'The Gender Knot': Book Review

‘The Gender Knot’ by Allan Johnson.

This book is an interesting read, as it looks at the history of patriarchy and seeks to unpick the confusion around this important subject from both a male and female perspective. It clearly explains what patriarchy is and is not and how it impacts all of us in society. It is very objective and does not seek to make people angry or defensive.  I thought it was very thought provoking and made me think about how I (although passionate about men and women working together in the way that I believe God intended) do participate in an oppressive system without even thinking about it.

He makes several suggestions of how we can gain a vision to work for a society that is different treating both women and men with respect.  This is not a book written from a Christian perspective, but it does engage with some of the biblical principles of justice and equality.

Johnson looks at how society buys into patriarchy; he gives examples of this and writes about how the films that have won an Oscar for Best Picture since 1965 have all told the story from a male perspective. In fact only four of the thirty-nine films between1965 – 2003 tell the story from a female point of view.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted, as it is quite academic, but well worth a read. I was challenged through reading the book and leant a lot about a subject that I thought I already had a good grasp of. I would highly recommend it, as long as you are not looking for a coffee table type book – be prepared to get your thinking caps on with this book.

Comments

[Jenny Baker]

Thanks for this review Sharon - looks a really interesting book

[Sharon Prior]

Thanks Jenny. It is intersting and really made me think about what I do and say and how this is colluding with the whole issue.