Monday 1 December 2014

The Fictional Woman by Tara Moss

In 2002, after years of circulating rumours, crime writer Tara Moss was publicly challenged by a journalist to take a polygraph test to prove that she wrote her own books. Many people had trouble believing she was intelligent enough to write them herself. Why? Because she was a model.

In her first non-fiction work, Moss easily demolishes a range of flawed ideas when it comes to the judgements made about women. Until you read this book, you probably won’t have realised the extent of these ‘fictions’ and the impact they have on your own life and the lives of the women and men around you.

These aren’t issues that can be relegated to the history books, yet, either. Without deliberate intervention, the young girls of today are going to come-of-age in a society where their chances of sexual assault are still disturbingly high, domestic violence is prevalent, where men are paid more and promoted more than woman, and where the bulk of childcare and domestic work falls on to the shoulders of women. Today’s teens need to know this stuff and be aware that their personal choices will play out on a public stage - one that is still weighted in favour of men.

Moss presents a personal and engaging account of how these issues have played out in her own life and in our public spaces. Her evidence is convincing and her discussion contemporary. She argues that new technologies and social media have brought both positives and negatives for women. However, technology without a change in attitude can only deliver us so far. Moss describes many cases of men who still buy into the old prejudices and feel entitled to control over women’s bodies and behaviour. As an Australian, she sees this dangerously embodied by current Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. Abbott is the ultimate contemporary warning – his charming paternalism, however well-intentioned, could easily undo progress made, so far, toward equality.

Moss writes for ‘everyone’ in a very accessible and entertaining style and is well capable of holding the interest of all, including the Facebook generation. She provides a compelling argument for the need to inform each new generation and to keep challenging these issues, politicising them, and legislating against them. I recommend reading it yourself, and then empowering your own teen by putting it on their Christmas list!

Reviewed by Spot

Catalogue Link: The Fictional Woman

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