Venus in Spurs: The Secret Female Fear of Commitment, Or, Why You Head for the Hills When Love Comes to Town

Dispelling the conventional wisdom that fear of commitment in relationships is a male characteristic, writer Gillooly in her debut book spins an intriguing thesis. Her many female friends and acquaintances, as well as her own experiences in unfulfilling relationships, inform the comically serious scenarios that appear to be the '90s' legacy from feminism. It is Gillooly's claim-supported by sprightly anecdotal data-that women, although obsessed with the subject of commitment, can suffer unknowingly from commitment anxiety. With wit and bows to media trends, she demonstrates the fallacy of the ``common perception of the commitment... [as] inherently gender-divided.'' The paradoxical position of modern women in the romantic arena is examined with refreshing directness. Practical suggestions are offered that entertain as well as instruct. Author tour. (Feb.)