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alexpghayes's review
5.0
Progressive reading that will change the way you think for the better. White dudes in particular should give this a read. I imagine I'll revisit this many times.
bellatronic's review
3.0
I've been slowly working my way through this set of essays over the past few months. This collection covers a lot of ground and I enjoyed a lot of the pieces. Some of them are pretty short which makes them feel a bit light somehow. The author often ends her essays fairly abruptly too. I did learn a lot from reading this one and it made me think a lot which is sort of the point, I suppose.
esztereszterdora's review
4.0
Patriarchy is the prettiest when it's on fire
Do I have to say more? It's even better than [b:Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution|20613624|Unspeakable Things Sex, Lies and Revolution|Laurie Penny|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405924555l/20613624._SX50_.jpg|39894983]. Penny is better with short column-like manifesto writing than with longish chapters. The true power of her writing - in my opinion - is that she makes many well-known, every day issue explict and reframes them to show how fucked up the power dynamics of our society are.
Penny's writing is shameless, unapologetic and eye-opening even for some progressives like me. It had some great pieces that made me think and consider new viewpoints. The book touches on many different topic - culture, bodily autonomy, why is feminism so stressing for the ordinary man, power in late capitalism - and keeps a well-thought line of reasoning why it is still crucial to fight for women's rights.
Sometimes I stopped for days or even a week to digest and think about topics - honestly, it was well worth the time I put in it.
My only problem with this book that the ones who should really r e a d and c o n s i d e r the points Penny makes - yes I'm looking at MRAs, incels and asswipes who harass and hate women just because they are women - would never touch it. You know, because it's feminism and being a feminist is gay. This last paragraph is the perfect illustration why we need book like these and activist like Laurie Penny.
I am inspired to be an even bigger and louder feminist. Thank you, Laurie Penny, from the bottom of my heart.
Do I have to say more? It's even better than [b:Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution|20613624|Unspeakable Things Sex, Lies and Revolution|Laurie Penny|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405924555l/20613624._SX50_.jpg|39894983]. Penny is better with short column-like manifesto writing than with longish chapters. The true power of her writing - in my opinion - is that she makes many well-known, every day issue explict and reframes them to show how fucked up the power dynamics of our society are.
Penny's writing is shameless, unapologetic and eye-opening even for some progressives like me. It had some great pieces that made me think and consider new viewpoints. The book touches on many different topic - culture, bodily autonomy, why is feminism so stressing for the ordinary man, power in late capitalism - and keeps a well-thought line of reasoning why it is still crucial to fight for women's rights.
Sometimes I stopped for days or even a week to digest and think about topics - honestly, it was well worth the time I put in it.
My only problem with this book that the ones who should really r e a d and c o n s i d e r the points Penny makes - yes I'm looking at MRAs, incels and asswipes who harass and hate women just because they are women - would never touch it. You know, because it's feminism and being a feminist is gay. This last paragraph is the perfect illustration why we need book like these and activist like Laurie Penny.
I am inspired to be an even bigger and louder feminist. Thank you, Laurie Penny, from the bottom of my heart.
carbolara's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
bibookreader's review against another edition
3.0
maybe it was because I already read so much feminist literature and theory, but the whole book felt like nothing new, like everything that has already been said, in a book. One reason could be because it´s from 2017, but nevertheless it still didn´t bring anything new to the table. I liked her writing style, but I skipped a lot of chapters, because I already knew what she was going to tell/write. Anyways, I would suggest this book as like a first dive into feminist literature i guess.
popestig's review against another edition
4.0
Bitch Doctrine is well-written, lucid, angry, stingingly funny and my favourite book of hers so far.
I found the essays to be crystal clear, her barbs well aimed and funny, and Penny at her best when she targets the people that should be her political allies but too frequently aren't or when she reaches out a hand to fellow bullied nerds.
Slightly too many of the essays were known territory for this to be feel brand new, but I am a fan so re-reads were a pleasure and not a chore.
I will pre-order the next book.
I found the essays to be crystal clear, her barbs well aimed and funny, and Penny at her best when she targets the people that should be her political allies but too frequently aren't or when she reaches out a hand to fellow bullied nerds.
Slightly too many of the essays were known territory for this to be feel brand new, but I am a fan so re-reads were a pleasure and not a chore.
I will pre-order the next book.
sendnewts's review
4.0
Bitch Doctrine is a collection of essays by feminist, queer, journalist Laurie Penny. The book is split into sections, covering topics such as love, resistance, gender, violence, and agency. It's heavily feminist and fiercely anti-capitalist. Their witty writing style had me laughing out loud at times and silently screaming yaaaaas in the head so many times. I don't think I disagreed with any of Laurie's opinions and I often felt they were articulating my own views in ways I never could myself - it was very validating. It was often very emotional and heavy going, exploring the ways in which the patriarchy and capitalism are damaging our lives, but with enough comic relief and hopefulness to make it readable rather than wholly depressing. There was definitely a big theme of solidarity and resistance, which I find very inspiring. Overall, an excellent read, and I would highly recommend. The only slight critism I have is that it didn't really feel like I was reading a book. Because it is a collection of essays, and they were written as such, it often feels a bit eclectic and doesn't seem to flow right. There's a lot of repetition and it often feels strongly like deja vu. It took me about a month and a half to read (it's around 400 pages) so it's definitely slowed my reading pace, just because it's quite heavy, but I don't regret picking this one up at all.
samantha_winkel's review
1.0
I ended up DNFing this book. Why? It felt like the author was whining and taking away from the actual problems at hand. Granted, these are very serious issues, but I hate it when author's whine and complain.
When I read the description of this book, it sounded promising and that I would like it. It got harder and harder to read through and I finally just gave up.
When I read the description of this book, it sounded promising and that I would like it. It got harder and harder to read through and I finally just gave up.