Book Review: Confessions of an Ex-Feminist by Lorraine V. Murray
24 March, 2009Ugly Truths and Beautiful Discoveries: Lorraine V. Murray's Confessions of an Ex-Feminist
Feminism isn't just for women, and is wasn't confined to the 60's either: I graduated from college in 1998 with Feminist thinking, and a handful of other ideologies, ready to take on the world. If Lorraine V. Murray's Confessions of an Ex-Feminist had been included in my education, it might not have taken me a decade to see an ugly but well-hidden truth about Feminism: Feminists only defend your freedom if you use it to choose Feminist ideals!
To be a woman-or, I can say from experience, a man-who allows any place at all for any "traditional" role for women is to be a traitor to the cause and an instant outcast (and we could say the same for Marxism, Gender Studies, and a host of other 'liberated' ways of thinking).
But shouldn't a 'feminist' be free to choose what is best for her, not what's best for 'the cause'? Murray addresses this and similar questions with a refreshing frankness and no small amount of humbling self-examination. Poignant without being sappy, and funny in parts without trying too hard, I found the book a straightforward, easy read, but one that still has some hidden gems along the way. There is something here for you whether you're new to Feminist thought, firmly devoted to the cause, or, like Murray and me, have spent your time there and have come around to see its flaws and choose another path for yourself.
Ultimately, this is the story of a Catholic girl becoming a woman who rejects her faith and culture, only to find the 'liberation' she was promised to leave more empty space than fulfillment. For Murray, the answer to real self-awareness and completeness lies in the selflessness and grace found in the Catholic Faith, but one needn't be a Catholic to appreciate Murray's discovery or learn from her experiences.
Who is this for? Catholics and Feminists, lapsed Catholics and lapsed Feminists, and people who know or care nothing about either one but will appreciate a fresh and personal examination of what life, freedom, and self-awareness are really about. If I had a teenager-daughter or son-they wouldn't leave for college without a copy in their hand. What they would do with it, of course, is their liberty to decide.