Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger

by Soraya Chemaly

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger,” a biting polemic that points to the pressures that women in sexist society face in common, even as those pressures are borne differently and unequally in different communities. Chemaly, a longtime writer and feminist activist, notes that girls and women are commonly socialized to suppress their anger, which is a shame because a ready arsenal of rage and invective comes in handy when you’re the subordinated gender: “By effectively severing anger from ‘good womanhood,’ we choose to sever girls and women from the emotion that best protects us against danger and injustice.”

Despite its title, Chemaly’s book is not so much about anger as about all the disparities that might — and should — make women angry: disproportionate poverty, wage gaps, discrimination, harassment, condescension and perhaps above all the high rates of violence against women (domestic, sexual and otherwise) with which we have yet to fully reckon. “Most of us learn to think that boys and men are the world’s risk takers,” she writes, “but that is only because we don’t seriously address the risks women must take as they navigate boys and men. We take risks when we post our profiles on dating websites and meet up with strangers. We take risks when we can’t pay for gyms (in lieu of exercising outside), taxis or car services, and other pricey ‘safety’ measures. We take risks every time we get pregnant. We take risks when we report sexual harassment, assault and domestic violence. We take risks when we go to the police. … We are experts at risk-taking.”

-Elaine Blair

from this NY Times review of Rage Becomes Her.