I really enjoyed all of the Fanny Fern columns we read. Blunt, tired-of-putting-up-with-garbage female sarcasm is among my favorite tones. The "Male Criticism on Ladies' Books" especially delighted me because even today, anything that is enjoyed by teenage girls is apt to be absolutely trashed by critics. (See: pop music, "chick flicks," "chick lit" et cetera). Fern's column strongly reminded me of an article I once read on Rookie, an online magazine for young women "Why I’m sick of articles about teenage girls written by grown-up men": http://www.rookiemag.com/2014/01/kids-wont-listen/
Fern's frustration with men "who know as much about reviewing a woman's bookas I do about navigating a ship, or engineering an omnibus from the South Ferry, through Broadway, to Union Park" is echoed in the Rookie article and in almost every girl who is tired of having their interests belittled and mocked.
Thank you for sharing this article! I think it's interesting that you draw comparisons between this article, written in 2014, and Fern's writing, written over a century and a half ago. This just goes to show that the often-negative stereotypes and condescension towards women are still apparent in our society, which is both unfortunate and frustrating to realize.
ReplyDeleteI'm also going to thank you for sharing the article! I really enjoyed the Fanny Fern articles because they provide evidence that women have been fighting for the same abilities to dress how they please and be free of unwanted male criticism of "female culture" whether that be books, celebrities, movies, music, clothing, etc. Fanny Fern's articles also prove that very little has changed to contradict those who believe women have been reached equality.
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