A review by alexisdpatt
Off with Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power by Eleanor Herman

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

“Off With Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power” by Eleanor Herman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 

“Off With Her Head” discusses the history of using language, stereotypes, misogyny, sexism, racism and simple frivolity that is spewed at women through the years and today for the simple gratification of men seeing women eat glass. 

This book is at minimum 60% politics and 40% history and at max 80/20. So if you don’t like women in politics, go eat glass yourself. 

Herman uses historical women like Anne Boleyn, Catherine de Medici, Marie Antoinette, and Catherine the Great (among others) to deconstruct the hateful and misogynistic rhetoric that has been thrown at women in the past (i.e. adultery, incest, sexual promiscuity, murder) and showing how this rhetoric and its relationship to “female values” and “worth” translates into “she’s too loud,” “what is she wearing,” “she’s too man-ish,” “she’s a lesbian,” “she’s a bad mother,” etc., etc. 

My biggest cretic would be the lack of historical WOC. However, Herman does acknowledge that she is not well versed in African, Asian and Latin studies and would very much rather someone else more qualified discuss them. To combat this, she does make it know that WOC are treated far worse and harsher than White Women when discussion WOC in politics by highlighting women such as Kamala Harris, AOC, Ilhan Omar and Shirley Chisholm. 

One thing I do love, however, is that Herman makes sure to show that this happens to all women, not just those with left leaning political views. I personally cannot stand Margaret Thatcher and Amy Comey Barrett, but I also agree that they should not be subjected to misogyny and sexism but also that conservative women should not attack other women when we have so much in common. I’m very glad that Herman highlights this point. 

Overall, this book was a page turner. I was angry and emotional and I loved every page of it. I’m so glad I chose to start it on International Women’s Day.