The Female Man

Joanna Russ
The Female Man Cover

The Female Man

thegooddoctor
1/16/2026
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An important book, and I am very glad I read it, but not very enjoyable at all.  It really is a stretch to describe this book as a novel.  More accurately, it is more akin to a fictionalized analysis on the state of the Patriarchy in 1975 - and, sadly, it hasn't progressed anywhere near as much as one would have hoped.  In fact, it's gotten vastly worse since January 2024 in this part of the planet.

I would recommend it if you feel a need to read important books on important topics - and feminism is most certainly that.

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My rating system for this website (I have done reviews for over 85 “books” (including short stories, novelettes and novellas, as well as novels).

Their system is out of 5 stars, and allows you to use half-stars, so highest rating is 5 full stars, next-highest 4 ½ stars, etc. – and lowest is ½ star.  I did NOT want to space these ratings equally, giving just as much precedence to low-quality mush as to really good works.  For that reason, I laid out my system as follows:

My rating system: I begin with one star being equivalent to a rating of “C  -”. Progressing upwards, I add ½ star for each step, up to the maximum 5 stars, which is equivalent to a rating of “A”+.  I reserve ½ star for BOMBS, there being no option of zero or negative stars. As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don’t squander half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.

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