"Long-term admirers of Cynthia Enloe will know she writes in a pithy, witty, clear, and accessible style that (together with her knack for finding a catchy title to draw in her readers) ensures her work is accessible and easily read and absorbed. She has the popular touch."
"Part narrative, part political history, and all feminist analysis. . . . An important contribution to scholarly work on gender inequality. Enloe provides an insightful and engaging analysis of why patriarchal beliefs and practices are so resilient, while outlining how feminist concepts, questioning, and investigation can be used to dismantle this perpetuating system. This text will appeal to scholars and activists as well as women and men who simply value empowerment, equality, and social justice."
"With Cynthia's accessible and engaging style, The Big Push shines an important new light on contemporary and historical events."
—Sandra Whitworth, author of Men, Militarism and UN Peacekeeping
"Women and men who care about democracy and social justice need to read this book. Cynthia Enloe’s astute and far-sighted interpretation of 'sustainable patriarchy' is just what we need for the feminist struggles unfolding in the twenty-first century. It’s also what we need to combat inequality and authoritarian domination. Building on her vast knowledge of links between global trends and local battles, she offers new analysis and strategies with worldwide applications. A great read."
—Kathryn Kish Sklar, author of Women’s Rights Emerges within the Anti-Slavery Movement, 1830-1870
"Enloe tackles 'sustainable patriarchy' by fine-focusing the feminist lens onto everyday structures of power and constraint. In this highly engaging and thoroughly global study she shows just how complicity reinforces discrimination, so that masculinization and militarization can constantly adapt rather than fundamentally change. Enloe's realism is strategic for resistance and essential for empowerment. … This is a clear, witty, engaging and provocative read!"
—Terrell Carver, Professor of Political Theory, University of Bristol, UK, and author of Men in Political Theory
"Cynthia Enloe is an adventurer, an intellectual with a light touch and inveterate ‘feminist curiosity.’ She shows how thinking about gender, the renewal of patriarchy, and women’s resistance is vital to making sense of the world. It is a joy to travel with her."
—Beatrix Campbell, author of End of Equality (Manifestos for the 21st Century)
"Physics has unified field theory; feminism has Cynthia Enloe. In this fascinating book, she shows us the unifying thread that runs through so many systems: sugar production in Guyana; peacemaking efforts in Syria; domestic workers’ conditions in Jamaica; tourism at Gettysburg; political protest in Washington, DC. Examining masculinities and femininities to explore the ways patriarchy insinuates and propagates itself, she gives us powerful tools for understanding and change. And with her usual alchemy, she manages to make an entertaining page-turner out of a serious subject."
—Sohaila Abdulali, senior editor at Ubuntu Education Fund and author of Year of the Tiger
“This provides us with hope. . . . Feminist resistance is alive and kicking, locally and globally challenging patriarchy and its brothers: militarism, authoritarianism, and neoliberal economics.”
—Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of Gender Studies at SOAS University of London and author of What Kind of Liberation?: Women and the Occupation of Iraq
"Cynthia Enloe mixes razor-sharp analysis of contemporary patriarchy with profound empathy for women’s multiple forms of resistance. Without a doubt, she is the pre-eminent global feminist of our age."
—Melissa Benn, author of What Should We Tell Our Daughters?: The Pleasures and Pressures of Growing Up Female
“Quite simply, brilliant! This is a must-read for politicians and an absolute delight for those of us who thought we knew how power works.”
—Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
"This is a manual for taking us to the finishing line of gender equality. A jolt of new energy for longstanding feminists and a must-read for our new generations. Without understanding the incredible tentacles of patriarchy and its reinventions, we are destined to fight old battles as well as new ones. Cynthia Enloe, a great scholar and source of wisdom, pries open jammed patriarchal doors and nails the continuing reasons for gender inequality. A brilliant critique and a manifesto for our resistance."
—Helena Kennedy QC, Leading Human Rights Lawyer and member of the UK House of Lords. Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford
