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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I feel very conflicted about this book. I didn’t know about the author and her other works or her “controversial” (transphobic) politics before starting this book and it was mostly a good book - the women we learnt about was interesting and chapter topics well chosen - but the “love” chapter put a bad taste in my mouth - I found it heavily cherry-picking a transphobic argument that won’t leave many readers as well informed about the topics covered as they should be.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
informative
fast-paced
inspiring
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
medium-paced
Pros:
- Solid writing style
- Well-researched
- Generally interesting
Cons
- I'm not on Twitter so don't know about any of Lewis' transphobia there, however a few comments in this book did make me raise an eyebrow. I believe she raised an issue with self-identifying as trans out of a fear that cis women could be at risk when non-cis women share bathrooms with them - not convinced about this. I hardly think the average trans woman is interested in assaulting people in the loos - they just want to take a piss, probably. It feels like an excuse to justify her views on trans women, and I'm not impressed.
- I believe she may have also implicitly dismissed the v legitimate concerns of feminists of colour about mainstream white feminism - I think she made a comment about feminism not being able to do everything at once. Ah yes, because if changes benefit white women and not women of colour, woc should just grit their teeth and get over it?!?!? Wtf? Am not a fan of this.
- Very British centered - interesting for me as a Brit but definitely could be less interesting / relevant for people from other countries.
Overall - interesting read but I have issues with the author's transphobia and lack of understanding and compassion towards women of colour.
- Solid writing style
- Well-researched
- Generally interesting
Cons
- I'm not on Twitter so don't know about any of Lewis' transphobia there, however a few comments in this book did make me raise an eyebrow. I believe she raised an issue with self-identifying as trans out of a fear that cis women could be at risk when non-cis women share bathrooms with them - not convinced about this. I hardly think the average trans woman is interested in assaulting people in the loos - they just want to take a piss, probably. It feels like an excuse to justify her views on trans women, and I'm not impressed.
- I believe she may have also implicitly dismissed the v legitimate concerns of feminists of colour about mainstream white feminism - I think she made a comment about feminism not being able to do everything at once. Ah yes, because if changes benefit white women and not women of colour, woc should just grit their teeth and get over it?!?!? Wtf? Am not a fan of this.
- Very British centered - interesting for me as a Brit but definitely could be less interesting / relevant for people from other countries.
Overall - interesting read but I have issues with the author's transphobia and lack of understanding and compassion towards women of colour.
I learned a lot from this book but I do think that anyone who wants to read about the history of these 11 women would do well to maybe just jot down their names from an online article about the book and read about the women online or from sources not written by someone who has such a narrow minded view on what it is to be a woman. I went into this book knowing nothing about Helen Lewis but as I read I could detect something underlying that didn't sit well with me, I was thinking something isn't right here, something in this author isn't sitting well with me. Her comments about trans people where she says something like* "I like trans people but..." was just so bad. I looked her up after reading and I was absolutely not surprised to see she is a bigot.
I love history, especially when it's the history of women, and so I enjoyed learning the women mentioned and that is why I give it two stars, but I wish I had learned about them from someone else. I hope Helen Lewis manages to get over her bigotry. I don't know whether the bigotry is her trying to be a Difficult Woman so people remember who she is and she gets attention and it's all an act, like the K*tie H*pk*ns of historical accounts of feminism.
I love history, especially when it's the history of women, and so I enjoyed learning the women mentioned and that is why I give it two stars, but I wish I had learned about them from someone else. I hope Helen Lewis manages to get over her bigotry. I don't know whether the bigotry is her trying to be a Difficult Woman so people remember who she is and she gets attention and it's all an act, like the K*tie H*pk*ns of historical accounts of feminism.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced