Cunt: A Declaration of Independence

Cunt: A Declaration of Independence

Seal Press, 277pp., $14.95 (paper)

You can't help but judge this particular book by its cover. On a bright yellow background nestles a wide-open flower in varying shades of pink and red. Bold letters shout out that most troublesome of four-letter words. Try reading this in a public place and watch as the power of this one word provokes shock, curiosity, disgust, and fascination. It is this very power Muscio wants women to reclaim for themselves as a positive and affirming force.

Cunt sets forth the idea that the female genitalia is the only thing that all women share regardless of race, class, ability, and cultural conditioning. By embracing this unifying "anatomical jewel" and reveling in its power, women hold the tools to form a whole new sense of female consciousness and empowerment.

Muscio peppers her "womanifesto" with personal history and anecdotes, including a poignant account of her own abortion experience and her mother's rape, which lend an intimate edge to the book almost as if one of your closest friends was telling you her life story. Tracing the word cunt's evolution from its ancient title of respect and honor for women to its modern-day use as an expletive, Muscio explores the vast landscape of history, culture, and biology to reveal how "cuntfear" forms the basis of social, political, and economic oppression of women. These theories and ideas are not entirely new, but Muscio's frank tone and style promises to bring them to a whole new generation of women. Muscio writes like Germaine Greer would if she were a Goddess-worshipping, 21st-century skateboarding grrl. In a style that is sassy and smart, irreverent yet serious, she debunks the power of the male-dominated institutions and industries that seek to control women's bodies and minds and provides highly original ways for women to get in touch with themselves and their bodies again so they can become true Cuntlovin' Rulers of their Sexual Universe.