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A review by brisingr
I Hate Men by Pauline Harmange
4.0
2nd read: 4th Nov 2022
Tired and angry, but somebody should be. (upping this to 4.5 stars because it's been years and the hatred is still as relevant and needed)
1st read: 15th June 2021
I really enjoyed this: a very accesible and broad look at current feminist issues and social balance between women and men. It's easy to read and it makes its point perfectly clear, bringing up important topics, easy to chew views, and powerful (and painfully real) statements. It is an essay, and considering how short it is, it does its job. It's made not to have depth beyond basic public understanding.
I'm guilty as charged of hating men, and it makes a lot of people around me sensitive. What people should understand, and this book is asking of its readers, is to understand that our hate, as women, is incomparable to the hate defined by men and the patriarchal society they benefit from. When we say we hate men, it doesn't mean we want to hurt them, physically pain them, but that's how it comes across because when men hate women, that's exactly how they treat us.
Instead, this book says that men are mediocre. A truth. And our hate challenges their privileges, and their inaction at their privileges, and demands better from them. I loved the way this book was written, it was delicate in tackling a subject that became taboo nonetheless (as they attempted to ban this book when it got published in France), and it challenged some very pervasive beliefs in society. I wish it was a bit longer, giving more depth and time to some of the chapters, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless.
I don't exactly see how this book is a problem (surely, way more angry ones exist), unless it's coming from people who didn't bother to read beyond the title. But as I like to say, if you feel offended when we say we hate men, then maybe the shoe fits.
Tired and angry, but somebody should be. (upping this to 4.5 stars because it's been years and the hatred is still as relevant and needed)
1st read: 15th June 2021
I really enjoyed this: a very accesible and broad look at current feminist issues and social balance between women and men. It's easy to read and it makes its point perfectly clear, bringing up important topics, easy to chew views, and powerful (and painfully real) statements. It is an essay, and considering how short it is, it does its job. It's made not to have depth beyond basic public understanding.
I'm guilty as charged of hating men, and it makes a lot of people around me sensitive. What people should understand, and this book is asking of its readers, is to understand that our hate, as women, is incomparable to the hate defined by men and the patriarchal society they benefit from. When we say we hate men, it doesn't mean we want to hurt them, physically pain them, but that's how it comes across because when men hate women, that's exactly how they treat us.
Instead, this book says that men are mediocre. A truth. And our hate challenges their privileges, and their inaction at their privileges, and demands better from them. I loved the way this book was written, it was delicate in tackling a subject that became taboo nonetheless (as they attempted to ban this book when it got published in France), and it challenged some very pervasive beliefs in society. I wish it was a bit longer, giving more depth and time to some of the chapters, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless.
I don't exactly see how this book is a problem (surely, way more angry ones exist), unless it's coming from people who didn't bother to read beyond the title. But as I like to say, if you feel offended when we say we hate men, then maybe the shoe fits.