Scan barcode
A review by courfeyrad
What Would Boudicca Do?: Everyday Problems Solved by History's Most Remarkable Women by Elizabeth Foley
2.0
like.... this book is fine. its very trendy and accessible but singularly lacking in any kind of depth. there is absolutely nothing here that you couldnt find on a wikipedia page or viral twitter thread.
its an interesting and eclectic mix of notable women, but i did have some issues. firstly, i didnt like how the whole book took a very reductive tone to a lot of the women presented, simplifying their rich and varied lives to twist them into whatever shallow teachable moment the authors thought would be relevant to a 21st century woman, sometimes completely misrepresenting their lives in the process. this is just not something i vibed with at all.
i also particularly disliked how it glossed over coco chanel's nazi collaboration. hans gunther von dincklage wasnt a "dashing german". he was a nazi. its briefly mentioned in the afterword that the women in this book werent all saints and its their "achievements" that really matter or whatever, but honestly it would have been so easy to leave out this one well known literal nazi in favour of literally any other female fashion designer. or at the very least like, mention it? dont just dance around it - say it outright. its one thing to be "morally complex". its another thing entirely to be a nazi. i found it especially baffling that this was largely omitted, as the book made no qualms about detailing marie stopes pro-eugenics opinions, for example. i mean, if you're going to actively choose to include contraversial women in your hashtag girlboss pop feminism book, the least you can do is present the full facts.
also that one little bit in the afterword about "lets big up the boys too" really pissed me off lmao. just because a small handful of men in history weren't raging violent misogynists doesnt mean we have to endlessly praise them for it. the bar is literally in hell.
its an interesting and eclectic mix of notable women, but i did have some issues. firstly, i didnt like how the whole book took a very reductive tone to a lot of the women presented, simplifying their rich and varied lives to twist them into whatever shallow teachable moment the authors thought would be relevant to a 21st century woman, sometimes completely misrepresenting their lives in the process. this is just not something i vibed with at all.
i also particularly disliked how it glossed over coco chanel's nazi collaboration. hans gunther von dincklage wasnt a "dashing german". he was a nazi. its briefly mentioned in the afterword that the women in this book werent all saints and its their "achievements" that really matter or whatever, but honestly it would have been so easy to leave out this one well known literal nazi in favour of literally any other female fashion designer. or at the very least like, mention it? dont just dance around it - say it outright. its one thing to be "morally complex". its another thing entirely to be a nazi. i found it especially baffling that this was largely omitted, as the book made no qualms about detailing marie stopes pro-eugenics opinions, for example. i mean, if you're going to actively choose to include contraversial women in your hashtag girlboss pop feminism book, the least you can do is present the full facts.
also that one little bit in the afterword about "lets big up the boys too" really pissed me off lmao. just because a small handful of men in history weren't raging violent misogynists doesnt mean we have to endlessly praise them for it. the bar is literally in hell.