Reviews

He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know by Jessica Valenti

christie_esau's review against another edition

2.0

Admittedly, I skimmed through most of this book. I've been a long-time reader of Valenti's start up blog Feministing, and thus the ideas in this book were fairly repetitive for me.

Also, I've thankful moved on from a vindictive, angry sort of feminism (which this one of Valenti's titles seems to be). Certainly not Valenti's best work by any means, but a reasonable read for a new (or particularly angry) feminist. And I do appreciate her attention to inclusivity.

rcharbonneau's review against another edition

5.0

Useful for fresh feminists, almost useless if you'rea seasoned feminist. Handy to have when you stumble into the ever-so-common "But sexism is over!" conversation.

kweiler's review against another edition

3.0

She makes good points and none of this was unfamiliar to me. Some of it seemed a little reductive. While I certainly don't think the double standards affecting women should be minimized, it would have been encouraging to see the author also address the ways in which these attitudes are also very damaging to the men in our society.

_reedmylife_'s review against another edition

4.0

This is a great read for people to understand the many double standards in the world. Although this is an older book (published in 2008), all of the things that are mentioned are still relevant to today. It also does a great job at highlighting how these double standards do not allow for the existence of anything but heterosexual norms, which is harmful to a society in which there are non-binary individuals, people all throughout the spectrum and of course LGBTQ+ people who are not considered with these double standards infused in our society.

celtfem's review against another edition

4.0

I think this book is a concise and compelling way to distill down the pervasiveness of sexism in our culture. While it's not a hefty intellectual tome on feminist theory or history, it's an accessible and engaging primer on sexism. It's the type of book that's perfect to have a burgeoning feminist read - whether s/he's 15 or 55. It perfectly captures society's double standards and women's need to be aware of what we agree to play into and why we do. It's great book and one I'm seriously thinking of giving to my sister, as she's just beginning to air her own feminist awakening. Highly recommended for anyone - woman or man, old feminist pro or newbie, teen or senior citizen - who wants to learn (or be reminded of) why feminism is still desperately needed and why we still need to fight the good fight on behalf of all women everywhere.

winterlelie's review against another edition

4.0

This book would be a great gift for a friend that's still on the fence about all this feminism stuff. Valenti describes in a funny and non-academic way how prevalent sexism is our society and gives tips on how to deal with this.

jasmiinaf's review against another edition

4.0

A book that every woman should read. I learned a lot from this reading experience and I enjoyed how easy this was to read.

erinmp's review against another edition

3.0

Valenti addresses societal double standards in her second book: He's dating a younger woman, she's a cougar; he's a stud, she's a slut; he's a hero, she's a damsel; he's a romeo, she's a stalker; he's a porn watcher, she's the show. Valenti discusses the hypocritical aspects of these double standards and gives some tips on how to counter them.

Overall, I liked this effort better than Full Frontal Feminism. If I had any advice, it would be to not read the book in one sitting. It's short, so it's easy to do; but it's a little overwhelming and depressing, not to mention repetitive that way. None of the issues she brought up were new to me, but she did present them in a humerous way that was enjoyable.

chelseakamm's review

3.0

This is a great read for someone who has just taken their first women's studies course or your little cousin who is just starting to think about feminism. If you have any kind of background knowledge, this may be something that is too elementary. 

caseymalsam's review against another edition

4.0

I love me some Jessica Valenti! Staggering genius in how she points out things that happen in everyday society, that we just except as okay.

This book is a good introduction to several different types of double standards that exist in the gender binary. But if you want well developed, supported by research arguments- her other works will suit you better. Don't get me wrong, she's right about what she is writing about, but this book isn't meant to flush out the full scope of the arguments, it is more for the novice/newbies to feminist works.

Oh yeah, and she curses, a lot. I don't mind it (in fact I love it), but that isn't for everyone.