Eduardo Mendieta
"Kelly Oliver's book offers a brilliant and unforgettable feminist critique of the recent ways in which 'women' have been used, once again, as the terrain and flesh over which to fight yet another war. At stake in this war is also the future of feminism. Challenging the bunker rhetoric coming out of Washington that combines a noxious mixture of anti-Arab racism with the latest version of the white men's burden to save women from pre-modern cultures, Oliver offers an eloquent plea for the continuing relevance of feminist ways of interpreting the world. In these times of shame and sorrow, this book is indispensable reading."
Eduardo Mendieta, Stony Brook University
Kalpana Rahita Seshadri
When a highly respected feminist philosopher such as Kelly Oliver turns her attention to the most urgent issues facing us today-the war on terror and the invasion of Iranthe reader anticipates the pleasure of a dramatic shift in perspective, an unexpected frame of reference, and a renewal of political energy and ethical thought. And not surprisingly, Oliver has once again delivered on her (unspoken) promise.
Kalpana Rahita Seshadri, associate professor of English, Boston College
Cynthia Willett
In her latest book, Kelly Oliver traces the use of women as weapons of war and vehicles of torture to the fact that women lack the cultural means to become articulate agents of their own meaning. Each chapter of the book is laced with rich insights on topics such as the sexual dynamics of the film Mr. And Mrs. Smith, the contemporary mother as CEO of her family, the popularity of reality shows, neoliberal freedom as freedom to shop, and the meaning of menstrual blood. The wide-ranging insights combine with a clear prose style and a compelling use of contemporary French theory to make for an immensely pleasurable and intellectually satisfying book.
Cynthia Willett, professor and chair, Department of Philosophy, Emory University