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koreanlinda 's review for:
Fruit of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. the Patriarchy
by Liv Strömquist
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
My close friend gifted this book to me, and at first, I balked at the crude and vibrant style of drawings. Soon I realized the surmountable power in the story it tells and now I declare it as an essential read for all people, especially women who experienced the violence the book entails.
I personally did not know the word "vulva" until I read this book. I was calling the whole genital "vagina," which is technically inaccurate. I quickly forgave my ignorance because the book explained my ignorance was caused by intentional erasure of vulvas. The extent that men in power have gone to diminish women's validity in our society through violating our bodies is exponential and horrifying.
This can be a hard read for young adults, but I think high school students can handle it. I wish I read it myself at that age before I started internalizing all the toxic ideas about women's bodies. I highly recommend that you give it a read and gift it to a loved one. I will definitely keep it to read it time to time. In fact, it has a lot of information to digest like a history book.
Review by Linda (she/they) in January 2023
Twitter @KoreanLindaPark
Essay writer at DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Podcaster at AmericanKsisters.com
I personally did not know the word "vulva" until I read this book. I was calling the whole genital "vagina," which is technically inaccurate. I quickly forgave my ignorance because the book explained my ignorance was caused by intentional erasure of vulvas. The extent that men in power have gone to diminish women's validity in our society through violating our bodies is exponential and horrifying.
This can be a hard read for young adults, but I think high school students can handle it. I wish I read it myself at that age before I started internalizing all the toxic ideas about women's bodies. I highly recommend that you give it a read and gift it to a loved one. I will definitely keep it to read it time to time. In fact, it has a lot of information to digest like a history book.
Review by Linda (she/they) in January 2023
Twitter @KoreanLindaPark
Essay writer at DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Podcaster at AmericanKsisters.com
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence