The Right Women: A Journey Through the Heart of Conservative America

by Elinor Burkett

Book Overview

Despite feminist predictions that women's liberation would forge a national sisterhood steeped in common values and goals, today's most outspoken voices come from women who ironically embody the ideal of independence even as they denounce the principles of "old" feminism. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews, Elinor Burkett takes readers into the lives, minds, and hearts of conservative women, from prominent politicians like Elizabeth Dole...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684852020
• ISBN13: 9780684852027
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Pretty Decent, Needs an Update

I'm a conservative woman from Texas, and while I didn't find women like me in the pages of Burkett's book (conservative women activists who break a lot of assumptions about conservatives in general aren't really fodder for this sort of book), I think it was a fair examination of conservative women. It's a good read if you're looking to find something that doesn't just refer to conservative women as "the enemy," which is what radical Third Wave feminists would have you believe we are. In reality, conservative women are the heartbeat of middle America - and we vote. I recommend this to most people who find the term "conservative women" to be an oxymoron, and to all people who find it repugnant.

Very Thought Provoking

As a die hard liberal, I was so glad to be able to read a non-threatining view of what many conservatives(women)think. I just don't think I could get through a book by Dr. Laura or Ann Coulter. Despite the fact the author is obviously from a liberal backround, I felt the book was very balanced and objective. The chapter on abortion was especially enlightening. While I'm still pro-choice, the author brought up sides about this issue that had never occured to me. I hope some of the women whom she interviewed read her book. Many of those she interviewed scorn the women's rights movement. One of the author's important realizations is that many of these women fail to remember just how opressed women were in the first part of the 20th century. While the women's rights movement has gotten a reputation of no longer representing all women, the ground they gained for all of us during the 60's and 70's should never be forgotton. Additionally, her writing style is so captivating, I could not put the book down.

always RIGHT

Elinor Burkett makes a good attempt to potray conservative women objectively, and while she doesn't always succeed, she's fairly honest about her own biases. Burkett, a liberal feminist, is fairly accepting of the political differences between the conservatives and herself, although at times she can be condescending, as if it's some great revelation that they aren't mindless robots brainwashed by the patriarchy. Also, Burkett seems to think many of the women she interviews are hypocritical since they criticize feminism but also have benefitted from it, when most of their criticism is for the modern radical feminism that has alienated them. Still, this book fills a glaring void, since most books in the women's studies section are about the importance of feminism to women rather than about those women who have no use for it. In addition, it's a fun read I'd recommend to liberals and conservatives alike.

A fair examination of conservative women

Author Elinor Burkett has a doctorate in History and taught Women's Studies (and other courses) for 13 years before becoming a journalist. Moreover, she describes herself as "a pushy Jewish feminist from New York." One might think, therefore, that her examination of conservative and Republican women would be little more than a scathing critique. Fortunately for us, it isn't.Burkett examines conservative and Republican women who come from a variety of life situations (rural and urban, rich and poor, etc.) to determine what their views are and why they hold them. Just as the women have a variety of backgrounds, their views are not all the same. With just a few exceptions, Burkett does not let her own views influence her reporting. Even to the extent that Burkett isn't willing to let go of her liberal feminist view of things, she still seems willing to critically examine that view. This is particularly so when she examines the abortion question and discusses what she sees as the hypocrisy of both sides. The book doesn't contain any major insights, but it is a fair look at several women who have rejected, in one way or another, the agenda advanced by the feminist elite. For that alone it is worth reading.

A must read

As I opened this book, I was prepared to read a few hundred pages worth of insults geared towards conservative, religious, or otherwise "non feminist" women. I was pleasantly surprised with the fairness and respect that Burkett afforded her subjects.My only complaint is that the section on religious women in America focused too heavily on "fundamentalist" Christians. An expanded chapter on American Muslims, as well as a chapter on Orthodox Jewish women would have been much more interesting and representative. It may be asking too much, but it would be nice to see this book, or sections of it, included in women's studies classes. The voice of the conservative woman is too often dismissed, and Burkett's book is a much needed forum.