“Iron Butterflies” by Birute Regine

This book boasts of being full of women transforming themselves and the world. Very well written, the grammar and syntax is immaculate. With rich history and first-person accounts, feminism leaps off the pages. However, like most women’s studies books, this one takes it a bit too far and falls short all at the same time. While there are some stories from successful doctors and artists, there is no emphasis on STEM women (science, technology, engineering, and math). Also, Regine goes berserk when she claims the Bible is sexist. She quotes a verse about women obeying husbands yet does not reference quotes about men honoring women or even the fact that the first people the resurrected Jesus appeared to were women. Also, she goes on to say how it is unfair that women can not be priests yet the concept of nunnery is not even considered an option. There are many references to goddesses of ancient times as well as pagan adages. Whether or not these are taken as just demonstrative phrases or the true beliefs of the author and her interviewees is yet to be seen.