by Rebecca Mead
First published 2016
Kate Millett published Sexual Politics in 1970 and created an immediate cultural earthquake. She examines how celebrated male writers have portrayed women and sexual relationships in their work. Millett focuses her critique on four major authors: D. H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, Norman Mailer, and Jean Genet. She demonstrates how these writers present male dominance as biological inevitability rather than social construction. Her analysis extends beyond literature into psychology, philosophy, and political theory. Millett shows how patriarchal assumptions infiltrate academic disciplines and popular culture. She uses accessible examples to help readers identify gender bias disguised as objective truth. The book taught an entire generation to question power structures previously accepted without examination. This edition includes new commentary from legal scholar Catharine A. MacKinnon and New Yorker writer Rebecca Mead. They discuss how Millett's insights remain relevant for contemporary feminist analysis.
Genres: gender-studies, feminism, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: academic, social-commentary
Period: 1970s
403 pages · Kindle Edition · Columbia University Press