Hard To Do
The Surprising, Feminist History of Breaking Up
by Kelli María Korducki
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Pub Date May 22 2018 | Archive Date Jul 16 2018
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Description
From Jane Austen to Taylor Swift, a look at the surprising politics of romantic love and its dissolution.
Whatever the underlying motives – be they love, financial security, or mere masochism – the fact is that getting involved in a romantic partnership is emotionally, morally, and even politically fraught.
In Hard To Do, Kelli María Korducki turns a Marxist lens on the relatively short history of romantic partnership, tracing how the socio-economic dynamics between men and women have transformed the ways women conceive of domestic partnership. With perceptive, reported insights on the ways marriage and divorce are legislated, the rituals of twentieth-century courtship, and contemporary practices for calling it off, Korducki reveals that, for all women, choosing to end a relationship is a radical action with very limited cultural precedent.
Advance Praise
“In Hard To Do, Kelli Korducki grapples with capitalism, patriarchal society, and the historical course of love and marriage as she investigates how women today often find ourselves caught between dueling desires – for love, for security, for the achievement of our own independent ambitions, for a lack of ambivalence—as we navigate romance in a world that hasn’t exactly considered what we want to factor very highly into the equation. Merging her own story with keen analysis, Korducki asks what it takes to be true to ourselves now. This book will make you smarter about love, money, and whatever path you choose.”—Jen Doll, author of Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest
“In a culture that demands we couple up, that we pursue romantic love above all other forms, Korducki boldly steps forward, clear eyed and able to cut through the sentimentality and the fantasy of love to see the real economic and sociological demands that lie just underneath. This book reminds you it is possible, and good, to dissent, or at least understand why the pressure to find love is driving you crazy. As it turns out, sometimes the most radical act is the act of saying no.”—Jessa Crispin, author of Why I Am Not a Feminist
“The decision to break out of a decent romantic relationshipalmost always feels like an act of revolution, especially for women – so why has it never been defined that way? Hard To Do takes an illuminating, fastidious, and humorous look at the acts and facts that conspire to keep us from choosing anything other than the status quo. It’s a crucial and compelling inquiry into the alternate definitions of what it means for a woman’s life to ‘work out.’”—Kathryn Borel, Jr., author of Corked: A Memoir
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781552453520 |
| PRICE | $13.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 144 |
