Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

138 reviews

isabellaci's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.25

1. I read this as an audiobook; why were abbreviations, that are harder to say, not just said as their full title.
2. From what I remember there was 0 mention into how imperialism and colonialism affects women in the Global South, even as there was mention of exploitation of the countries mentioned.
3. nor was capitalism explicitly mentioned
4. Say that transwomen exist, I dare you!
5. Everything being put down to the gender data gap in lieu of misogyny got grating towards the end of the book. I realise that the gender data gap is caused by misogyny.
6. Not a direct mention on how the military/police affect women, esp those in the Global South; but the comfortability of soldiers or police was discussed. 
7. Did not know when the book was published as the audiobook only said at the end of the reading which made trying to figure out the context of the writing harder.

All in all its not a bad book. The actual data and some specific studies themselves were interesting. However a lot of the takeaways you could get from the book I had already heard prior to listening to this (likely from someone who had also read this book but just before i had).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

floorse's review against another edition

informative sad medium-paced

5.0

Great book but good god, I'm so angry. I was aware of about 40% of what's in this book and the other 60% just made me see red. Perez is right, we have to do better for the next generation. 

I want to bite someone after reading this. 10/10.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

oliviamich's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

lucyrudd's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sarahweyand's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This is not a fun book. But it is an important one. In fact, it's the most important book I've read all year, maybe in multiple years. It's infuriating and informative and a scathing assault of facts and statistics and studies. Everyone should read it.

This book is divided into sections about home, the workplace, healthcare, and public life, and systematically proves how every single aspect of women's lives in each of these areas is based around being the "abnormal other" - that is to say, not men. Now, as a women, I'm pretty aware of most of these experiences; I've lived them. What I hadn't fully considered were the far-reaching impacts of some of these systems: how they go on to perpetuate the cycle of poverty, lead to greater gender gaps in data, and the further endangerment of women (no, that isn't an exaggeration).

I wish I had had the time to have consumed this book in smaller doses for two reasons. First, this book really does come at you with the facts and stats, and it can feel like drinking out of a firehose at times. I wish I had more time to have read this book at say, the pace of a chapter a week, so I could absorb information better and ruminate on what I had read. Second, this book can get really frustrating and depressing. I was mad the entire time. I like having the fire of justice and equality inside me to push me to do more and be strong, but at some point it start to have a negative effect on your psyche. I think taking this book in smaller doses would have helped to mitigate that.

I really enjoyed the moments in certain chapters that talked about improvements being made to certain systems and the positive outcomes change can have. It does help provide hope that these things can be overcome and that we can move in the right direction if we prioritize it.

The last thing I want to say is that I implore men to read this book. While I was reading Invisible Women, I talked to a number of male friends and coworkers, most of whom said something like "Oh! My [mom, sister, wife, friend] read that book and really liked it." But none of them said they had read the book themselves, despite it getting a positive review from a trusted source. This book is an expose on patriarchy, but it is not an expose on you. It may have you take a hard look at yourself and your preconceived ideas and help you to change your mindset, but it is not an attack on you personally. Feminists are not one gender, and men are essential allies in creating change that benefits everyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

I really wish there was an updated; post- pandemic, gender-neutral bathroom, Trump era, promotion of trans rights... version that incorporated greater recognition of intersectionality. I loved the contents of this book, but feel like there could be a broader focus on any data bias in the context of non, cishet white-male identit(ies). At points it felt a lot like a pure lit-review, but was informative nonetheless. A great and important read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

notlikethebeer's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

This is a difficult book to review. How do we balance something that has a lot of value to one group, whilst excluding another group? There's no denying that Invisible Women has opened up a lot of conversations - if nothing else, it's allowed a lot of women to raise things that might have been silently troubling them for a long time, things they may think they were being too sensitive about, things they felt they should stay invisible about. At the same time, this book would only have been strengthened by trans inclusion, and I cannot in good faith completely legitimise an author who is clearly aware of the harm she's perpetrating, yet continues to do so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

jackie_marion's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

4.0

"It's time to start designing women in."

This book is incredibly informative! It's really fascinating to read about the ways in which there are gaps in data for a lot of things within life, such as daily life, workplace, design and medicine. The data gaps in the medical field were especially surprising to me! I had no idea about some of these things, while others I knew and related to. This book feels like an English paper for an assignment, but it was one that was actually interesting to read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

megmahoney1's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic