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drillvoice's review against another edition
5.0
I got a lot out of this book. It's a great exercise in conceptualizing misogyny and its social role in a patriarchal society. Then it goes further to shine a light on how misogyny shows up and the behaviours and attitudes it can lead to. I think it's very powerful to gain a greater insight into understanding our world.
However, the book seems torn between being written for academics and written for lay readers. At times this is a distraction. It feels like the author is addressing a community of philosopher academics instead of you, the reader. There is also philosophical jargon which I partly like because I learnt new words. But in the other hand if I ever say "sui generis" in public I think I'll be laughed out of town.
That said, while this book could do what it does better, no other book does what this book does better.
However, the book seems torn between being written for academics and written for lay readers. At times this is a distraction. It feels like the author is addressing a community of philosopher academics instead of you, the reader. There is also philosophical jargon which I partly like because I learnt new words. But in the other hand if I ever say "sui generis" in public I think I'll be laughed out of town.
That said, while this book could do what it does better, no other book does what this book does better.
klibera6's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t know how to describe this book other than brilliant, thought-challenging, thoughtful, refreshing, thorough, and brave! I will be thinking about this book for the rest of my life. Thank you for writing it, Kate!
annappleton's review against another edition
4.0
Heavy read, but very interesting and insightful points.
la5's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
5.0
Everyone should read this book. It is not an easy read and offers no solutions, but it explains the problem comprehensively. Understanding the problem is a necessary step in developing a response.
I found the author's definitions of sexism (the justifying belief in female inferiority) and misogyny (the enforcing action to defend the patriarchy) to be very helpful in understanding how women could be so misogynistic. The section that explains how people can be misogynists without being sexist (ala Trump) was also extremely helpful.
I also found the description of what women provide (for free) that men feel entitled to as a valuable and limited resource to be illuminating -- the care work that is so financially devalued, but is the only thing that makes life worth living -- the only real deathbed regret people have is related to care and community with loved ones. Women are only "good" when they provide this valuable good earnestly, selflessly and without any demand on the socially superior men in her circle. Men feel entitled to this good & when it fails to manifest, they become enraged (and shamed at the same time). This is a toxic combination.
I found the author's definitions of sexism (the justifying belief in female inferiority) and misogyny (the enforcing action to defend the patriarchy) to be very helpful in understanding how women could be so misogynistic. The section that explains how people can be misogynists without being sexist (ala Trump) was also extremely helpful.
I also found the description of what women provide (for free) that men feel entitled to as a valuable and limited resource to be illuminating -- the care work that is so financially devalued, but is the only thing that makes life worth living -- the only real deathbed regret people have is related to care and community with loved ones. Women are only "good" when they provide this valuable good earnestly, selflessly and without any demand on the socially superior men in her circle. Men feel entitled to this good & when it fails to manifest, they become enraged (and shamed at the same time). This is a toxic combination.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
EXTREMELY good book. manne's basic thesis is that misogyny isn't a personal hatred of women that some men harbor because of psychological issues, but an intricate and structural system forcing women into the role of Giving (attention, affection, power, etc; sometimes, in the worst circumstances, their lives). it's not that men don't see women as human--it's that they see them as "human givers," and women who refuse to play this role are punished. i knew a lot of this already, but manne is an excellent writer who lays out her argument with careful and incisive craft and very readable prose. her writing can be a little dense at times (especially when manne, a philosophy professor, dips into academic philosophy), and sometimes it gets repetitive (as many of these chapters are adapted from disparate essays and thus cover some overlapping ground), but i was honestly never bored; this book spent 300 pages rearranging my brain and fine-tuning my understanding of misogyny and structural oppression in general.
probably the most salient lacking point is (and manne admits to this up-front) that a lot of the specific examples focus on white cishet women, because that allows for the examination of misogyny without other compounding oppressions. honestly, this didn't totally bother me, because one book can only do so much, but i would love to see manne's theories critiqued or built on by women of color and trans women. that said, for what it aims at, this book is brilliant, and i highly recommend it even to people who already know that misogyny is real and bad; the clarity and depth of its argument makes it well worth the time.
probably the most salient lacking point is (and manne admits to this up-front) that a lot of the specific examples focus on white cishet women, because that allows for the examination of misogyny without other compounding oppressions. honestly, this didn't totally bother me, because one book can only do so much, but i would love to see manne's theories critiqued or built on by women of color and trans women. that said, for what it aims at, this book is brilliant, and i highly recommend it even to people who already know that misogyny is real and bad; the clarity and depth of its argument makes it well worth the time.
taylorthiel's review against another edition
5.0
I am a sl*t for books with great footnotes and epigraphs and boy did this one deliver.
