I had to take several deep breaths before I mustered up the courage to approach one of the employees at the Barnes and Noble Guest Service desk. I couldn’t find the miniscule Women’s Studies section and was hoping I wouldn’t have to resort to asking for help, but I had no choice.

“Where’s the women’s studies section?”

“Can I help you find a specific book?”

“I’m looking for Cunt by Inga Muscio.”

The employee turned white and her gentle smile faded away. The Women’s Studies section was less than half of a bookshelf, tucked away in the back of the store. She handed me a bright blue book with a large orange gerber daisy on the cover, gave me a half hearted grin and walked away.

Inga Muscio, the author of Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, explains in the preface her fascination with words. Her research of the word “cunt” spurred the project along with the interest of many.

“‘Cunt’ is a bad, bad word, but damn if it don’t intrigue people when it’s the title of the book instead of a meanspirited expletive” (Cunt, Muscio, 9).

Muscio’s writing style is unique. She writes the book as if it were a casual conversation, frequently using slang and incorrect grammar. I’m not sure if her writing fully expresses her personality or if she uses it to connect with different social groups, but I appreciated the style of it. Non fiction books can frequently sound very pretentious but the slang littered pages made sure to steer clear of any pompousness.

The book is divided into three parts where she takes turns discussing the word “cunt” and its history, what it is like to be a woman through Muscio’s eyes and how she thinks women should act based on women’s historical backgrounds.

This book brilliantly explains different ways to appreciate your body and its rhythm naturally. Muscio shares personal stories about herself and encourages women to think about how their actions affect other women.

The book was a lot less radical than I thought it would be for the most part, but Muscio lost me when she disagreed with western medicine and encouraged use of only holistic medicine made by women. To each her own, but I worry someone without strongly set opinions on western medicine could be steered to the holistic side and abandon modern medicine entirely.

Muscio also, unfortunately, has a negative connotation on men who are not actively part of the feminist group. She encourages education for men about the female anatomy throughout the book but scorns men who aren’t incredibly interested in learning about daily struggles of women.

I do not agree with the whole book. I still don’t see myself using the word ‘cunt’ regularly and casually in a conversation, I won’t be throwing away all of my allergy medications and screaming at men to learn about vaginas, but Muscio’s love and respect for her natural body made me think about myself in a new way.

This book should be read with an open mind and many, many grains of salt. Muscio inspired me to take a second look at how I view feminism and what my values are for myself and other women around me. I recommend this book to any person- woman or man- who wants to see into the life of a radically charged feminist.