Publisher’s
write-up:
‘Foreword by
Ashley Judd “Rosenfeld’s tour-de-force takes the power of female alliances to a
higher level, giving us a road map for a new vision of women’s equality through
the relationships and bonds we form among one another. The gift of this book is
that it gives us hope.”—Valerie Jarrett, New York Times bestselling author of
Finding My Voice , and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama The
Bonobo Sisterhood is a revolutionary call to action for women and their allies
to protect one another from patriarchal violence. Internationally recognized
legal expert Diane L. Rosenfeld introduces us to a groundbreaking new model of
female solidarity; one that promises to thwart sexual coercion. Urgent, timely,
and original, The Bonobo Sisterhood harnesses the power of the #MeToo movement
into a road map for sex equality in humans. Our closest evolutionary cousins,
the bonobos have a unique social order in which the females protect one another
from male aggression. The takeaway? Evolutionarily, bonobos have eliminated
sexual coercion and enjoy a more peaceful, cooperative, and playful existence.
We have much to learn from them. Rosenfeld explores the implications of the
bonobo model for human societies and systems of governance. How did law develop
to elude women’s rights so consistently? What difference does it make that we
live in a patriarchal democracy? And what do bonobos have to offer as living
proof that patriarchy is not inevitable? Most important, how can women break
down barriers among themselves to unleash their power as a unified force?
Rosenfeld has answers. The Bonobo Sisterhood takes us through real-life stories
from the courtroom to the classroom and beyond, charting a new vision of a
collective self-defense among women and their allies. It offers an action plan
accessible to everyone immediately. This is an open invitation to anyone who
wants to challenge the status quo. It starts with the power inherent in each of
us knowing that we have selves worth defending, and awakening that power for ourselves
and for our sisters. We now have a new model for real change, Rosenfeld reminds
us. It’s time to use it. The Bonobo Sisterhood forges a path to create and
discover a new meaning of equality, liberty, and justice for all.’
Bonobo Sisterhood is a long essay written by the author Diane Rosenfeld,
on building an alliance of women, to protect themselves in the patriarchal
set-up that we have today. She takes the example of bonobos, a primate species,
very close to human beings found in central African. The author begins with the
observation that bonobos are very matriarchal, and are protective of their
female species, and often all other female bonobos come in defence of their
‘sister’ if a female bonobo were face an aggression from a male bonobo.
Thus, she makes the argument that the patriarchal setup we have – among
humans or chimpanzees that we have is not inevitable among primates and another
way is possible. She talks about the need for women to unite and form this
‘bonobo sisterhood’. She talks about real world examples of domestic violence
and how these could have been prevented if they had this sisterhood.
This was an easy to read – feel good feminist literature. But to be honest,
I felt the book had an interesting premise but is a piece of work with very
lazy writing. First, the author assumes that the person the person who is
reading the book is a cis-woman. For instance, I am a cis-man, who is sympathetic
to the cause, supporting women’s rights and the feminist cause.
She insists that the movement has to be a ‘woman only movement’. Most
social changes – though the movements were led by people who were primarily
affected by it – still needs allies from outside the core group, who support
the cause because it is the right thing to do. LGBTQ+ rights were not supported
just by that community, but even by people from outside, because they felt it
was the right thing to do. Same for the ongoing protests for rights of the
Palestinians, ethnic minorities in their respective countries, etc.
Moreover, there were aspects that she conveniently ignored several
important subjects – such as, what is the position of trans-women in this
sisterhood movement of hers? While she certainly spoke against racism, there
are still several feminists who are trans-exclusionary (JK Rowling’s name
appears very prominently).
And last, humans, though similar, are not bonobos. Even if I assume that
the use of bonobos here was a metaphor, I still feel that it would have been
far better to have picked up an example of such a society formed by humans, be
it by some community in the past, or some community in the present – such as
among the peoples who are indigenous to Amazon.
To conclude, I would say that this was an easy read, but again, I do not
know whom she was targeting this at exactly, and if it was only to cis-women,
in my opinion, that is the wrong approach and that is why, I award this book
only a three on ten.
Rating – 3/10
Have a nice day
Andy
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