Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

12 reviews

rchulin1's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Medical content, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Classism, Racism, Self harm, Chronic illness, Body horror, Alcohol, and Blood

jhbandcats's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was really hard for me to read because I grew up in the Jim Crow South and so much of the story was familiar in a shameful way. The author is masterful at telling a painful but hopeful tale of relationships between white employers and Black housekeepers at a time when all the power was on one side of the equation. 

The story is compelling and funny and awful all at the same time. The characters, even the minor ones, are fully developed. Some are despicable and some are lovable, some are angry or timid or miserable or hopeful, and all are given a voice. 

That was such a terrible period in America and I’m appalled and frightened by the resurgence of racist fear mongering. Like most books that teach an important lesson about humanity, this is likely to be read by the people who need it least and not at all by the people it would benefit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Cancer, Classism, Excrement, Grief, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

kate_has_book_thoughts's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Infertility, Excrement, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Hate crime, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Police brutality, Sexism, Classism, and Gun violence

michaelion's review

emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My opinion might be biased. Of the few movies me and my mom have watched together in my life, I could probably count them on one hand, this was one we both loved when it was available On Demand on Dish or DirectTv or whichever one of those cable providers had that service. The next year I bought the book at the Scholastic book fair, one with a cover from the movie poster, and I read that book six times. The spine is worn out and the edges of the cover are all bent up because I used to try to carefully put it in my backpack, but I haven't carried a backpack since sixth grade, so all my backpacks were actually big bags / purses anyone could see from a mile away, so of course my homework and any books I carried would slide and get smooshed and wrinkled and folded up if I dropped something in there and it landed wrong.

I don't know what impact this book left on me. I assume an important one. I still love the book despite the controversy, maybe also in spite of it. My grandmother was born in Jackson. She and Mae Mobley would've been a week apart, if they were both alive and real, respectively. Her side of the story, what would've been my grandmother's I mean, isn't shown, but maybe someone story she would've known was. Maybe her auntie or cousin or someone who she went to church with, had her mother not moved out of the South before she was three months old. I don't know. The story's very real. Whether or not it connects to you personally, who doesn't have a soft spot for those?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Excrement, Grief, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Suicide

ashybear02's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Excrement, Child abuse, Cancer, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Medical content, Death, Classism, and Domestic abuse

juliaathomsonnn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Racial slurs, and Classism

Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Infertility, Hate crime, Gun violence, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death

kaylietreskin's review

challenging emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Lots of themes of white saviorism in here, unbeknownst to the author (it seems).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Bullying

edesia_guest's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I don't think Stockett did a good job on providing black women with a job. The main character Skeeter is annoying and I know she is there to show how white people are sheltered and don't understand the hardships of black people especially black women. I feel like she does a good job in looking at women and sexism but it's obvious the experiences are written by a white woman who does not know a whole lot about what happens and the misogynoir black women face everyday. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, Chronic illness, Bullying, Body shaming, Abandonment, Misogyny, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

merenguita's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Me encantó la forma en que el libro está escrito, creo que se distinguen muy bien las voces de los 3 personajes que narran y sus personalidades. La escritura logra que se conecte emocionalmente con los personajes y rápidamente deseaba verlas con finales felices. El desarrollo en las relaciones que existen entre los diferentes personajes también está muy bien logrado
Skeeter es... molesta... me parece muy cuestionable su objetivo en el libro y hay cosas que hace que me molestan, todavía no me queda claro si la autora busca criticar estas conductas o no.

Por ejemplo cuando recién está presentando la idea del libro a la periodista famosa, Abileen le deja en claro que no va a colaborar en algo así, y aún así le dice a la periodista que tiene criadas a quien entrevistar y piensa convencer a Abileen, sin considerar seriamente su palabra y los peligros que correría. Su foco parece estar únicamente en su propio éxito profesional en ese momento

.
En general me parece cuestionable que una autora blanca escriba historias de mujeres negras, pero creo que no soy la mejor persona para profundizar en este aspecto. Relacionado a esto también me hubiese gustado ver un poco más de feminismo interseccional aplicado en los personajes, creo que habían hartas oportunidades de hablar de ello, de realizar una critica al patriarcado y esto no es algo realmente logrado. Posiblemente tampoco estaba dentro de los objetivos de la autora

por ejemplo con Elizabeth y la obligación que tienen las mujeres de tener hijos, la exclusión de miss Celia por venir de una clase más baja o juzgarla por como viste, la violencia intrafamiliar que subre Minny, etc.

el libro no toma provecho de sus propios set-ups.
Lo otro que no me gustó mucho es el poco romance que se intenta desarrolla, nunca me importó el intéres amoroso y por lo tanto me era indiferente que pasaba con él.
Elementos que me gustaron especialmente: La relación de Abileen y Mae Mobly, en general su preocupación con los niños, pero en especial con ella. El final,

me encanta que no haya terminado todo cuando Skeeter se va a Nueva York, temía que eso fuese así y el tema de la violencia intrafamiliar o el futuro de Aibleen quedase abierto, pero no, incluso hay más énfasis en esos finales y me parece maravilloso

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, and Racism

Moderate: Alcoholism

grayscale08's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Cursing, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Toxic relationship