Congratulations, Jessica! I can't wait to read the book.

Good thing she's drinking some Delaware Punch to calm her down.

Very cool. But how shitty is it that someone else got the book before you did??

Congratulations! It's been at the top of my reading list since the first time I heard about it. Can't wait to read it!

Can't wait to read it. I wonder what kind of reviews it's getting?

Hump it? It looks more like she's trying to eat it there.

I hadn't considered tasting books as part of the review process. How was it Jessica? Delicious, delicious feminism? =)

Congrats Jessica! I'll have to add it to my Amazon.com wish list:)

Congrats, Jessica. Can't wait to read.

I have to say - I'll probably end up reading the book at some point, but I'm very disappointed by the cover.

Who else thinks the above should be the photo used for the jacket of the next book?

Congrats!

Don't forget to have your publisher send us a copy to review!

Ceceliahouse, the cover bothers me, too. I assume the publisher thought it would sell better that way.

Manda - awesome suggestion.

Does anyone know if Valenti has commented on the cover at all? I would really like to hear what she has to say about it - if was up the publisher, then why did she put up with that, and if it wasn't, then why did she choose it? If anyone can point me towards comments like this, I'd appreciate it.

If I remember correctly, Jessica mentioned that she was given a few options to choose from and this was her favorite. There was a pretty lengthy commentary on it when Jessica first debuted the cover.

I can't remember exactly when this post happened, but it should still be in the archives.

It's here. It came up again recently, but I forget where.

Oh, and hey, congratulations, Jessica!

Thanks for pointing me toward the discussion - extremely interesting. I'm still really disappointed by the decision, though - but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it has a lot to do with my frustration with Feministing in general - and so that shouldn't surprise me. So yeah, I probably won't end up reading it - I think there were excellent points brought up in the comments to that post and elsewhere, and the problems with the cover are manifestations of deeper problems with the entire site.

Hi Jessica:

We met this morning at WAM and I love your book. You really have a fresh viewpoint on feminism and get right to the point. Plus, I love the way you give us inspiration on what we all can do. Finally, you wrote in the book today that this was the first book you signed, thank you because the book is even more special now. Peace.

I preordered the book months ago. :o) Looking forward to it!

I remember the first time I saw my name on a book. It was an amazing and beautiful thing.

I think someone criticized me because the cover of my first book, Get Your IT Degree and Get Ahead, had a white background. But then she said it wouldn't have been any less offensive if the cover didn't have a white background, so I felt better. Confused, but better.

The larger problem, another commenter remarked, is that the font had a three-dimensional look to it--suggestive of a provocative 45-degree angle. I was flaunting my font, throwing my font out there, just begging for it to be groped.

Sorry, wait, none of that actually happened. And since I'm a male author, odds are it never will.

Which is why we need more books like yours.

Congratulations, Jessica. I look forward to reading this!

Cheers,

TH

w00t!

Hey ceceliahouse, thanks for killing my buzz about my book coming out. Well done!

"I think that an edgy cover is a good way to grab their attention."

Kinda like that Vanity Fair cover of Tony Soprano with a naked woman in his lap?

Tom Head, simply fabulous. Well done.

Congratulations, Jessica!

Congrats, Jessica! I'm always inspired to see a young woman publish, and this sounds like it has the potential to reach (and engage) a lot of women.

And ya'll--while there may be valid criticisms of the cover, it's been discussed, and it sure will be discussed some more, but can we give the author a temporary break, and, hey, maybe READ the contents before sniping vaguely on her blog site?

Happy WAM-ing, ladies!

There was a whole other thread on the cover. Anyone who's posting criticism about it here, instead of there, is just being nasty. We've all gotten the message that you don't like the cover and want to piss all over it. Fine. There's no need to do that in EVERY SINGLE THREAD that mentions the book.

This is why, frankly, I'm getting bored of the feminist blogosphere. It's full of people who don't want to do any actual activism or otherwise function as a visible advocate for feminism, but are more than willing to piss all over anybody who is.

