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A review by bookyanna
How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
I do like Caitlin Moran and I adore her fiction. That said, this book isn't for me. It was published in 2011, and it's very clear to me that feminism has changed a great deal since then. The feminism in this book is very optimistic, white, heteronormative and trans-exclusionary. It's not for me; it doesn't represent me.
Naturally, the causal ableism, racism, weird jokes about empire, and very prescriptive view of what women are/should be made me wince.
I would have enjoyed it more if it were presented as more of a memoir; I adore Moran's stories and reflections (sans ableism and racism). I just don't think said experiences and worldviews can be so readily translated to the experiences of black women, queer women, trans women, or disabled women. It just reads as a very privledged and rosy viewpoint, that many women will not and cannot share.
Naturally, the causal ableism, racism, weird jokes about empire, and very prescriptive view of what women are/should be made me wince.
I would have enjoyed it more if it were presented as more of a memoir; I adore Moran's stories and reflections (sans ableism and racism). I just don't think said experiences and worldviews can be so readily translated to the experiences of black women, queer women, trans women, or disabled women. It just reads as a very privledged and rosy viewpoint, that many women will not and cannot share.