I came upon Michael Yatron's book while browsing Amazon.com, and was
intrigued with the title. It hadn't been reviewed, and there was
almost no information available. I began imagining what it might
be--was this some deep insight into women's condition in today's
society by a sociologist? Perhaps it was a beauty and fashion manual,
or a handbook for young girls coming of age. Or was it perhaps a
psychologist's experiences in dealing with gender roles--maybe even a
guide for transsexuals! Curiosity got the better of me, and I ordered
a copy. Had I been in a brick-and-mortar store, one look at it would
have saved me trouble and time, but then I wouldn't be able to write
this review and save you the same.

The book was nothing like what I
had expected, and that it is published at all is only a testament to
the ease with which the new technology has made self-publishing.
Michael Yatron "Ph.D." is no psychologist,
sociologist, nor anything of the like. His doctorate is in English
and he claims to have taught at university level. I found this claim
rather interesting--we are never told, not even in his biographical
notes, either where he has his Ph.D. from, or where he supposedly
taught. His critical thinking skills are abysmal, but equally matched
by his appalling writing ability--if indeed he has the degree and job
he claims, our educational system is worse that I had ever believed!
Clearly he is well-read, as he is constantly quoting Ovid or Nietzsche
or Euripides--nothing more contemporary than the 19th century, so you
can see how helpful these quotes are. In Yatron's own words, " I
will also quote other writers because quite a few people like that. It
educates them here and there. Better still it shows that what I will
set down is not one man's baloney. Finally one man's meat is another
man's poison." And the rest of the book goes on like that.
Yatron's bio amused me to no end: "Dr. Michael Yatron read many
books and modeled his life on travel, adventure, danger, and romance
for twenty one years. He is easy to read and he has written both to
entertain and to enlighten. To enlighten is the more important for the
young. So he provides a first rate mind, a hard ring of truth, and
writing from the gut that educates the reader about himself, other
people, and the world he lives in." That Yatron uses the
masculine when describing the reader of To Be a Woman is telling
indeed.

There is actually very little here that has to do with
being a woman at all. The book is subdivided into numerous short
chapters which are Yatron's opportunity to rant against those parts of
modern society that annoy him. There is a chapter on lawyers, in
which we are told they are the scum of the earth. This applies to
women in that they will need lawyers when they are getting divorced.
There is a chapter on automobiles, in which we are insightfully told
that women need cars to do errands. There is a chapter on
homosexuality, in which Yatron kindly tells us that gays can't help
themselves, that we should live and let live. Well enough, except in
the next chapter (actually only half a page), on lesbians, we are told
that homosexual couples should never be allowed to adopt, because it
is inevitable that they will then turn to child abuse sooner or later.
And as evidence of this we are told that many priests and preachers
are child abusers. This is offensive bigotry, ignorance, and
stupidity of the worst kind. Homosexuality is not identical with
child abuse, and neither is priesthood identical with either
homosexuality or child abuse. That there are child abusers who are
homosexual is undeniable; but there are equally heterosexual child
abusers, many of them, and no one has suggested that all heterosexuals
be banned from adoption because of the twisted few among us. This
entire book reads like hearing someone's bitter and extremely
conservative grandfather rant about how the world isn't the way it
should be. Yatron knows nothing about being a woman; frankly, he
knows nothing about being a writer, or a thinker. Avoid this like
ebola!

I found To Be A Woman to be extremely well written and insightful. I was absolutely captivated by the author's fresh perspective on the feminine condition. I highly recommend this
book to any woman seeking self-understanding.