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ninette's review
3.0
My hopes for this book might have been a bit high, because I loved the Period Podcast and have been waiting for it to come out for years. But I should have known by now, that the research into these kinds of topics is still very sparse and still not getting funded as it should. I can only hope that all the books calling out this sorry state of affairs in the past couple of years are a sign of change. We can dream.
There is just one significant error I would like to call out, because it plays into unfortunate misconceptions that so many people already have. The period Clancy repeatedly calls the "early medieval period" is actually the the early modern period - the transition from the middle ages into the modern period. The sources she cites in this section do reference the late medieval and early modern period, so I do not know how such a significant error slipped through into the final book, but I guess that just goes to show how poorly informed and prejudiced most people are about the middle ages.
The description of the developments is actually fine enough. It's just the wrong label. Unfortunately, you see this all the time. People labeling all kinds of things medieval, when they're actually early modern. So while this section does make me cringe, I keep in mind that Clancy is not a historian and this is just an honest mistake. If you would like to learn more about attitudes towards women in the medieval period you should check out historians like Eleanor Janega [The Once and Future Sex] and Kate Lister [A Curious History of Sex].
There is just one significant error I would like to call out, because it plays into unfortunate misconceptions that so many people already have. The period Clancy repeatedly calls the "early medieval period" is actually the the early modern period - the transition from the middle ages into the modern period. The sources she cites in this section do reference the late medieval and early modern period, so I do not know how such a significant error slipped through into the final book, but I guess that just goes to show how poorly informed and prejudiced most people are about the middle ages.
The description of the developments is actually fine enough. It's just the wrong label. Unfortunately, you see this all the time. People labeling all kinds of things medieval, when they're actually early modern. So while this section does make me cringe, I keep in mind that Clancy is not a historian and this is just an honest mistake. If you would like to learn more about attitudes towards women in the medieval period you should check out historians like Eleanor Janega [The Once and Future Sex] and Kate Lister [A Curious History of Sex].
mitskacir's review
DNF. Still interested in reading this, but the audiobook wasn't doing it for me. Maybe some day I'll get a paper copy and try again.
eamcmahon3's review
5.0
Must read book. It covers a lot of topics related to periods, and it's extremely well researched and written
lisamchuk's review
4.0
This is an interesting read, from a feminist approach, that is reflective of the times and vocal about the issues created by the sexist and racist history (and current state of) medicine and science. It’s well researched and based in science, and even though some of the ideas went over my head I still had a lot of “oh interesting!” moments.
_delia's review
Laughing so hard at that long “review” from the person who “consider[s] [themself] a feminist, anti-racist, unspecifiedly leftist, and an environmentalist” and proceeded to write a rant that very clearly demonstrates that they are not any of those things and/or doesn’t understand the basic definition of those schools of thought, and doesn’t consider anthropology or sociology a science.
Anyways, I thought this book was ok! I learned some, but do agree that beginning with a more comprehensive explanation of the menstrual cycle would have been beneficial, and some of the chapters really lagged.
I did come away from it with a better relationship with my body and period. I have a body that requires tending, baby!!!!
Anyways, I thought this book was ok! I learned some, but do agree that beginning with a more comprehensive explanation of the menstrual cycle would have been beneficial, and some of the chapters really lagged.
I did come away from it with a better relationship with my body and period. I have a body that requires tending, baby!!!!
enigmadame's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.5
This book is both fascinating and infuriating. The authors mentions and cites many health-related study hypotheses I hadn’t heard about, but also pontificates on non-related material and is a heavy hitter for the woke community. This book would have been so much better if she would have kept to the science and not used it as a manifesto. Still, if the reader is truly invested and interested, it’s worth reading past the opinion to learn the science.