Wendy Shalit (; born 1975) is an American conservative writer and author who has written the books '' A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue'', published by Free Press in 1999; '' Girls Gone Mild: Young Rebels Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good'', published by Random House in 2007; and ''The Good Girl Revolution: Young Rebels with Self-Esteem and High Standards'', published by Random House in 2008. Born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, she is the sister of writer

Ruth Shalit Ruth Shalit Barrett (; born 1971) is an American freelance writer and journalist whose articles have appeared in ''The New Republic'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''ELLE'', ''New York Magazine'' and ''The Atlantic''. In 1994 and 1995, she wa ...

and Mina Shalit. She graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

with a BA in philosophy. Her articles on cultural and literary topics have appeared in '' Commentary'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

''. ''A Return to Modesty'' has attracted much controversy, most notably earning her attacks from Katha Pollitt in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and

Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...

in '' Hustler'' magazine. By contrast,

George Will George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American libertarian conservative writer and political commentator. He writes columns for ''The Washington Post'' on a regular basis and provides commentary for '' NewsNation''. In 1986, ''The Wall ...

reviewed the book positively in ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

''. But, according to the website D1NT, Shalit received many letters of support from young women who were disenchanted with the

sexual revolution The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the late 1950s to the early 1 ...

, prompting her to start an online support forum called ModestlyYours with 20 bloggers "of all ages and backgrounds whose voices are not normally heard in the mainstream (or even non-mainstream) media."

Mona Charen Mona Charen Parker ( ; born February 25, 1957) is an American conservative columnist, journalist, and political commentator. She has written four books. Early life and education Charen was born in New York City and raised in Livingston, New Jer ...

has called ModestlyYours an "antidote to the vulgarity that is shoved in our faces from magazine covers, television, raunch radio, movies, and shows ... Shalit names a 'rebel of the month' on the site, choosing young women who exemplify modesty, intelligence, and integrity. They are the counter counterculture—and not a minute too soon."Townhall.com
/ref> Shalit's second book, '' Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good'', was released on June 26, 2007.

Books

* '' A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue'' (1999) * '' Girls Gone Mild: Young Rebels Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good'' (2007) * '' The Good Girl Revolution: Young Rebels with Self-Esteem and High Standards'' (2008)

References

External links

* *
Slate Panel:
Pornified and Female Chauvinist Pigs
ModestlyYours Blog

Interview with Wendy Shalit, online from CBC Words at Large (audio)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shalit, Wendy 1975 births Living people American expatriate writers in Canada American women non-fiction writers Female critics of feminism Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers Writers from Milwaukee Williams College alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American Jews