Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

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

46 reviews

ruthmoog's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective

4.5

Brilliant book that clearly explains the impact of excluding women's experience. It doesn't ignore the experience of non-white women either, but does acknowledge that although women and female data are missing, so too are data for non-white women plus pregnant and menstruateing women to a greater extent. Trans women however are not referenced at all.

It's very statistic heavy, and relentless, but a must read imo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

anil's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.75

First of this is a super interesting book with some good points. Absolutely worth the read. BUT. 

I have some serious issues with its very binary and cis centered language as well as the way it brushes over a lot of the differences within the groups of both (cis) men and women in a way that I don't think is helpful. 

In some parts that distinction may be more superficial but in some parts it REALLY isn't because there is a huge difference for example between a medical issue going underdiagnosed because of the way people are socialized and biological differences in presentation. Even within biological differences there is the question of hormone levels vs average physical presentation for example. 
All of these are massively affected by being a cis woman of course! I'm not claiming that the root cause of the issues named here is not sexism. But its also affected by certain disabilities, medical treatments (not just medical transition), ethnicity and probably a host of other factors I can't think of spontaneously. And sometimes they happen to apply to cis men even.

And of course part of the point is that some of this information is lacking because we're not doing the scientific studies but then say that! And in some instances we do know or have information that suggests directions and those are ignored by the author.

These are not just superficial concerns there are specific suggestions for solutions targeted towards women in this book that could be targeted more precisely and more helpfully by looking at who precisely is the group affected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and War

xosirenox's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

savvylit's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

What an eye-opening read this was! Criado Perez delves into so many ways that women go unacknowledged in our global culture at large. One of the most fascinating instances of this is women's unpaid work. This includes housework, cooking, gardening, childcare, eldercare, and more. By not acknowledging these tasks as work, our society fails to acknowledge so much. We ignore the emotional & physical toll AND how this work bolsters our global economy. Paid work genuinely cannot occur without unpaid work. And the majority of all unpaid work is done by women.

Additional upsetting facts straight from Invisible Women:

"By the time [girls in the U.S.] turn six.. they start doubting their gender. If a game is presented to them as intended for 'children who are really, really smart,' five year old girls are as likely to want to play it as boys -- but six year old girls are suddenly uninterested."

"PMS affects 90% of women, but is chronically under-studied: one research round-up found five times as many studies on erectile dysfunction than on PMS."

"[A] 2010 study didn't just find that female politicians were seen as less caring. It found that this perception inspired moral outrage in both male and female study participants, who viewed such women with contempt, anger, and/or disgust."

I have only one major criticism -- Invisible Women almost entirely focuses on fixing data bias within a capitalist framework. I personally wish for our global society to shift AWAY from capitalism. As I read Invisible Women, I couldn't help but wonder what gender equality would look like under a more community-oriented economic system.

Ultimately though, I think that (under current capitalist conditions) this book should be required reading. Particularly for men in any leadership role, period. There are still so many realms in the world in which women and their needs are consistently excluded.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Medical content

blenchbooks's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Medical content

hannibanani29's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Genocide, Transphobia, Car accident, and Lesbophobia

spellygirl's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

5.0

Everyone should read this book. Though if you have any empathy at all, it's going to break your heart and piss you off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War

kaleidoscope_heart's review against another edition

2.5

I found this book interesting and informative in the ways that the world sees women especially in relation to data but have been left disappointed by the complete lack of any meantion that people outside of the man/woman binary exist. Like it wouldn't of been to hard to put in.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

layla262's review against another edition

informative sad medium-paced

4.25

Amazingly researched, but let down by the lack of intersectionality. The main focus was on American and British cishet women. Other than that Criado Perez exposes the gender data gap and makes compelling arguments around increasing female representation to make a more accessible world for all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

natthahlyh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War