Gerd Brantenberg's Egalia's Daughters creates a world where the women are in charge, and matriarchy exists. The women are the heads of the household, the breadwinners, while the men stay at home and take care of the children. If there is a party, the women have to convince the men to go along. However, the reluctant men worry that they do not look nice enough to go to parties, and complain of being too tired after doing housework. They do not want to spend time dressing up and fixing their beards with ribbons. Moreover, in this fantasy world, the language is completely different. The women are called wim and the men, menwim. This change enforces the idea of women being superior. Also, common last names include Lizdaughter instead of Johnson, emphasizing the feminine world of Egalia. This book satirizes our world in many ways and forces us to pay attention to the patriarchal society we live in.

The author imagines a society in which sexism goes the OTHER way: women are in charge, and men are stereotyped and oppressed. It is so very very well done that the book is worth reading just for that. Even the sexist language is well done: amazingly, since I imagine the original was in Norwegian. Indeed the language is one of the most delightful parts of the book. I wasn't as happy with the novel's plot, and I thought the ending was somewhat weak, but I got a lot out of the picture of the society and the discussions. Even long time feminists may find some new insights here as to how different elements of a sexist society work together to produce oppression. And it's such fun!

This book is thought-provoking; men who just can't understand women's viewpoints no matter how hard they try (but are you really trying? I want to ask) should read this book and put themselves in the male protagonist's shoes. Another plus for the book is that it shows that a society run by women won't be much different from the one we have now, because for one sex to be dominant the other has to be oppressed. The book makes an interesting read and some very good points, so you probably won't find yourself bored. Try it, and after that I recommend discussing it with a member of the opposite sex.