Cunt: A Declaration of Independence

by Inga Muscio

Book Overview

An ancient title of respect for women, the word "cunt" long ago veered off this noble path. Inga Muscio traces the road from honor to expletive, giving women the motivation and tools to claim "cunt" as a positive and powerful force in their lives. In this fully revised edition, she explores, with candidness and humor, such traditional feminist issues as birth control, sexuality, jealousy between women, and prostitution with a fresh attitude for a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580050751
• ISBN13: 9781580050753
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.4" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Enpowering and wonderful

This is the most empowering book i've ever read. As a feminist, lesbian, and avid reader/student of women's studies, i have to say that this is the best book i've read all year. Inga Muscio talks about female anatomy, rape, abortion, orgasms, menstruation, and prostitution. While i didn't agree with EVERY point she made, i was shown an itelligent point of view that made me think of things i had never thought of before. She made me feel even PROUDER to be a woman. I have purchased copies of this book for my girlfriend and another female friend, and i intend on buying a copy for my mother. I wish i could give this books to everyone that has ever meant anything to me, male and female, to share her beautiful points of view. She embraces life, praises women, and entertains all at the same time. I recommend this book to everyone for an education and a new appreciation for women and for life. I recommend this book HIGHLY, and you'll want 3 copies (one for yourself, one for your best friend, and one for your mother/sister!) ENJOY!

Prepare to have your worldview disrupted

This book has had an immeasurable impact on how I view myslef, my body, and my relationship with other women. It's rather empowering to have somebody (FINALLY) say all of the things that you've been thinking but never thought you had an audience for. As a rape survivor, I found one passage to be especially true:A man could, feasibly, sacrifice his lunch break raping a woman. That woman would then spend the rest of their life dealing with it. So would her daughters. So would theirs. The distribution of power is not acceptable.This book will force you to reexamine your attitudes on a multitude of issues. You will not be the same after reading it.

read it, go out and buy lots of copies for your friends

while i do agree with the other los angeles reviewer who noted that the book is a little too centered around a simplistic dichotomy of dick=opressive power/cunt=beauty and all things positive, there is much in this book that is worth reading, worth mulling over, worth embracing. and, in a sense, thank god(dess) there are a few areas i couldn't wholeheartedly agree with (ie- why not lump all male artists into the category of phallic worshipping cuntfearing agressive oppressors?-like alice walker, i ain't about to give up john lennon..or james baldwin, or faulkner..)-because any book one finds oneself in complete fawning agreement with is suspicious as dogmatic and narrowly sectarian. let us argue over some sections, revere others, and value this book for what it is: an easy to read (though, for some, hard to swallow) discussion of so many typically ignored/negatively portrayed aspects of what it means to be a woman in a body. for that, i say go out and buy more copies, make sure your local bookstores carry this book: show support for ms. muscio and her efforts....read again, laugh here, dissent there, feel inspired there, relate there....

Cunt rules and if you don't think so, you don't get it.

When you read a book that changes something fundamental inside you, and you can't stop thinking about it for days, and you find yourself referring to it constantly, and you carry it with you in your backpack and relay specific quotes into your journal for safekeeping--then you know you've tapped into a literary archive of incredible genuius. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, is such a nugget. Ms. Muscio interviews influential, provocative women such as Diamanda Galas to point out how society has shaped our view of women. Although the section on Periods and Birth Control may make some twitch in their chairs, the humor and frankness with which she illuminates how society has reviled thse things for so long, makes you yearn for a world where periods are a monthly "blessing." Some may find the subject matter and language too provocative and blunt to handle. All the more reason, if you ask me, to read Cunt. As for the word itself, by the time you're done with the book, you'll have no problem screaming it from the rooftops or informing your neighbor on the train when asked what you're reading, "Why Cunt, of course!"