Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells
Set in both 1960s Louisiana and 1990s Seattle, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood tells the story of four women, best friends throughout their whole lives, and the secrets they kept, as revealed one by one to one of their daughters. Its portrayal of these women’s friendship proves what most women already know: that stories about women and our lives are interesting and worthy for everyone. However, this book’s casual treatment of racism and discrimination spoil what would otherwise be an intriguing and affirming vision of female friendship. The book toes the line of neutrality with the horrendous way white people treated black people, never going so far as to criticize it, preferring to simply provide descriptions of the way things were. As a reader, I’m still not quite sure as to what the author’s duty is in terms of anti-racism and anti-sexism, but what I do know is that there were many times while reading this novel that I felt extremely uncomfortable, even to the point of disgust. It certainly drew attention away from the storyline. A movie adaptation was made in 2002, and it would be interesting to see what differences there are in this sense, if any.
Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Herland tells the story of a matriarchal civilization that has only women who reproduce on their own without male intervention, through the lens of white male cis-ness in the form of three ‘explorers’ trying to find this mysterious land. One of these men narrates their experience as they discover a new way of being and of living: through his words, colonialism, patriarchy, and the way we are forced to live today are laid bare and exposed for what they are. Because in this other world, there is no war, no violence, no disease, and its members (remember, all women!) work together to make their society an even better place to live, and are dumbfounded when the men try to explain competition and struggle. Why compete when everyone can become better together, instead of in spite of one another? This work might seem exaggerated and idealistic, but it sure was nice to imagine being there for a hot second, to imagine what life might be like outside of the constructs of patriarchal society and the bullshit of white cis men. Sorry, not sorry!