Books like Holding my own in no man's land by Molly Haskell

In "Holding My Own in No Man's Land," Molly Haskell revisits the two decades following "From Reverence to Rape," offering essays that interrogate the relationship between women and men in film and the viewing public. Haskell argues that the male‑dominated studio system of Classic Hollywood, rather than limiting women, provided more opportunities than the modern, supposedly freer Hollywood. She draws on interviews with Hollywood legends such as Gloria Swanson and John Wayne, celebrates the comic energy of Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett, and reflects on literary icons including Truman Capote’s Holly Golightly and Jane Austen’s Emma to illuminate how cinema and literature have shaped and reflected women’s experience. The book remains a controversial voice within feminist and film studies, criticized by some for its treatment of heterosexual romance yet celebrated for its fresh perspective on early American cinema.

First publish date: 1997