by Ronda Rich
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| List Price: | $24.95 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $196.60 |
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Product Description
A Southern Belle Primer meets The Rules in this engaging volume that explains the mystique of Southern women and why they always get what they want, and shows women how to get the same kind of romantic, professional, and personal success.
Adopting the time-honored code of the Old South involves more than just putting on a Southern accent. It means learning how to manage life and love with charm, wit, and optimism. And, according to Ronda Rich, it's also knowing and incorporating the following truths and rules into daily living:
* Femininity is a plus in the business and the social world.
* A woman can be both tough and nice.
* Family and home take precedence over career.
* More flies are caught with honey than with vinegar.
* Men love strong, feminine women.
* Positive, optimistic attitudes are a necessity of life.
* Choose your battles carefully.
* Laugh at life's upsets and turn them to your advantage.
* Temper progress with a healthy respect for tradition and history.
Generations of Southern women have known how to get everything they wanted without being pushy or rude. Now, Ronda Rich's advice crosses the Mason-Dixon Line to make Steel Magnolias out of women everywhere.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 I now hate my job, 2008-08-23
For those of us who were clueless enough to try Ronda's suggestions, too bad. It's only caused sexual harassment at work, because when a guy flirts with you, unless you don't care for your job, don't do as she advocates and ignore it by laughing it off. I'm left with two sexual harrassment guys at work, but I don't want to report them to HR, because it's just stupid and I'd rather not deal with it. Because of her BAD advice, I'm stuck in an uncomfortable situation, because you HAVE to nip it in the bud. I'm looking for a book on reversing the situation where disrespect toward women is so prevalent! What an idiot she is.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Lovely, 2007-10-25
This book was written it seemed just for me! This book has been my manual ever since I opened the box. I take this book right to heart! I took the quiz and I came out as someone with a lot of potential, but needed some more polishing, and guess what? I am using my potential and my life is great! I always loved being feminine, but this book made me more resolute in being a woman! Ronda Rich is a genius!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 NOT the real 'Steel Magnolia', 2007-09-25
Sometimes lovely and insightful but mostly silly and stereotypical. There is a great deal of snobbery in this book even though this Southern Lady claims to have had hard times they are more along the lines of chipping a nail or running out of Aquanet. I gave it 2 stars because the great embellishment and novelty of her southern lala land is somewhat entertaining.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Making Southern Women Look Bad, 2007-08-18
What a disappointment. I can't believe anyone would write a book advocating flirting and high heels to get ahead at work. Take it from a native Southern woman - we are not as superficial and silly as this book makes us appear.
15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Worthless Trash, 2007-05-09
Probably one of the most pompous, self-inflated pieces of writing I have ever read. Ronda Rich creates a romanticized world of Southern women in which the largest majority of Southern girls seductively drawl their words, manipulate men into getting what they want, represent the highest apex of class and style and do it all with grit, spunk and modesty.
In reality, anyone who lives in the South knows that Ms. Rich is full of bull to put it nicely. The MAJORITY of Southern women are NOT perfectly manicured belles of class and distinction. As I was reading this book, I was overwhelmed by the sensation that Ms. Rich has decided that the South IS everything she's seen in Gone With the Wind and that she is the Scarlett O'Hara of her own little delusional world.
Among the most offensive paragraphs in this book (and there are many), the one that shocked me most was the notion that when a man in a position of authority - like a boss or co-worker - tries to feel "a Southern woman" up, we don't do slap him or claim sexual harassment, but instead tell him to be nice in an "enchanting, lilting tone." Is this woman kidding? She is suggesting that you respond to unwanted sexual advances by saying no, but in a suggestive tone? Maybe women like these are the ones that some men say "were asking for it."
TRUE Southern women don't bat their eyelashes at unwanted sexual advances, nor do they often file sexual harassment charges. Most often, they let the man know that if he touches them again, he's gonna get decked and have to explain to all the guys in the office how he got that black eye.
If you are interested in "scoring" a high-earning, powerful husband through your seductive femininity, then this is the book for you. But be forewarned, the author also wants you to understand that you will NEVER come first in his book, and you should accept that, like "all Southern women do." Also, even if you are married, you should still "flirt shamelessly" with other men as "all Southern women know" in order to get what you want.
In addition, as "all Southern women know," you CAN have it all. You should pursue your career like "strong, determined Southern women do", do everything you can to please your husband (or any other man you may want something from), bake from scratch, give all your remaining attention to your children, and still be able to throw elaborate holiday displays all year. Of course, like "all Southern women", you must do this with grace, dignity, a fresh manicure, and perfectly applied makeup.
I have yet to meet this Southern belle that Ms. Rich describes. I HAVE seen many harried, miserable Southern women in the upper and upper-middle classes trying to achieve this ideal to keep from being scorned by their peers (which Ms. Rich admits on more than one occasion they WILL BE!)These women are "esteemed" of sorts by their peers, always look their best, attend every social function, have their kids in all the right programs, etc.
What SMART Southern women know is that while these girls are pecked together like a bunch of hens, clucking about how classy they are, their husbands are flirting with the cocktail waitresses. These women live in a world of fantasy and savage competition with each other. They desperately crave the approval and attention of everyone around them. Ms. Rich extols the virtues all the while covering the pettiness, jealousy, and insecurity that lies at the root of what even she proclaims as the most judgmental women in the country.
The essence of the truth about these "most esteemed" Southern women is found on page 173, where Ms. Rich advises you to NEVER talk about your problems outside of your family, and sometimes not even within your family. Herein lies the core of the code of the South - APPEAR perfect in every way by never admitting that anything is less than perfect in your life. This is the heart of Ms. Rich's book. Many people are dazzled by these Southern vixens' charm because they don't ever see what lies beneath.
Ms. Rich tries to paint a picture of a perfect woman, but she doesn't exist. If you want a guide on how to manipulate men or how to become a shell of a person whose existence depends on fitting in to "high society" then you will enjoy this book. If you want a real guide on how to be a lady, considerate of others feelings, and a person of true class, you'd be better of reading Judith Martin or something equivalent. This book belongs in the trash can.
By the way, there is no stereotype that can cover every Southern woman. We are fiercly independent and cannot be labeled. We share some common traits, but our unpredictability and individuality make it so that pidgeonholing the way Southern women act and live can be a pretty daunting task.
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