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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Absolutely loved it!! It's important for modern women to know that the beauty industry is exploiting and imprisoning them, there will be no true emancipation of women without overthrowing the beauty ideals. I loved the tone and overall the personality the author splashed all over this book, it was extremely brilliant.
informative
fast-paced
It is written well - frustrating at times with generalizations - but understandably so. I really love the ending observation, which is why there are five stars.
3.25
This book really made me rethink some of my views about the world and how media/images can completely skew people's ideas. It showed me how culture's are so different, but in each aspect of the world, there always is some way that men dominate over women. Some are more visible than others, but I found it interesting to see all of those pointed out and to view today's world in a different way. Sometimes I felt like the plot line got off track and didn't follow the main point, and therefore seemed a little boring at times. But overall this book made me open my eyes to some of the things happening in our world.
This book really made me rethink some of my views about the world and how media/images can completely skew people's ideas. It showed me how culture's are so different, but in each aspect of the world, there always is some way that men dominate over women. Some are more visible than others, but I found it interesting to see all of those pointed out and to view today's world in a different way. Sometimes I felt like the plot line got off track and didn't follow the main point, and therefore seemed a little boring at times. But overall this book made me open my eyes to some of the things happening in our world.
reflective
slow-paced
i read this for an islamic lit class but have a hard time reading non-fiction. points for the last chapter since i liked it.
Thought provoking. That author definitely has their own voice, though it kind of meanders at points. A lot of interesting art to look up for later.
I was theoretically going to write a paper and do a project on this book. I practically failed out of the class I bought this book for, but came out absolutely INFATUATED with this book.
Utterly intriguing book about the representation of Scheherazade and harem life in the West. It discusses representations in classic art, literature, and (most fun!) movies. It's been several years since I read it now, so I hesitate to go into more shady details...
All I know is that I DEVOURED this book and took tons of notes. It left me wanting to read more more more on this topic, and what better recommendation could you ask for?!
I gave my copy to my professor, but I'm actually tempted to go out and buy one again.
Utterly intriguing book about the representation of Scheherazade and harem life in the West. It discusses representations in classic art, literature, and (most fun!) movies. It's been several years since I read it now, so I hesitate to go into more shady details...
All I know is that I DEVOURED this book and took tons of notes. It left me wanting to read more more more on this topic, and what better recommendation could you ask for?!
I gave my copy to my professor, but I'm actually tempted to go out and buy one again.
This is a really good introduction to the question of how sexism and women's cultural power are treated in Islamic/Eastern countries vs. Christian/Western ones. The author begins with a look at how the term and concept of the harem has been mistranslated into the West, and how as a result the Western idea of the harem means something completely alien to its reality in her own experience of growing up in Morocco. I was most interested in her analysis of how Scheherazade, the narrator of the Arabian Nights, had much of her agency stripped from her character when she was recast by European artists, etc., but she also introduced some interesting examples of other 'strong female characters' as it were from various Islamic myths and history.
The only real criticism I have is that she skims over topics that I would like to see dealt with more in depth, but I'm sure more has been published on these topics since then. I also would have liked a more serious treatment of some topics, but honestly that doesn't seem to be the tone of book the author was aiming for so I can't really fault her for it.
The only real criticism I have is that she skims over topics that I would like to see dealt with more in depth, but I'm sure more has been published on these topics since then. I also would have liked a more serious treatment of some topics, but honestly that doesn't seem to be the tone of book the author was aiming for so I can't really fault her for it.
Important educational material for Western feminists...
(I'm just going to write a quick review since this book was published fifteen years ago, however, its contents are still relevant.)
I'm a big proponent for the intersectionality of feminism. Western feminists, unfortunately, like to say they understand Eastern women and their issues and how the two groups relate, but really they don't understand at all. Scheherazade Goes West helped me understand a little better. If you want to fight for all women, then you must first understand all women.
This book was captivating, but it's lacking in a bit of cohesion. I felt that Mernissi often failed to pull all of her thoughts together and then relate them to other things later. Also, the insertions of historic texts became distracting and sometimes didn't really help me understand her point.
(I'm just going to write a quick review since this book was published fifteen years ago, however, its contents are still relevant.)
I'm a big proponent for the intersectionality of feminism. Western feminists, unfortunately, like to say they understand Eastern women and their issues and how the two groups relate, but really they don't understand at all. Scheherazade Goes West helped me understand a little better. If you want to fight for all women, then you must first understand all women.
This book was captivating, but it's lacking in a bit of cohesion. I felt that Mernissi often failed to pull all of her thoughts together and then relate them to other things later. Also, the insertions of historic texts became distracting and sometimes didn't really help me understand her point.