A review by dfostermartin
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne

4.0

There are some excellent points about the logic and function of misogyny in this book. Manne also coins some excellent terms, such as himpathy, and reminds the reader of other (misogynoir) that are both memorable and helpful for remembering some of the key points that she makes. I also really appreciated some of the case studies (both true events and fictional) that she weaves in throughout to illustrate what she’s saying.

Despite some excellent content, for me there was a bit too much internal book referencing (in chapter 2 I’ll speak about, in chapter 8 I’ll unpack this further, as I discussed in chapter 1, etc). This was also a book that relied heavily on academic language. That is not necessarily a negative for every reader (as many readers may enjoy that) nor anything against the author (she IS an academic), but it made it a struggle for me to stay focused in several sections and it will probably keep me from recommending the book to too many others.