From historian and acclaimed feminist author of How the French Invented
Love and A History of the Wife comes this rich, multifaceted history
of the evolution of female friendship.
In today's culture, the bonds of female friendship are taken as a given.
But only a few centuries ago, the idea of female friendship was
completely unacknowledged, even pooh-poohed. Only men, the reasoning
went, had the emotional and intellectual depth to develop and sustain
these meaningful relationships.
Surveying history, literature, philosophy, religion, and pop culture,
acclaimed author and historian Marilyn Yalom and co-author Theresa
Donovan Brown demonstrate how women were able to co-opt the public face
of friendship throughout the years. Chronicling shifting attitudes
toward friendship--both female and male--from the Bible and the Romans
to the Enlightenment to the women's rights movements of the '60s up to
Sex and the City and Bridesmaids, they reveal how the concept of
female friendship has been inextricably linked to the larger social and
cultural movements that have defined human history.
Armed with Yalom and Brown as our guides, we delve into the fascinating
historical episodes and trends that illuminate the story of friendship
between women: the literary salon as the original book club, the
emergence of female professions and the working girl, the phenomenon of
gossip, the advent of women's sports, and more.
Lively, informative, and richly detailed, The Social Sex is a
revelatory cultural history.
