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A review by nashwa017
How the Pill Changes Everything: Your Brain on Birth Control by Sarah E. Hill
Did not finish book.
DNF @ 56%
I really wanted to like this book or rather, I was looking forward to reading it. I was looking for a book that would give me a neutral perspective - benefits and side effects of taking hormonal contraceptives. And what impact these pills have on anxiety in the long-run. But I couldn’t get through it, I tried it as an ebook and then wasted one valuable Audible credit on the audiobook :(
This book caters to one kind of relationship i.e. heteronormative (male/female) relationships. It hardly takes into consideration that trans people are usually prescribed hormonal contraceptives after a major sex-change operations, or that oral contraceptives are prescribed for people suffering from PCOS and other diseases.
Additionally, I didn’t believe everything in this book. I don’t believe in the notion that “you are your hormones” which essentially reduces fully grown human beings to bodily functions/parts. Just like I’m not my lungs, my heart or just my stomach - I’m not my hormones. Yes, hormonal contraceptives change things in your body but they don’t erase the essence of your being.
There were also some other wild speculations in this book - e.g the fact that women who are high fertility or in their ovulation phase are likely to cheat on their partners because they are attracted to traditionally good-looking men during those days ( WTF!) And I also don’t believe that ovulating women become femme fatales and attract every man in the vicinity (actual BS) as it is implied in the book. I didn’t believe that pill taking women give birth to less healthier babies. Other wild speculations included that women who are on birth control are attracted towards mediocre looking men while naturally cycling women are attracted to the Jason Momoa’s of the world. Gym bros, super muscular, square jaw and the like - those who have raging testosterone.
The writing really riled me up. The author is extremely condescending, makes inappropriate jokes as if her audience are a group of giggling 13-year-olds. If a book is meant for adults, then talking down to the target demographic really doesn’t make sense. Referring to men as “slightly less hairier than apes” is one example, “sperm germs” is another one.
The quirky footnotes were distracting and really started to piss me off, and the bad puns were just off-putting. Yes, we know “thrust” can be used in multiple ways. The fact that she said contraceptives give you hair in “embarrassing places” instead of explaining what she meant is another example.
I need a better book on the subject.
I really wanted to like this book or rather, I was looking forward to reading it. I was looking for a book that would give me a neutral perspective - benefits and side effects of taking hormonal contraceptives. And what impact these pills have on anxiety in the long-run. But I couldn’t get through it, I tried it as an ebook and then wasted one valuable Audible credit on the audiobook :(
This book caters to one kind of relationship i.e. heteronormative (male/female) relationships. It hardly takes into consideration that trans people are usually prescribed hormonal contraceptives after a major sex-change operations, or that oral contraceptives are prescribed for people suffering from PCOS and other diseases.
Additionally, I didn’t believe everything in this book. I don’t believe in the notion that “you are your hormones” which essentially reduces fully grown human beings to bodily functions/parts. Just like I’m not my lungs, my heart or just my stomach - I’m not my hormones. Yes, hormonal contraceptives change things in your body but they don’t erase the essence of your being.
There were also some other wild speculations in this book - e.g the fact that women who are high fertility or in their ovulation phase are likely to cheat on their partners because they are attracted to traditionally good-looking men during those days ( WTF!) And I also don’t believe that ovulating women become femme fatales and attract every man in the vicinity (actual BS) as it is implied in the book. I didn’t believe that pill taking women give birth to less healthier babies. Other wild speculations included that women who are on birth control are attracted towards mediocre looking men while naturally cycling women are attracted to the Jason Momoa’s of the world. Gym bros, super muscular, square jaw and the like - those who have raging testosterone.
The writing really riled me up. The author is extremely condescending, makes inappropriate jokes as if her audience are a group of giggling 13-year-olds. If a book is meant for adults, then talking down to the target demographic really doesn’t make sense. Referring to men as “slightly less hairier than apes” is one example, “sperm germs” is another one.
The quirky footnotes were distracting and really started to piss me off, and the bad puns were just off-putting. Yes, we know “thrust” can be used in multiple ways. The fact that she said contraceptives give you hair in “embarrassing places” instead of explaining what she meant is another example.
I need a better book on the subject.