Cheers,

TH

And thanks, BTW, soupcann. :o)

Re the feminist blogosphere: I'm a NOW officer. Joined a "feminist" listserv. Immediately got an email to the effect of: "How desperate does NOW have to be to elect a MAN as an officer?! This is why I don't bother with groups like NOW." Seems the working definition of feminism, on that listserv, was slightly less activism-focused than Star Trek fandom.

The blogosphere is a great place to pontificate and get hateful and mean-spirited. I've done it for years. But that accomplishes absolutely nothing for women, or anybody else.

Cheers,

TH

ugh. This has gotten out of hand. I re-read my comments, and while I can see how they were taken as "hateful" they certainly weren't meant to be. A few things -
I wasn't around to read the earlier discussion, and so I had already posted some feelings about the cover before someone pointed me towards the archives and I went and read the discussion there. I decided to post here, rather than there, as a follow up to the few people who had engaged me and shown me where to find the discussion.
I assumed that Jessica was pretty thick-skinned about the cover, especially since there was a lot of discussion about it prior, I really didn't think one comment amidst 30 or so positive ones would really kill her buzz. In fact, she's said in the past she doesn't want to discuss the cover, so I figured she would ignore the comment altogether.
Tom - I can't tell if your comment about your first book is directed toward me or not, but I will say that it's outrageous to suggest that my criticism of the cover has anything to do with Valenti being a woman. I would take issue with any feminist book with a cover like that, and would probably come down a lot harder on a man for the same book. And being a man certainly doesn't exempt you from feminist critique of your book covers.

I think it's a big disingenuous to say that that "I really didn't think one comment amidst 30 or so positive ones would really kill her buzz."

You didn't think "This cover signifies the underlying problems with feministing and I won't be reading this book" would bum her out? I have a short story coming out in an anthology in the next couple months, and I can guarantee you that if someone posts on my announcement of it on my blog with "Eh, this story's problems reflect the problems with your view of society as a whole, and I don't care to read it," I'd be pretty irritated.

Tom Head, I love you.

And Jessica--congrats. All the haters can just piss off, they're obviously not familiar with the site, or with your work.

Thanks, Jenny.

And if all the Jessica-bashers spent 1/20th as much time doing real feminist activism as they did talking about what great feminists they are and sitting ex cathedra in their superficial judgments of other women, the world would be a much better place.

Cheers,

TH

Oh, and likewise on the love, BTW. :o) Anyone who hasn't read Just Dreadful should. Great stuff!

Cheers,

TH

Is there anything more tiresome than the "I'm too noble to read this blog, but felt compelled to make a comment announcing the fact, because despite being too noble for the likes of you, I'm desperate for some kind of recognition from you" comment? If so, I haven't seen it.

Congratulations, Jessica (and EG!).

congratulations, jessica! and eg!

check out jessica's entry in diane mapes' single state of the union about the myths of singlehood and marriage which is similar to what she writes here. i read it at the barnes & noble the other day because as you know i am always in the social science sections.

Aw, thanks, Heraclitus and Donna. But I was just using it as an analogy to put myself in Jessica's shoes--not to steal her thunder at all. A book is really a great accomplishment, and I hope she's celebrating (and signing copies--I'd go to a reading!).

we don't need another wave is not in our b & n but that's because our b & n sucks. jessica has an essay in there too.

I'm totally going to buy it, and I'm totally going to read it, but a naked, skinny, white woman's itty-bity flat belly on the cover?

What a fucking disappointment.

Congratulations Jessica from a long time lurker just now getting brave enough to comment! I have read through all the archives and I check in at least once a day for new entries.

Feministing is a big part of the reason that I now proudly tell people that I am a feminist and proud to be one. I have also become involved in pro-choice activism. I am a young woman, and you and the other ladies here have reached me, I thank you all for that.

