hi lori - I read the book as a teenager (so a pretty long time ago, I believe it was my mom's copy she bought when it came out in paperback). It's funny, I remember the cover quite well but not a lot of the story. I think I may have to re-read it :-)

I think you're right, and I'd take it a bit further. All kinds of privileges are so deeply embedded in our culture that we don't recognize them. Men often don't recognize their's (on the extreme end they consider themselves victimized by feminists when their privileges are challenged). White people often don't recognize the privileges we get just from being white. Rich and upper and middle class people often don't recognize the privileges of their class. And so on. Personally I'm conscious that as a relatively attractive, educated, well traveled, white woman born in the 1960s in a country that is wealthy and provides for its citizens that I have many options, opportunities and privileges that others may not have. Some of these are due to accidents of birth, some of these are due to the efforts of my mother and grandmother (and myself). No matter where they come from, to point out another's privileges without acknowledging my own would be to inherently hypocritical from my perspective. (And was, of course, one of the blind spots of 70s era feminism that had to be addressed.)

Here's a link to a re-reading of the book I though you might enjoy :-) books.guardian.co.uk/review/...,00.html

tell me more! I have never read this book. tell me about it.

My interest is piqued- I'm tracking it down tonight. :D