A review by anneklein
Females by Andrea Long Chu

2.0

Interesting thought experiments, but in the end it did not really create a lasting impression of any kind because it often veered towards the sensationalist and the provocative with no reason other than "we're exploring this". Not all books need to have a message, but if you are writing a book of theory, even if it's a thought experiment, I expect it to at least attempt to go somewhere with it. Instead the concepts felt scattered and did not really build on one another aside from the fact they were all related to the main premise of the book ("everybody is female, and everybody hates it"). Some were interesting and I would have read more on them, such as the thoughts on pick-up artists and incels and how they perceived and related to masculinity and femininity (their own and others', particularly other men's). But other things such as the Valerie Solanas of it all weren't of my own particular interest and so I wasn't particularly invested in them.

I'm glad I read this book, and I will keep it for reference because it is definitely a unique piece of queer theory that had some really good one-liners, but it was just ok, not quite for me, and not something that will impact my life in any capacity.