And now that I have gotten the mush out of my system, I can't wait to get my hands on your undoubtedly kick ass book. The only question being - do I order it from Amazon.com or use it as an excuse to go to the bookstore and consume a giant latte?

Three cheers for Full Frontal Feminism!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Congratulations Jessica from a long time lurker just now getting brave enough to comment! I have read through all the archives and I check in at least once a day for new entries.

Feministing is a big part of the reason that I now proudly tell people that I am a feminist and proud to be one. I have also become involved in pro-choice activism. I am a young woman, and you and the other ladies here have reached me, I thank you all for that.

And now that I have gotten the mush out of my system, I can't wait to get my hands on your undoubtedly kick ass book. The only question being - do I order it from Amazon.com or use it as an excuse to go to the bookstore and consume a giant latte?

Three cheers for Full Frontal Feminism!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

I was just so excited I had to post it twice!

::Blush::

congratulations jessica!

(on the cover... i've just had a look, and both "the beauty myth" and "the female enuch" have naked women on the front. and they're classics)

is it going to be in bookstores in the uk?

Tom, DD, EG, Hera, and of course Jessica--you all rock.
Welcome back, Tom. Didn't expect to see you again before Sunday!

For anyone who thinks the nekkid belly on her book cover negates Jessica's claim to feminism (nevermind her having a degree n' stuff!) and thus renders her the feminist equivalent of the Antichrist:

I didn't want to have to do this...but it seems we must once again resort to cliche: Don't judge a book by its fucking cover.

While in this instance, that's meant literally, it also applies to people.
So while you're calling Jessica's feminism into question based on a book cover, perhaps you should also question if you really deserve the "true feminist" laurels you've awarded yourself, when you're so very eager to judge someone else over something so superficial as a book cover, and even go so far as to announce that you won't be bothering to examine the content of said book in order to provide an informed opinion of it, as if that's something to be proud of.
In my book, willful ignorance and a judgemental attitude are nothing to be proud of.

But by all means, run off and play "more feminist than thou."
The rest of us have work to do.

I'm looking forward reading your book, Jessica. Thanks for writing it.

Jessica, will you be doing a book tour? If so, I know where you need to go in Chi-town ! :D

Congratulations, Jessica! I can't wait to get my grubby paws on your book.
I'm totally going to buy it, and I'm totally going to read it, but a naked, skinny, white woman's itty-bity flat belly on the cover?
What a fucking disappointment.
ZoMg! *Facepalm* I hope you never look at a piece of artwork, Jebus knows how many feature skinny (& large & medium) white women! Oh noes, I paint distorted pics of women--I'm the feminist antichrist!

Vervain writes:
But by all means, run off and play "more feminist than thou." The rest of us have work to do.

THANK YOU. This represents my overall point of view much better than I represented it myself. Why are all of these folks who are so eager to bash Jessica's cover suddenly invisible on NOW lobbying days?

Re skinny white women with flat bellies: I know a few really good feminists who fit that description. So what's the deal here? You can put those skinny white bellies in toothpaste ads, use them to sell hamburgers, whatever, but put them on the cover of a feminist book and it's evil because feminists aren't supposed to be white and flat-bellied, dammit? Give me a break. It's a BODY.

Re the belly being white: I go back to Nubian's old critique where she said that it was evil because the belly was white, but if it WASN'T white, it would have been cultural appropriation and that would have been even worse. Jonathan Swift couldn't have written a better reductio ad absurdum of hypercritical blogger-ism, but the fact that Jessica has a flat white belly her own self shouldn't be completely irrelevant to the discussion. I mean, you're basically telling her that HER body doesn't belong on the cover of a book because it's not representative of "real" feminism, and if I were her, that would really piss me off.

But Jessica, in the FWIW department--and I apologize in advance if this sounds patronizing, but take it from someone who has done a lot of books and gotten a lot of criticism--you will reach the point where this kind of crap doesn't bother you. I'm absolutely certain of that.

Cheers,

TH