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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'
Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O'Meara
12 reviews
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol
Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A fantastic inclusive history of women and alcohol, from prehistory right up until the 2010s. Perfect for folks interested in the history of booze, women's history, and all round good, accessible popular history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
“Skinny margaritas. Appletinis. Cosmos. Drinks flavored like cake or whipped cream. Drinks featuring cake or whipped cream. Bright red maraschino cherries and pastel umbrellas. You know, girly drinks. Drinks for girls.”
What a fun and informative read! I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, because it has the potential to be more dry and boring but this captured my attention right away. The author’s voice is incredible; it feels like a good friend telling you a story about something they’re passionate about. The information is presented casually, so it’s very easy to comprehend. I laughed out loud more than once! In a time where alcohol is often vilified, I found this take super empowering and refreshing. It’s very diverse and brings in women from all over the world, during different time periods. Despite still fighting to be a part of the alcohol space, women have been brewing alcohol from the very beginning. It helped women have a source of income and independence. I learned so much while reading this and it will definitely stick with me. I highly recommend.
“It was believed that drinking weakened a woman's ability to resist the devil, when really, it was that drinking strengthened a woman's desire to resist the patriarchy.”
What a fun and informative read! I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, because it has the potential to be more dry and boring but this captured my attention right away. The author’s voice is incredible; it feels like a good friend telling you a story about something they’re passionate about. The information is presented casually, so it’s very easy to comprehend. I laughed out loud more than once! In a time where alcohol is often vilified, I found this take super empowering and refreshing. It’s very diverse and brings in women from all over the world, during different time periods. Despite still fighting to be a part of the alcohol space, women have been brewing alcohol from the very beginning. It helped women have a source of income and independence. I learned so much while reading this and it will definitely stick with me. I highly recommend.
“It was believed that drinking weakened a woman's ability to resist the devil, when really, it was that drinking strengthened a woman's desire to resist the patriarchy.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Sexual harassment
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
I thought this was an interesting concept, but it wound up being way too pop-history for me. Each chapter features a story about a specific woman (with varying levels of connection to alcohol culture, there were a couple extremely tenuous links that felt like "diversity hires" unfortunately) interspersed with buzzfeed listicle style writing about other things happening globally during that time period. The footnotes are not citations (there's a bibliography at the back, but specific facts aren't cited directly) they're just more unfunny "snark" and some of the chapters (especially the more modern years) feel uncomfortably preachy. Also acting like Hammurabi invented misogyny whole cloth is extremely silly.
The different types of alcohol and how they're made were interesting though.
The different types of alcohol and how they're made were interesting though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Colonisation
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual assault
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Very cool book! I learned a lot and it made me want to try making cocktails. Love that it looked at history from all over the world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
What an engaging and informative exploration of the gendered history of alcohol consumption, production and distribution around the world. Loved the feminist bent of this book and the fun, colloquial way in which these stories are told. Absolutely would read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
This was a really fun, feminist, and informative read about the history of alcohol and women's involvement in the creation and consumption of alcohol. O'Meara's tone is sarcastic and witty, yet celebratory as she introduces us to legions of women who have rebelled and fought for the right to drink (in public).
I think this narrative is a bit more all over the place than O'Meara's previous book, which focused more intensely on the story of one woman. Because of this wider focus, O'Meara is able to introduce stories from around the globe, which I loved. But it also makes each chapter a bit of a mishmash. While a chapter may be themed around the story of a certain woman, her story is interrupted by various short tangents that make it hard to follow the original story when it does make a reappearance. I've noticed this in a few different nonfiction books I've read recently. It seems like a common narrative construction, but I feel like most attempts end up feeling distracted and disjointed, rather than strengthened by these tangents.
Regardless, I found this to be a really delightful read. As a woman who drinks (hello gin ❣️), it was so fun to learn about this history behind the practice. Even if you're not a drinker, this history holds a lot of fun stories, so it could still be an intriguing read.
I think this narrative is a bit more all over the place than O'Meara's previous book, which focused more intensely on the story of one woman. Because of this wider focus, O'Meara is able to introduce stories from around the globe, which I loved. But it also makes each chapter a bit of a mishmash. While a chapter may be themed around the story of a certain woman, her story is interrupted by various short tangents that make it hard to follow the original story when it does make a reappearance. I've noticed this in a few different nonfiction books I've read recently. It seems like a common narrative construction, but I feel like most attempts end up feeling distracted and disjointed, rather than strengthened by these tangents.
Regardless, I found this to be a really delightful read. As a woman who drinks (hello gin ❣️), it was so fun to learn about this history behind the practice. Even if you're not a drinker, this history holds a lot of fun stories, so it could still be an intriguing read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This is an important history book.
The sheer amount of misogyny brought against women regarding alcohol is astounding. There is a hell of a lot of information here so I had to sip at this book.
The sheer amount of misogyny brought against women regarding alcohol is astounding. There is a hell of a lot of information here so I had to sip at this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism