Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates

4 reviews

papreasaurus's review

It was incredibly challenging to know the following things;
1. People that Laura talks about in this book exist in large, hidden numbers
2. They could be anyone

This book contains extremely important and helpful information. It is something I think everyone should take a gander at least once in their life - regardless of their gender, sex or orientation. Because this is a reality we all face and interact with, even if it is on very different levels from one person to the next. But it honestly gave me so much anxiety listening to the audio book, that I need to make sure everyone is aware that it is a very difficult read / listen, and it is okay to read it in small doses.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Rape, and Toxic relationship

notthatcosta's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

2.5

I tend to struggle with books that were written by journalists, because I find that their storytelling skills are lacking when it comes to creating a whole book. Even though Laura Bates is not a journalist, Men Who Hate Women falls foul of similar traps that I've seen previously in non fiction books of this type.

Most of the chapters feel unnecessarily padded out, often with repetition of previous points made that don't serve to create a cohesive narrative thread. Even in more successful chapters like 'Men Who Don't Know They Hate Women', half way through it veers off into a tangent about the 2016 election. 

I understand that the topic at hand is very broad, complex and wide reaching, but the lack of focus makes it frustrating to read beyond the frustrating subject matter. With better and tighter editing I think this could have been a great book, but it ends up feeling like an unfocussed and cluttered collection of ideas and case studies with some paraphrased 4Chan posts sprinkled in. 

I probably would have preferred it if the book just centred on what Laura Bates heard during her school visits and talks, rather than the need to try and summarise what she read on manosphere forums.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Bullying, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Body shaming, Sexism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Cursing, Death, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child death, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Xenophobia

titan_reads's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Very informative, but dark. A great place to start reading about misogyny and sexism, though it does quickly introduce some of the worst of the worst which can be quite shocking. The author mentioned real violent and abusive acts that have been committed against women and also shared posts that contain unfiltered threats to commit these acts throughout the book. 

I felt it was a good mix of showing the daily struggles women face just existing but also being empathetic towards the real problems men face. The last few chapters made me want to encourage the people in my life to take a more active role in the lives of the vulnerable people around them. 

I did have trouble reading this book not because of the writing but because I recognized so much of what was depicted in my own personal experiences with people online and in-person. I read something more upbeat alongside it and took breaks when I needed them. If you're in the right headspace it is worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Minor: Torture and Trafficking

sadiefc's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia

This book contains unedited, real life quotes and messages of deeply disturbed, violent, racist and sexist human beings.