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OTHER CHOICES FOR BECOMING A WOMAN: A Handbook to Help High School Women Make Decisions by Joyee Slayton--Ed. Mitchell

OTHER CHOICES FOR BECOMING A WOMAN: A Handbook to Help High School Women Make Decisions

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Pub Date: Nov. 1st, 1976
Publisher: Delacorte

Whatever their shortcomings, Mitchell's twin handbooks, which include some duplicated articles and others aimed specifically at males or females, are light years ahead of McGough's slick formulations (above). On the plus side, both volumes include a first-rate piece on drugs by Roger F. Aubrey, the first such discussion we've seen that admits that drugs can be pleasurable, and the first to focus on drug-taking as a behaviorial choice. For young women, there are down-to-earth comments on changing styles in dating and friendship by Margaret Mead, a positive contemporary view of marriage from NOW activist Jean Stapleton, and chatty recipes for homemade cosmetics from Donna Lawson. In the young man's handbook Warren Farrell, author of The Liberated Man, explores male-female roles in marriage and sports. The remainder of both books ranges from provocative short pieces on religion, the arts, and military careers to informative, if brief, articles on sex to straight handbook information--reading lists, summer camps, standardized tests, how to study, choosing the right college, etc. Curiously, the most disappointing contributions are those of editor Mitchell herself. Her summary of Uren's The Image of Women in Textbooks ought to give young men something to think about, but we believe she is wrong in saying that most educators today still expect a girl to choose between marriage and a serious career. Also, despite a bow in the direction of vocational training, her sections on summer travel and jobs and on career choices are geared to middle-class, college bound expectations. An uneven accomplishment then, but one that doesn't condescend to its audience and gives readers the opportunity to cull the material most useful to them.