read this at some point. Partly because some of the ideas are a little on the ridiculous side (like taking cues from how small children behave as a way to act angry or get what you want), and partly to demonstrate why we (and I say this in a general all human sense) need feminism. Putting the onus of being the breadwinner & doing the finances on the guy while leaving all of the homemaking & childrearing to the woman may work for some but it's definitely not the ideal that will work for everyone.

Helen Andelin also says in a later chapter that women in the workforce are the root of most of modern society's ills- divorce, broken homes, etc. and that sexual immorality (which includes adultery but also premarital sex and homosexuality) was the cause for the fall of nations (citing the Roman Empire, Damascus, etc.)

Weirdly enough, I know people who would probably enjoy this book in a nonironic way and agree with the importance of maintaining gender roles- likely because those individuals and the author are both Mormon (which is likely why the phrase 'Celestial Marriage' pops up periodically)

As a woman who kills her own snakes (not really sure why that phrase was used to symbolize independent woman, but oh well), this book made me either chuckle or chuck it across the room, depending on where I was. There are a few good points, such as building a worthy character by seeing the good in others, but it is vastly outweighed by outdated, sexist views. If masculinity is so strong, why does it need to be coddled? That's the biggest point I don't understand about practicing Fascinating Womanhood, but now I'm kind of rambling.

Again, I encourage everyone read it at some point. It's actually still in print, but with over 2 million copies sold there's bound to be quite a few circulating used so you don't actually have to support it.… (plus d'informations)

Written in the early '60s, Fascinating Womanhood is both of its time and timeless. A self-help book written for women who wish to learn how to "awaken a man's deepest love and tenderness". Certainly some of the advice will be off-putting for some of today's liberated ladies and the author does at times refer to Bible passages, but if one can put aside a knee-jerk reaction to disdain the entirety of this treatise for the few outdated flaws it may be burdened with, a great deal of reinforcement and validation for elegant femininity can be gleaned from these pages.

On a personal note and as testimony for the qualities of the information in this book, I would like to add that I myself am not Christian, therefore my admiration for its content are wholly based on the efficacy of the advice I have put into practice in my own day-to-day life.… (plus d'informations)