Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/481579
March/April 2015 37 We Should All Be F eminists By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie New York: Anchor, 2015 ISBN-10: 110191176X ISBN-13: 978-1101911761 Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivered a TED talk in 2013 called "We Should All Be Feminists." This book, adapted from that speech, retains many of the author's simultaneously thought- ful, humorous and poignant reflections about how she came to call herself a femi- nist. She speaks from her experiences in Nigeria and the United States, reflecting on empowerment and disempowerment and their connection to gender. The book dives deeper than the speech, reflecting much of the recent cultural conversation about why one does or doesn't labeled oneself a feminist. She reflects on key moments in her life where she realized she needed to unlearn restrictive beliefs about women to arrive at an authentic life for herself. She calls on everyone to engage such unlearning, saying if "the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we must make it our culture." Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide By Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn New York: Knopf, 2009 ISBN-10: 0307387097 ISBN-13: 978-0307387097 As they wrote and followed world news, journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn started noticing trends regarding women and girls. Broadly speaking, they saw that discrimination against women and girls was an underre- p orted worldwide trend. They wrote this book to counterbalance such discrimina- tion. In it they note, "We journalists tend to be good at covering events that happen on a particular day, but we slip at cover- ing events that happen every day—such as the quotidian cruelties inflicted on women and girls" (xiv). They focus on three particular violent trends: sex traf- ficking, gender-based violence and mater- nal mortality. Then they look at the ways that investing in women and girls— through education and microfinance pro- grams—is making a positive impact on the situation of women around the world. The introduction closes with a strong call to action: "We hope to recruit you to join an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women's power as economic catalysts" (xxii). Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference By Cordelia Fine New York: Norton, 2011 ISBN-10: 0393340244 ISBN-13: 978-0393340242 We know that biologically, anatomically, there are differences between men and women. But is there any truth to other gender-based differences—those attrib- utes with social and cultural origins? We've heard for years that inherent hardwiring means women are more empathetic than men, while men are bet- ter with spatial orientation. Cordelia Fine questions these notions, looking at the studies that led us to these ideas. She also sheds light on an important distinc- tion between explicitly held knowledge (the views that we consciously, thought- fully acquire) and associative memory (the patterns in culture or media that our brain absorbs), and the power these two f rameworks have for the way we under- stand gender. Women's Bible Commentary, Third Edition: Revised and Updated Edited by Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe and Jacqueline E. Lapsley Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2012 ISBN-10: 066423707X ISBN-13: 978-0664237073 This classic Bible study resource has been updated recently, and made even better! Developed because women have unique questions and responses to scrip- ture and because the Bible has been sig- nificant in defining women's place in society, this commentary offers feminist biblical interpretation from North American writers. The commentary examines each book of the Bible, offering insights about passages that speak partic- ularly to women. A beautifully written introduction highlights the evolution of this resource, including changes in whose voices are included. Sharon Ringe's essay, "When Women Interpret the Bible," is an inspiring piece for women who want to thoughtfully and faithfully engage the Bible. Pages Worth Turning t t t b o o k s If you order these books (or many other books and Amazon items!) through Amazon Smile (smile.amazon.com), a portion of the purchase price will be donated to Presbyterian Women. Just visit smile.amazon.com and select Presbyterian Women as your favorite charitable organization. You pay the same amount, but Presbyterian Women receives a small gift!