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laurarosenberg 's review for:
Fruit of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. the Patriarchy
by Liv Strömquist
I lent my copy of “The Four Agreements” to a girlfriend, and in exchange, she gave me this book, and here we are.
I liked the graphic novel-ness of it, and I learned some things I definitely didn’t know, but I didn’t like how nearly every page was filled with exclamation points. It feels like you’re constantly being yelled at as the author delivers her points. It’s obvious how frustrated Stromquist is with the system/patriarchy, but generally speaking, I could do without all of the proverbial hollering.
I mean.. the ultimate take away is that women and the worth of their bodies have always been dictated by men, many of whom we know (Freud, Sartre, various other famous/historical men). There are some surprises in the book though, and there are some good talking points. Like why do tampon commercials advertise their products as something that has to be discreet (“it fits in the palm of your hand so no one sees!”)? Or why do they say that you have to feel fresh and clean? Answer: because your body and what it does is something to be ashamed or embarrassed of, because male scientists, theologians, philosophers, etc. decided it was so. They came to that decision with little to no evidence, but rather by making their own hypotheses and basing them off of god’s will, or off of another equal-status man’s opinion.
I also liked the flipped thinking she does when she talks about how women must be dirty, sinful people to want to enjoy sex, and then changes the wording around to imagine what it would be like if authors/historians/scientists said the same about men. Basically, we existed (largely in the historical context) to please men or to procreate, and if we thought otherwise about sex or our bodies, we were considered witchy, unworthy, unholy, and gross. A quick, informative read, albeit ripe with enthusiastic !!!s.
I liked the graphic novel-ness of it, and I learned some things I definitely didn’t know, but I didn’t like how nearly every page was filled with exclamation points. It feels like you’re constantly being yelled at as the author delivers her points. It’s obvious how frustrated Stromquist is with the system/patriarchy, but generally speaking, I could do without all of the proverbial hollering.
I mean.. the ultimate take away is that women and the worth of their bodies have always been dictated by men, many of whom we know (Freud, Sartre, various other famous/historical men). There are some surprises in the book though, and there are some good talking points. Like why do tampon commercials advertise their products as something that has to be discreet (“it fits in the palm of your hand so no one sees!”)? Or why do they say that you have to feel fresh and clean? Answer: because your body and what it does is something to be ashamed or embarrassed of, because male scientists, theologians, philosophers, etc. decided it was so. They came to that decision with little to no evidence, but rather by making their own hypotheses and basing them off of god’s will, or off of another equal-status man’s opinion.
I also liked the flipped thinking she does when she talks about how women must be dirty, sinful people to want to enjoy sex, and then changes the wording around to imagine what it would be like if authors/historians/scientists said the same about men. Basically, we existed (largely in the historical context) to please men or to procreate, and if we thought otherwise about sex or our bodies, we were considered witchy, unworthy, unholy, and gross. A quick, informative read, albeit ripe with enthusiastic !!!s.