This is one of the best modern books I’ve read on misogyny in a hot minute. This lady came with facts and facts only. Also reminded me how much the world was robbed when we voted for trump and not Hillary. I had annotations on every page. BANGER.
But be warned:
1) all the trigger warnings for violence and crimes against women
2) this boi is academic as fk. Reads like a PhD dissertation on level 10. Not for the faint of heart. Not easily digestible if you haven’t already read this caliber of academic writing. (Still worth it and I do think still manageable for all levels of readers. Some just might need to go slow WHICH IS OK. Take your time with this one anyways because marinating in this is really great).
This is one of the best modern books I’ve read on misogyny in a hot minute. This lady came with facts and facts only. Also reminded me how much the world was robbed when we voted for trump and not Hillary. I had annotations on every page. BANGER.
But be warned:
1) all the trigger warnings for violence and crimes against women
2) this boi is academic as fk. Reads like a PhD dissertation on level 10. Not for the faint of heart. Not easily digestible if you haven’t already read this caliber of academic writing. (Still worth it and I do think still manageable for all levels of readers. Some just might need to go slow WHICH IS OK. Take your time with this one anyways because marinating in this is really great).
adamchalmers's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome read. Points out a bunch of weird confusing contradictions in gender politics, then explains them. Argues that misogyny isn't about hating women - it's about punishing "bad" women. "good" women like subservient housewives, the "cool girlfriend", etc, don't experience misogyny. Women who go against patriarchal norms (e.g. activists, women working in masculine fields, women who don't give men enough attention/emotional labor/sex/etc) experience the kind of "down, girl!" responses that punish them and put them back in their place.
Although it's accessible to a general audience, it's definitely written like a Philosophy Book and aimed at an academic audience. She very formally defines her terms, pre-empts criticism, uses a lot of philosophy jargon, makes a lot of defensive qualifications that are helpful to philosophical reading but might bore an average reader.
Really liked it - its treatment of misogyny as reinforcing certain power structures was awesome. She criticizes the idea of sexism as "not seeing women as people" - the problem is men do see women as people, but people who owe them sex/emotional labor/status (good) but can also be threats, rivals or emasculate them (bad, needs punishment).
Uses lots of literary and political references to support her points, esp. the Trump/Clinton election, Julia Gillard, and Elliot Rodgers, which lends a lot of real-world flavour to a book that sometimes gets a bit academic.
Her background in formal logic and computer science shines through when she talks about the flaws in normal decision-theoretic models of "agents" - as a logic/CS person myself, I found that part really fascinating!
Although it's accessible to a general audience, it's definitely written like a Philosophy Book and aimed at an academic audience. She very formally defines her terms, pre-empts criticism, uses a lot of philosophy jargon, makes a lot of defensive qualifications that are helpful to philosophical reading but might bore an average reader.
Really liked it - its treatment of misogyny as reinforcing certain power structures was awesome. She criticizes the idea of sexism as "not seeing women as people" - the problem is men do see women as people, but people who owe them sex/emotional labor/status (good) but can also be threats, rivals or emasculate them (bad, needs punishment).
Uses lots of literary and political references to support her points, esp. the Trump/Clinton election, Julia Gillard, and Elliot Rodgers, which lends a lot of real-world flavour to a book that sometimes gets a bit academic.
Her background in formal logic and computer science shines through when she talks about the flaws in normal decision-theoretic models of "agents" - as a logic/CS person myself, I found that part really fascinating!
brittney_seitgeist's review against another edition
3.0
When I was initially recommended this book I wasn’t expecting it to be as heavy. I was expecting this to be a light weekend read and I was wrong. No matter the case it was a well written book on the topic.
My only gripe I had reading The Logic of misogyny is for the first couple chapters I had to constantly reference my dictionary in order to understand what the author was saying. After that point it was a very easy breezy read.
The author provides multiple examples throughout using recent news in the media, stories, and current politics in the last 10 years. With those examples I felt that it made their thesis understandable as well as to provide a new interpretation of those events that I have not considered before.
Content warning: sexual assault, rape, murder
My only gripe I had reading The Logic of misogyny is for the first couple chapters I had to constantly reference my dictionary in order to understand what the author was saying. After that point it was a very easy breezy read.
The author provides multiple examples throughout using recent news in the media, stories, and current politics in the last 10 years. With those examples I felt that it made their thesis understandable as well as to provide a new interpretation of those events that I have not considered before.
Content warning: sexual assault, rape, murder