Review by Choice Review
Tallis, an HIV/AIDS worker in southern Africa, claims to use feminist theory to expose the myriad ways that "hegemonic masculinity" leads to power imbalances between the sexes, which then increases women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. She contends that women's lives can be improved by challenging the unequal distribution of power, thus significantly reducing their vulnerability to myriad social ills. In actuality, this revised dissertation is a diatribe against all things androcentric. Tallis begins with a theoretical discussion of power and gender, then shifts to a feminist analysis of the lives of African women living with HIV/AIDS. Her certainty that women throughout the continent will become sufficiently empowered to upset traditional gender roles seems to stem from fervent hopes for the future, rather than from applicable data. Tallis appreciates those who donate resources to help fight HIV/AIDS in Africa, but criticizes them because their donations place them in positions of power over the people they claim they want to help. In an attempt to show that male dominance is the cause of women's oppression worldwide, she careens from case to case and country to country. The author's specific agenda renders the book confusing, even unreadable, at times. Summing Up: Not recommended. C. Apt South Carolina State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
