feminism – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi & the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever

By Scott J. Pearson | March 2, 2026March 2, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

By the end of the Victorian age, men had dominated medical practice for centuries, but women were beginning to make inroads into the profession. A few, Mary Putnam Jacobi being the first, made inroads in European training centers and returned to the US to integrate women into American medicine. In this book, Lydia Reeder narrates their struggle and eventual victory that depathologized being a woman. By pursuing their personal questions, these women physician-scientists brought obstetrics…

History Society

How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women

By Scott J. Pearson | January 3, 2026January 3, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Most of us think of witchcraft as a relic of a hyper-religious past. Most of us also don’t have detailed beliefs about the practice of killing witches in the name of beating the devil – other than it’s wrong. However, the authors make a compelling case that the persecution of “witches” in prior centuries was just patriarchy rearing its ugly head. Seventy percent of accused witches were women; the other thirty percent were often the…

Management-Business Society

What Works for Women at Work: Four Patterns Working Women Need to Know

By Scott J. Pearson | August 7, 2025August 7, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

I have mixed reactions about this book. On the good side, the book is thoroughly researched with original work. The authors interviewed dozens of women in dozens of work settings about their workplace experiences. It covers the field comprehensively and leaves no important issue untouched. Topics include things like marital work-sharing, being a mother in the workplace, generational changes, and working with other women. It even has a summary of twenty action points in a…

Society

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

By Scott J. Pearson | June 1, 2025June 2, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

When a boy, I grew up a Republican in the conservative upstate of South Carolina. I knew about feminism from the news and school, but the history of struggle was not a central part of my household. In 1993, I heard of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s appointment to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton, but she was not on my “team.” Therefore, I didn’t pay close attention. Only as an adult did my awareness and curiosity…

Society

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

By Scott J. Pearson | March 15, 2025March 20, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Much as it’s hard to critique a William Shakespeare or a Mark Twain, it’s hard to critique Virginia Woolf. She pioneered women’s literature in the early twentieth century and helped lay its foundation for an incredibly successful, bustling marketplace in today’s world. Despite nagging misogyny, women writers receive deserved respect because of Woolf’s proposals to let women’s genius work. So in one sense, this book offers a distilled, timeless essay worthy of historical study for…

Society

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity & Love

By Scott J. Pearson | March 5, 2025March 5, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

bell hooks is a well-known black feminist author. She notes that dealing with the fundamental feminist problem of patriarchy requires helping men find better ways through life. She also notes that many men are themselves hurt by patriarchy. Men are often held back from their best lives because of shortsighted stereotypes of masculinity. In this book, she offers her reflections on how to help men heal from a culture of domineering and to enhance their…

Society

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

By Scott J. Pearson | March 2, 2025March 1, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

I heard of bell hooks years ago, but have put off reading her for some time. I recently began to work alongside a mostly female team at my job, so I’m reading several feminist texts to appreciate their life and work experiences better. After reading this short work, I wish I would have read her sooner because her perspective was so healing! I liked it so much that I immediately purchased another book of hers,…

Society Writing-Communication

Outspoken: Why Women’s Voices Get Silenced & How to Set Them Free

By Scott J. Pearson | February 22, 2025February 22, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Unlike with men, women’s places in society have long been under debate. Many women face pressure to quiet their voices and opinions merely because of their gender. When that happens, though, society loses the individual contribution of women’s minds and spirits. Instead of growing forward together, we lose someone’s unique gifts. In this book, voice coach Veronica Rueckert attempts to liberate women’s voices from these oppressive patterns so that they can give back better. As…

Biography-Memoir Politics

Madam Secretary: A Memoir by Madeleine Albright

By Scott J. Pearson | August 2, 2024August 2, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Madeleine Albright served in Bill Clinton’s administration as UN Ambassador and Secretary of State – the first female ever in that role. Since Clinton was especially active in international diplomacy, she held a front-row seat and observed many international characters and diplomatic ventures. Further, her career broke the glass ceiling for women in government, and she did it while being a doting mother, grandmother, and even a divorcee. Finally, along with her birth family, she…

History Leadership Society

For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women

By Scott J. Pearson | March 30, 2024September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

I grew up in a conservative home in a conservative state with a religion that enshrined conservatism more than Christianity. Fortunately, I was allowed to read, and reading has become a salvation of sorts. As I’ve aged and expanded my horizons, I’ve nonetheless grown concerned that I might have picked up some bad habits along the way. I’m recognized as an expert in my field, but I strive not to be one that oppresses others.…