Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
It was an easy read (which is good because I like to read my books fast), very insightful into Valenti's life. It made me very upset because of all the things that happen to women. I didn't realize the full extent of what some men do or say on the internet. Some things I wanted in the book were "opinions on what people need to do in order to prevent this" bit. Instead, Valenti let me just sit in it. I know that was the point, sometimes there is no light at the end of the tunnel or even if she said opinions on the situations that happened to her, she would just get backlash. She lets you think for yourself, lets you judge her or not. The endnotes were very hard to swallow, I wanted to reach out to her, and yell at those people (a lot of them women too). Just the cruel way people behave on the internet really cuts deep. I can't wait to read her other books, and the rest to come. She is honest, outspoken, and deserves the success that she has achieved. Great memoir.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
A solid memoir from a well-known feminist voice. I appreciate Jessica’s brutal honesty throughout the book. My main takeaway is that NYC sounds like a horrendous place to grow up female.
she doesn't try to bat outside her white lady wheelhouse, which I value. and boy howdy does nyc sound like the most horrific place to be a girl child with boobs.
This is not a book that's going to leave you feeling motivated or inspired or even hopeful. Valenti holds no punches in this incredibly honest and direct memoir detailing her life and the way that her gender and sexuality influenced it. It's a very relate-able read, and I was blown away by the way she puts it all out on the table and makes herself entirely vulnerable to her readers. I think this book should be required reading for men.
I have a lot of feelings about this book, and I almost gave it 5 stars merely because I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time...usually the sign of a good book. It's a quick read but packs quite the punch. I do think there were areas which may have benefited from deeper analysis, but overall I was impressed by Valenti's candid telling of the all-too-familiar tale of growing up female in a society that both objectifies and trains us to self-objectify.
Some have critiqued Valenti for using this book to 'brag' about how much attention she receives (seriously, did you even read the book?)...and I get it to the extent that I sometimes find myself reluctant to share when these things happen to me, because we've been trained to accept catcalling and inappropriate comments as complimentary. However, in becoming a part of everyday life, normalized and expected, these experiences chip away at the psyche and lead to a sort of paralyzing fatigue. A similar critique of 'Sex Object' suggested that the book was simply a bunch of these stories thrown together without much of an overarching point. However, I found that the repetition of trauma through Valenti's stories in an almost nonstop but also nonchalant delivery was actually functioning as a representation of the repetition of trauma experienced in every day life and the struggle to escape from it long enough to actually process. By writing the book in this style, I believe the overarching point was that much clearer.
The book also provided something I seldom see in contemporary feminist manifestos: the admittance that it's okay to own victimhood - because many of us ARE victims, and to just slap a smile on and talk about strength and power and accept certain sexist behaviors as anything other than straight up abuse is absurd...it's also a form of gaslighting, and I find it fascinating that some people who bothered to pick up this book and write a review of it couldn't catch on to their own participation in / perpetuation of that abusive behavior.
I really enjoyed Valenti's discussion of confidence and the 'fake it 'til you make it' + 'lean in' mantras women are told to embrace if they wish to find professional success...she says, "I am tired of faking confidence or being told that my lack thereof is a fault when it seems to me the most natural reaction I could possibly have to the lifelong feedback women are given. I don't want to be confident or inspirational and I don't really want to buck up anymore because the faking takes more energy sometimes than the work itself." Her exhaustion resonates - and is supported by her countless examples of being shown just how little she seems to be worth to the many men she's encountered.
Some have critiqued Valenti for using this book to 'brag' about how much attention she receives (seriously, did you even read the book?)...and I get it to the extent that I sometimes find myself reluctant to share when these things happen to me, because we've been trained to accept catcalling and inappropriate comments as complimentary. However, in becoming a part of everyday life, normalized and expected, these experiences chip away at the psyche and lead to a sort of paralyzing fatigue. A similar critique of 'Sex Object' suggested that the book was simply a bunch of these stories thrown together without much of an overarching point. However, I found that the repetition of trauma through Valenti's stories in an almost nonstop but also nonchalant delivery was actually functioning as a representation of the repetition of trauma experienced in every day life and the struggle to escape from it long enough to actually process. By writing the book in this style, I believe the overarching point was that much clearer.
The book also provided something I seldom see in contemporary feminist manifestos: the admittance that it's okay to own victimhood - because many of us ARE victims, and to just slap a smile on and talk about strength and power and accept certain sexist behaviors as anything other than straight up abuse is absurd...it's also a form of gaslighting, and I find it fascinating that some people who bothered to pick up this book and write a review of it couldn't catch on to their own participation in / perpetuation of that abusive behavior.
I really enjoyed Valenti's discussion of confidence and the 'fake it 'til you make it' + 'lean in' mantras women are told to embrace if they wish to find professional success...she says, "I am tired of faking confidence or being told that my lack thereof is a fault when it seems to me the most natural reaction I could possibly have to the lifelong feedback women are given. I don't want to be confident or inspirational and I don't really want to buck up anymore because the faking takes more energy sometimes than the work itself." Her exhaustion resonates - and is supported by her countless examples of being shown just how little she seems to be worth to the many men she's encountered.
When I saw the cover of this book on the book list on Edelweiss it caught my eye and made me read the synopsis then I requested it. When my request was approved by the publisher I was really pleased as I have never read any books with a feminist slant to them and I know I need to read more memoirs/biographies.
I had never heard of the author before so I had no expectations as to what to expect from her and I was really pleased. Valentine's wiring was captivating and enlightening, ..... To read my full review please click on the link http://catherinehunt.me.uk/2016/05/01/book-review-sex-object-a-memoir-by-jessica-valenti/preview_id=1063&preview_nonce=edad15055d&post_format=standard&preview=true#.VyXn7nErL8g
I had never heard of the author before so I had no expectations as to what to expect from her and I was really pleased. Valentine's wiring was captivating and enlightening, ..... To read my full review please click on the link http://catherinehunt.me.uk/2016/05/01/book-review-sex-object-a-memoir-by-jessica-valenti/preview_id=1063&preview_nonce=edad15055d&post_format=standard&preview=true#.VyXn7nErL8g
I kept thinking, all the way through this, about decisions I had made differently than Valenti did in order feel more assured of my safety, and that they mostly worked to the extent that they can when you're passing through this world female, but it meant passing up experiences I otherwise might have had. When I think those things I inevitably think *but I shouldn't have had to pass those things up in order to be safe* and *her different decisions shouldn't have led to her being less so*.
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
honestly, this book made me immensely grateful for my childhood and the town i grew up in, like i would never in a million years want to raise a child in new york, it sounds like a genuine horror show
i don't really know what to say about this memoir directly; it's full of pain and it doesn't really get resolved and i don't think it makes sense to expect it to. what are you supposed to do with a world that relentlessly treats women as objects? what can you do other than talk about it and hope maybe people will listen and do something? jessica valenti doesn't know. i don't either
3.5 stars
i don't really know what to say about this memoir directly; it's full of pain and it doesn't really get resolved and i don't think it makes sense to expect it to. what are you supposed to do with a world that relentlessly treats women as objects? what can you do other than talk about it and hope maybe people will listen and do something? jessica valenti doesn't know. i don't either
3.5 stars
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced