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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
I’ll be blunt: this book infuriated me. I got this a few years ago as a gift for one of my sisters and now I’m so glad she never read it. I loved the idea of discussing historical women and different ways to see their legacy and get inspiration. And this book does include historical figures that are really interesting to read about, some of whom I’d never even heard of before. But there was so much in this that was just harmful and wrong.
The book is presented, in my opinion based on the introduction and description, as a collection of inspiring female figures and necessary because of the harm perpetuated against women now and forever, with the introduction mentioning the #MeToo movement as a marker of the severity at this time. It is meant to be somewhat instructive. That’s ok. I expected that and it has its place.
But the “irreverent” in the description for the language used in the collection should really be closer to demeaning. Readers, especially the younger readers this seems marketed towards, do not need to be so spoken down to. I know I’m slightly above the intended age for it, but if I read this at 10 or 15 or anytime, I would be furious that someone believed I would better receive inspirational stories if slang was heavily used, slang that isn’t even in vogue. The women in the collection deserve more than for their lives to be reduced to hashtag lines and the like.
Also, there were a few times when I noticed the book perpetuating myths that are still actively used to harm women. One particularly striking example is the equivocation of the hymen with virginity. It also does not give a full background on the women it describes. Their portrayals are quite heavily focused on the positive, inspirational actions/events, without necessarily sharing how complicated historical figures can be. Killing a lot of people is not an automatic win, just because you did it as a female leader, for example.
I am very disappointed in this collection and thoroughly advise against it for anyone.
The book is presented, in my opinion based on the introduction and description, as a collection of inspiring female figures and necessary because of the harm perpetuated against women now and forever, with the introduction mentioning the #MeToo movement as a marker of the severity at this time. It is meant to be somewhat instructive. That’s ok. I expected that and it has its place.
But the “irreverent” in the description for the language used in the collection should really be closer to demeaning. Readers, especially the younger readers this seems marketed towards, do not need to be so spoken down to. I know I’m slightly above the intended age for it, but if I read this at 10 or 15 or anytime, I would be furious that someone believed I would better receive inspirational stories if slang was heavily used, slang that isn’t even in vogue. The women in the collection deserve more than for their lives to be reduced to hashtag lines and the like.
Also, there were a few times when I noticed the book perpetuating myths that are still actively used to harm women. One particularly striking example is the equivocation of the hymen with virginity. It also does not give a full background on the women it describes. Their portrayals are quite heavily focused on the positive, inspirational actions/events, without necessarily sharing how complicated historical figures can be. Killing a lot of people is not an automatic win, just because you did it as a female leader, for example.
I am very disappointed in this collection and thoroughly advise against it for anyone.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
fast-paced
Fantastic read for a mom that can't sit down and read as much as she'd like. I loved the short biographies full of inspiration!
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
The one star is for being introduced to women I didn't know of. Learning about them was interesting. But the writing was atrocious. The authors seemed more interested in alliteration and cutesy literary or historical word play than in substance. Many of the subjects' accomplishments were foreshortened due to proclivity for cuteness or to impress with vocabulary. The summary messages at the end of the chapters was also lost in the wordiness. I was surprised to learn the authors claimed to be editors in their bio. They certainly could have used one.
Since goodreads has to do with stories, not images I won't even talk about the ghoulish artistic representations of the women.
Read about one woman a day. Anticipated reading with dread because of the writing.
Since goodreads has to do with stories, not images I won't even talk about the ghoulish artistic representations of the women.
Read about one woman a day. Anticipated reading with dread because of the writing.
Het boek doet voor mij de besproken vrouwen geen eer aan. Maar ik had kunnen weten dat het geen diepgaande lectuur zou worden als er 50 vrouwen besproken worden op 300 bladzijden. Het blijft allemaal wat vaag en low key. Om op een positieve noot te eindigen: de illustraties van de vrouwen zijn prachtig!
Honestly wish this was longer and more in depth, with maybe less pop culture references, but I thoroughly enjoyed the vast range of identities, time periods, accomplishments, and problems the collection focused on
I picked up this book for a quick read on my commute, and overall I enjoyed it. The artwork was fantastic, and there were actually more than a few women in this book that I had never heard of (I am so embarrassed to say!!!) so that was really great :) I’m not sure what I expected, maybe more hard-hitting historical essays, and initially I wasn’t really prepared for the super casual, irreverent humor and writing but I think it definitely worked. It just threw me for a bit, I wasn’t expecting something like this. It was a cute, funny, fascinating book though. Also I loved that it was intersectional and the specific chapter titles (“Mae West and being body positive,” “Hedy Lamarr and knowing your worth”) were really creative and great! This book definitely has made me want to do some further reading on the women featured, especially the ones that I didn’t know much about to begin with.