The Madwoman's Underclothes: Essays and Occasional Writings

Greer finds it ironic that The Female Eunuch hoisted her reputation as an architect of the permissive society. In essays reprinted here from London's underground journal Oz and other magazines, she argues that the relaxation of sexual taboos was not even a reform, let alone a revolution, but a return to narcissism and overemphasis on self-gratification. She also knocks self-appointed feminists for mimicking male patterns of dominance. Greer's writings on legalizing pot, rock groupies, vaginal deodorant and premenstrual stress may have helped blaze a trail, but they now look dated. Her occasional pieces for the Sunday Times, Esquire, Spectator and other publications are still fresh, whether she is discussing care of the dying or men's belief that women desire rape. Most rewarding are her political essays on Ethiopia's famine, sexual politics in Castro's Cuba and the hopelessness of Brazil's explosive slums. (September 30)