Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddess [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Her crazy analogies and metaphors absolutely hit the nail on the head. While she grazes the same themes as other known-feminist writers, her witty spin makes those same themes not seem so musty, thus appealing to a younger generation and reaffirming in new ways for older generations. The one that caught me thinking was the author's assessment of men and women at an athletic club; Gilman gives new life to the thought of how men and women view and are viewed differently in terms of their bodies. Pointing out that men lift FREEweights while women climb the stairMASTER made me howl and even got a chuckle from my boyfriend.

While careful not to stereotype, Gilman has us all pegged and gives us all a wake-up call. There truly is a lesson to be learned in this book for every woman - even those of us who thought we were goddesses before buying our copy.

Gilman's humor doesn't overshadow the serious context of this book, but it does allow us all to laugh at ourselves a little when we recognize ourselves in her writing. A highly recommended read for any woman bought a copy of "The Rules..." just to burn it and who doesn't mind laughing a little at themselves.

...and the woman's Grandmother was a JEWEL! :-)

The only problem I had with her logic was the disses on 'old-fashioned' feminism. I am a feminist, and that doesn't mean I'm whiny, or unfeminine, or man-hating, or too 'nice', or any of the labels that the media has put on feminism. I think Susan Jane Gilman was too hard on 'old fashioned' feminism, but that's about it. Everything else she said I agree with completely. Personally, I think this should be required reading for high school girls!

My first concern was that it looked like a witty and entertaining book, but that it would be about capturing a man, leaving out her lesbian and bisexual sisters. I was pleasantly surprised to find in the introduction that she had interviewed women from all walks of life, and when I bought it and later read it, I wasn't disappointed. Gilman is very inclusive and this book applies to all sexual orientations as well as crossing ethnic and religious lines.

There has been criticism lobbed at this book for promoting a liberal agenda. Yes, Gilman is very progressive, but she makes no bones about it from the beginning. If you're very conservative or very politically correct, I cannot recommend this book to you. Gilman doesn't tiptoe trying to appease all people. She winds up the intro by saying about the fresh-mouthed women she interviewed, "if that makes this book in any way homogenous and elitist, so be it. As my grandma used to say, 'F*** 'em if they can't take a joke!'"

Nuggets of wisdom from Gilman's grandmother pop up frequently throughout the book, and the humor is highly New York Jewish. Gilman touches on topics of beauty (expanding narrow, unrealistic definitions), sex, family, politics, gay rights, money and careers, religion, and whether it's kosher to wear blue nail polish when hitting up a big wig for a pile of shekels.

"Kiss My Tiara" is a fast-paced and humorous read that kept me laughing out loud even as Gilman hit on more serious topics in the spirit of Sholom Aleichem. The famed New York Yiddish writer once said of the Jewish humor, "This is an ugly and mean world, and only to spite it we mustn't weep. If you want to know, this is the consta!nt source of my good spirit, of my humor. Not to cry, out of spite, only to laugh out of spite, only to laugh." Gilman's SmartMouth Goddess Bubbe (grandmother) would be proud.