This was a very interesting book. It's always an interest of mine to read about various "feminism and equality." It was a little hard to get through at some points, but it was very thought-provoking nonetheless. A lot of great conversations have come (and will come) from this book. Be sure to bring a highlighter to take notes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of Breaking Free.

"Breaking Free" is a thought-provoking book that challenges the foundation of the feminist movement. Marcie Bianco offers that equality is a flawed and elusive goal. With historical insights and a call for embracing (her definition of) freedom, this book presents a unique perspective that will make you more aware of your own views and opinions about feminism.

I must admit that when I first saw the title of this book my kneejerk reaction was "GTFO of my face with that nonsense" because I fully expected it to be some kind of reactionary manifesto, I'm glad I did a double take because that's really not what it is. It's really an invitation to rethink not just the language of your feminism but also its very goals and battles to depart from the sameness-based notion of equality (this is absolutely an oversimplification of the ideas that are put forward in the book).
Bianco draws from the work of many illustrious feminist thinkers and makes a really rather brilliant (in my opinion) case for shifting our focus away from equality under a system which by its very nature absolutely requires a hierarchical situation and can therefore only yield temporary wins both socially and legally (see the cooption of equality/freedom language by the far right).
While this is a book which would speak more to people who are already somewhat familiar with thinking about not just feminism but also about its language it's not entirely unapproachable for someone who is new to reading theory. Indeed, Bianco writes in a most charming and often humoristic manner which makes for a very engaging read.
I received a review copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.

This volume is not for the faint of heart. I haven’t read a manifesto of this power since the 70s. As someone who, throughout my life, has been told that I didn’t get the job because “we’re just not ready for a woman”, some of Bianco’s words resonate with me. Nevertheless, I do have some issues with the book.

The first is that Bianco sets us up as her students. She cites numerous examples of things she has done and asked in the classroom, and, I sense, expects that our answers will be the same as her students.

Equality is something Bianco rejects, favoring freedom as the goal. I think that freedom is a wonderful goal but everybody’s freedom does not look the same. I am in a traditional, heterosexual marriage, not because I think I am half of anything, but because I chose a partner with whom to build a life. I believe we are equal partners, but not because we are the same. We each bring different things, none of which are better or worse than the others.

The main thing I don’t like about this book is the author’s readiness to lump woman into groups, most of which (women) seem to have it wrong. For the last seven years of my career, my retired husband took on the role of homemaker. He did not do it to “help” me. It was his chosen vocation during that period of our marriage. He was not forced to do it because I worked (and always made more money than he did). This is the kind of categorization that I perceive Bianco doing, and trust me, it makes me feel as excluded as not getting a job because I was a woman.

I work for the freedom of all, especially my sisters and brothers of color. I do it by voting, by marching, by donating and countless other ways. But I remain unconvinced that they don’t need equality as well.

In her concluding chapter, Bianco lifts up Britney Spears as an example of needing freedom. I don’t doubt that Spears needing freedom, but her situation and her freedom have little relevancy for my life. I’ll stick with the organizational side of the justice equation that she sees in Black Lives Matter, which I support with my feet and my dollars.

I am grateful for the chance to read an advance copy of Breaking Free. I lift it up for those in search of a 2023 feminist manifesto. I suspect, however, that is not a book that will remain on my shelf.