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112 reviews for:
Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape
Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman
4.16 AVERAGE
112 reviews for:
Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape
Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman
4.16 AVERAGE
Read the 10 year anniversary version of this book and while parts are definitely dated, it’s still such a relevant look at rape culture and all we need to do still to fight it in the era of #MeToo.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. Everyone should read this book. Absolutely thought provoking.
So I read this for the class I was taking over winter break. I really enjoyed it. The one thing that bothered me a tiny bit was that some of the essays would keep repeating what we need to change, but then not give any suggestions. From an academic standpoint, I understand what needs to be changed and what's wrong, but what I'm really interested in are other peoples' suggestions and recommendations. Other than that I enjoyed this. Wouldn't it be awesome to live in a world without rape?
In continuing to do research for the play I'm writing about faith, pornography, objectification, and rape culture, I just finished reading "Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power & a World Without Rape." It's an outstanding collection of essays exploring the ways our culture perpetuates the dualities of virgin/whore and predator/prey, as well as challenging media portrayals of female sexuality. It argues for moving beyond a commodity based model of sex (sex is something to be earned - or forcefully taken) and moving into a space where the absence of "no" isn't enough to justify sexual activity, but an enthusiastic "yes." Because there are twenty-seven essays, the book is able to cover a wide range of issues related to female sexuality, from the experiences of women of color to examinations of the LGBTQ community. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed some of the essays, and thought they were very well-done. Others, not so much. As is usually the case with an anthology.
The essays I truly appreciated were:
- Not-Rape Epidemic
- An Old Enemy in a New Outifit: How Date Rape Became Gray Rape and Why It Matters
- How Do You Fuck a Fat Woman?
- What It Feels Like When It Finally Comes: Surviving Incest in Real Life
- When Sexual Autonomy Isn't Enough: Sexual Violence Against Immigrant Women in the US
This isn't to say the others aren't worth reading, especially since everyone's tastes, opinions, and experiences are different.
The essays I truly appreciated were:
- Not-Rape Epidemic
- An Old Enemy in a New Outifit: How Date Rape Became Gray Rape and Why It Matters
- How Do You Fuck a Fat Woman?
- What It Feels Like When It Finally Comes: Surviving Incest in Real Life
- When Sexual Autonomy Isn't Enough: Sexual Violence Against Immigrant Women in the US
This isn't to say the others aren't worth reading, especially since everyone's tastes, opinions, and experiences are different.
This was difficult to rate because some essays (about black female sexuality, migrant women, sex ed and fatness) were interesting and powerful, but there was also a shitty one about "nice guys" and a couple bdsm/sex pozzy ones that made my skin crawl. So I have to say 2 stars despite the good, because the bad was remarkably bad.
This is a wonderful anthology full of a wide range of essays. I liked some more than others, but overall it's a great book.
I read most of it and had to return to a friend before finishing but was really great so far and recommend that everyone read it!
4.5☆
The essays that touched me the most were:
*''Sex Worth Fighting For'' by Anastasia Higginbotham
*''Killing Mysogyny: A Personal Story of Love, Violence and Strategies For Survival'' by Cristina Meztli Tzlintzún
*''What It Feels Like When It finally Comes: Surviving Incest In Real Life'' by Leah Lahshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
*''In Defense of Going Wild or: How I stopped worrying and learned to love pleasure (and how you can, too...)'' by Jaclyn Friedman
*''How Do You Fuck A Fat Woman?'' by Kate Harding
''I'm all the weapon I need, and I sleep well.''
Equipping [women] with the information and tools they need to protect themselves, and then trusting them to make their own decisions, will work a heck of a lot better than knowing less and living in fear. And it will give every woman a fighting chance at a world where she can go out and get a little crazy sometimes if she wants to. Where she can dance and drink and flirt and fool around because it feels good. A world where her pleasure is actually important. That’s the world I’m living in. Care to join me?
The essays that touched me the most were:
*''Sex Worth Fighting For'' by Anastasia Higginbotham
*''Killing Mysogyny: A Personal Story of Love, Violence and Strategies For Survival'' by Cristina Meztli Tzlintzún
*''What It Feels Like When It finally Comes: Surviving Incest In Real Life'' by Leah Lahshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
*''In Defense of Going Wild or: How I stopped worrying and learned to love pleasure (and how you can, too...)'' by Jaclyn Friedman
*''How Do You Fuck A Fat Woman?'' by Kate Harding
''I'm all the weapon I need, and I sleep well.''