Against Our Will: Men, Women, and RapeThe bestselling feminist classic that revolutionized the way we think about rape, as a historical phenomenon and as an urgent crisis—essential reading in the era of #MeToo. “A major work of history.”—The Village Voice • One of the New York Public Library’s 100 Books of the Century As powerful and timely now as when it was first published, Against Our Will stands as a unique document of the history, politics, and sociology of rape and the inherent and ingrained inequality of men and women under the law. Fact by fact, Susan Brownmiller pulls back the centuries of damaging lies and misrepresentations to reveal how rape has been accepted in all societies and how it continues to profoundly affect women’s lives today. A keen and prescient analyst, a detailed historian, Susan Brownmiller discusses the consequences of rape in biblical times, rape as an accepted spoil of war, as well as child molestation, marital rape, and date rape (a term that she coined). In lucid, persuasive prose, Brownmiller uses her experience as a journalist to create a definitive, devastating work of lasting social importance. Praise for Against Our Will “The most comprehensive study of rape ever offered to the public . . . It forces readers to take a fresh look at their own attitudes toward this devastating crime.”—Newsweek “A classic . . . No one who reads it will come away untouched.”—The Village Voice “Chilling and monumental . . . Deserves a place next to those rare books which force us to change the way we feel about what we know.”—The New York Times Book Review “A landmark work, one of the most significant books to emerge in this decade.”—Houston Chronicle “A definitive text, startling, compelling, and a landmark.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “An overwhelming indictment. We need it, it is a hideous revelation and it should be required reading.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “Chilling, monumental, exhaustive, detailed, absorbing and original. . . . Brownmiller’s greatest contribution is establishing the continuity between rape and other facets of American culture.”—Commonweal |
Contents
The Mass Psychology of Rape An Introduction | 11 |
In the Beginning Was the Law | 16 |
War | 31 |
Copyright | |
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Albert DeSalvo American Amir Army atrocity attempted rape Bangladesh behavior black women body Boston Boston Strangler boys brothels charge child committed convicted court court-martial criminal daughter death defense DeSalvo Deutsch Emmett Till Fanny Kemble fantasy fear female feminist fight force Freudian gang rape German girls Gusii Helene Deutsch homosexual husband Ibid Indian interracial rape Jewish jury killed later live lynching male masculine McGee military mother movie murder Negro never night offenders officers percent Philadelphia physical police political prison prostitution punishment rape fantasy rape victims rape-murder rapist ravished reported robbery role Scottsboro sentence sexual assault slave soldiers Southern statistics statutory rape story Strangler tell terror TESTIMONY tion Tokyo tribunal told took trial U.S. Army Vietnam Vietnamese village violated virgin Washington white women wife Willie McGee woman World War II wrote York young