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

4.0

It took me a LONG time to finish this book, partly because it is pretty grim subject matter (intimate partner violence, etc) and partly because it is a dense, fairly academic text; I don't tend to read a lot of analytic philosophy. Manne is a rigorous thinker and a brilliant writer. In this book, she distinguishes between sexism (an ideology about gender roles) and her main subject, misogyny (social, historical systems that enforce patriarchy). This book was published in 2017 and reflects on the election of Donald Trump, the trial of Brock Turner, the Isla Vista killings from 2014, and more; it is pretty interesting to read this book with just barely a few years of distance from some of these examples. If anything, the bit of distance makes Manne look more precise and persuasive.

Be prepared for the entirely pessimistic ending.